Stockholm Syndrome

I have REALLY tried to like this property and it delivered more on this stay, but still had issues.

After a disastarous last stay, I decided to give them another chance, except this time I booked the top Riddarholm Suite. Two nights were cash and one night was on points. We value space above all else and I was keen to see how this suite compared.

Thankfully check in had no line and we were in the room in minutes. The front desk agent as delightful. There were clealy notes about our last stay as he finished with "I hope this stay will be better than your last" with a little wink. He merged all reservations and they keys didn't need to be recoded.

The room was very impressive. We had just stayed in suites in Park Hyatts around Europe and the Rosewood London so this was the least luxury level of the stay.

That said, the room was large with a living area, dining area, huge bathroom with heated floors and a big bedroom.

The standout of this room are the views of Gamla Stan that are spectacular. The furniture isn't orenitated toward the view but day and night we just watched life go by. The view at night is particularly spectacular.

The couch was a sofa bed which was rather uncomfortable. I believe this may be the best chain hotel suite in town and am surprised those who have stayed prior haven't complained. We resorted to sitting on the arm and office chair instead.

The main issue was air con. We turned it onto the highest fan and coolest setting and the living room was a little cool but the bedroom was hot. I would guess 25/26 degrees at night which is too uncomfortable. 

I called to ask for engineering to be sent to the room and was told they had finished for the day. This was 5PM. I've never known a large hotel to not have engineering present 24x7. They said they would attend the next day. They sent up two small fans which slightly helped.

Despite this, when we returned on day two the duty manager couldn't confirm if engineering had attended.

On our third and final day we found a card saying engineering had attended and the issue was being investigated.

Unfortunately, this air con issue set the tone for service.

Due to the heat we asked front desk to send a bucket of ice to the room. It appearered and they tried to charge a $13 deloivery fee. I refused to sign and said they can take it away.

The front desk manager appeared a few minutes later, apoologised and said of course there would be no charge.

Valet parking has been removed and it is now self park.

Breakfast was ok with a dedicated elite area and no "coffee tax" as Hilton charges in some countries like Australia. There is a Chef who makes eggs cooked to order.

It's a large selection.

The Club Lounge, which wasn't open on our lasy stay, was a horrible experience. While the food included cold cuts, salads and a dessert option as well as beer, wine, spirits etc. there seemed to be large groups who parked themselves an hour earlier than opening and devoured items as soon as they appeared. In fact, one couple took two entire platters back to their table!

Of course, this isn't the hotel's fault, but it does make the experience unpleasant.

The lack of mini bar makes you appreciate the lounge where they say you can take soft drinks back to your room.

We ordered the Swedish Meatballs and Fish and Chips via room service and they were both very good. The room service attendant also commented on how hot our room was!

Overall, I tried hard to like this property.

If the air con had been fixed it would have been a much better stay. While I appreciate it's 28 degrees, a global chain hotel and particularly the Presidential Suite should be a room that's comfortabe to laze around in.

It was galling for the duty manager to not confirm if engineering had been sent and then to try to explain that "the hotel doesn't actual;y have air con, we have some cooling." This is what aggrevated me the most.

As we checked out we noticed air con trucks in the driveway installing new vents. Perhaps it is being addressed.

We decided next time to try the Hotel Rival's equiavlent suite or Sheraton.