We stayed in Mercure Perth from 23 Aug 2007 to 28 Aug 2007.
I found 2 bed bugs in room 812, after being in there for 3 nights. Too late, coz my 1 year old boy got bitten already. Hotel staff was nice enough to offer a change of room to the spa suite. However, the spa suite on the 3rd floor had smoke smell. In addition,there were 3 pieces of peanuts on the carpeted floor and the leftover 2 bottles of sleeping pills from the previous travelers were left there for us to admire.

The hotel staff however were very friendly and helpful.

We found the Mercure Perth a good standard 3 star hotel. For us it was ideal just for an overnight stay, it was basic, clean and modern.

ARRIVAL
From Perth domestic airport we took a taxi that cost AUD$28.00 plus AUD$3.00 service fee for using the credit card. It was only a few dollars more to travel to the international airport where we departed Australia to return home. The charge was AUD$33.00 plus $3.00 service fee again for using our credit card to pay.

RECEPTION/BOOKING
We made the booking direct with the hotel and got a very good price for the one night stay. It was AUD$120.00 and wouldn’t have wanted to spend much more. We were looking for an overnight hotel before leaving Australia and this was a good option for the price. On arrival at the hotel in the afternoon, our booking details were in order & we were efficiently checked in. There was a relaxed feeling with reception however the staff was helpful. We reserved a taxi for the morning’s departure and it was there as promised at the booked time.

ROOM
Our room was clean and modern. The bed was comfortable. The appearance of the room was the same as on the hotel website photos. The only problem with the room was the shower over the bath. We are of average height and found this nozzle position too low & unable to move. The tall client of this hotel would have difficulty having a shower as the nozzle would be chest height. The rest of the bathroom was modern & clean. There was an electronic in room safe, basic mini bar and iron board and iron.

FACILITIES
There was a bar and two restaurants & a swimming pool as the main facilities. We didn’t use any of them so can not make comment of how they are.

AREA
A short walk away we went to the Barrack Street Jetty to look for a dinner option. On the upper deck of a building there we discovered an Indian vegetarian buffet restaurant with no fixed prices. Instead, an offer of what the client believes the dinner is worth should be paid. This was a great find as we wanted to eat out in the area and it was fantastic food. There were indoor and outdoor tables. The hotel was nice and central to the city by foot.

The hotel is reasonable and the staff friendly. where this hotel fails is the food. Restaurants are somewhat overpriced and the buffet breakfast is absolutley STONE cold (on more than one occasion).

Bacon had been cooked as it was packaged (ie still retaining the rashers all rolled neatly together and equally spaced apart). The entire breakfast was a cold greasy mess and really inedible.

Hotels cannot complain when guests walk outside to the corner and get a freshly made piping hot cooked breakfast for 35% of the hotel price....why is that hotels do this?


The water in the pumps marked "HOT WATER" for making tea with was also well off boiling resulting in a tepid brew.

I stayed at the Mercure for 12 nights in April on business, and it's a reasonable hotel - nothing fancy but nothing too terrible. The rooms don't have safety deposit boxes but it is available at reception, which was disappointing for me. The location is central, but in the evenings there is very little around in the way of restaurants or nightlife - and if you're staying on your own like I was the area seems unfriendly. The choice of TV stations is limited which is also a bit annoying if you're stuck in the hotel on an evening (which is likely to happen if you're there for any length of time). The hotel restaurant is not too bad, but I don't think anybody would travel to eat there - I expect almost all their patrons are staying in the hotel.

One thing to watch out for if you are a non-smoker is the smoking / non-smoking room choice. I asked for a non-smoking room and it was only after a few days that I realised I might not have one. Other floors in the hotel had "non-smoking floor" signs, but mine didn't - although my room had no ashtray and didn't smell of smoke so I didn't bother querying it. The third floor with the guest laundry (a smoking floor) stank of cigarette smoke and looked decidedly yellower than the floor I was on - so if you're a non-smoker you definitely want to avoid that one, and hold your breath when you walk to the laundry.