I was in the Ambiance for 3 nights in the first week in November. I've been there before, and have pleasant memories of the place. This time - what a disappointment. I thought I might as well pamper myself, so I stayed in their new "Executive Suite". Oh dear, Oh dear. Don't believe what you see on their website - the room is large enough OK, and reasonably clean, but the decor is dingy and the furniture is tired. As a matter of fact, dingy and tired would do for a description of the rest of the place as well.

The work on installing the lift seemed to have stopped. There was a boarded up hole on each floor. Possibly because of an unfinished lift shaft stretching down into the bowels of the earth, the hotel had a slight dank smell - like standing water (not in the room though to be fair). Making space for the lift shaft has also turned the place into a bit of a warren. To get to my room it was up the main stairs - down a flight of 3 steps - along a corridor - up some more steps. I got lost once! Not much fun for anyone less nimble than they once were.

Well, I hadn't the energy to do anything just off the plane, and after that there were only 2 nights left, but if I had been there for a longer stay I would have checked out and moved on. The room was livable, but it terms of what you had a right to expect from their top dollar, "flagship" room, it was nowhere near the standard I expected. In short - terrible value for money.

So, in three days my one word review of the Ambiance has gone from "recommend" to "avoid".

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