Peppers Gallery Hotel

The hotel itself feels old, tired, and in need of serious refurbishment. Unfortunately, the on-site restaurant was just as underwhelming. The experience was made worse by the manager’s attitude. When I placed my order, I asked for a glass of orange juice. I could not see the buffet as it is hidden behind a wall, so I had no way of knowing it was self-serve. Instead of simply explaining that, the manager brusquely pointed me in the general direction of the buffet. Moments later, the next couple walked in. He proactively asked them if they would like orange juice, they said yes, and he personally went to the buffet and fetched it for them. I want to be very clear that I had no issue getting my own drink. The issue was the obvious contrast in how I was treated versus how they were treated. Things went downhill further when I presented my Accor Explorer card. He visibly rolled his eyes and behaved as though my membership was a personal inconvenience, which is completely unprofessional. I will not be returning. The only positive was the reception staff, who were genuinely friendly and very helpful when I realised I had left something behind.

Very disappointed to see a beautiful hotel in decline. I stayed at this hotel 15 years ago and it was wonderful. The good bones are still there, but it let down by being incredibly dirty and dusty, and in desperate need of a refresh. Everything was dirty - from the front desk which was covered in greasy finger marks and needed a good wipe down, to the desk and side tables. The curtains, which bizarrely did not fit in our room and had to be pulled over the top of a large couch, send clouds of dust into the air when we tried to close them. The bathroom had marks up the walls that could be easily wiped away and the sink had mould at the back of it. Glasses in the room had lipstick on them, and our room just smelled mouldy and damp. The staff were very nice, and hotel could shine again with some decent cleaning and airing out of rooms.

Reserved two (2) rooms for 6 family guests directly with the Accor reservations team, no discounts applied. Hotel Reception staff were pleasant. However the Hotel put us on the ground floor, somewhere, a rabbit warren down an elevator long hallways, left, right, left right, and up stairs... all with our luggage. An old condemned part of the hotel? BOTH the rooms were - NOT clean - dirty old carpet - dirty walls and damaged furnishings - non functioning powerpoints - Bedding head furnitures old and flaking + mattress of and soft lumpy - other furnitures falling apart - dark Bathroom with 1 cm gaps in the door facing the main room door - Felt necessary to wear thongs in the shower to avoid infections All night long awake and itching in the bedding, and hearing the above floors noisy plumbing. It was a Saturday night so the locals were also revelling right outside our windows. included breakfast the next morning: either this or that, but NOT both! Chalk and Cheese compared to the absolutely fantastic Adelaide Peppers Hotel experience that we also stayed in October. That's a nice hotel. Canberra Peppers management ** I expected better ** Based on the above experience I would not recommend Peppers Canberra.

Choosing Peppers was only because we had read that the original building was built to accommodate VIP guests arriving to Canberra for the grand opening of the first Parliament house. That interested us. We aren’t disappointed by our choice, but the hotel did not call us to return. It felt a bit ‘homely’, yet that probably isn’t the vibe they are aiming for. It might have been ‘arty’ 20+ years ago when they obviously did an art hotel type renovation, but now, decor wise, it seems a bit ‘off’ - dated and clumsy feeling. We certainly hope never to encounter such awful wall paper again … on the roof of our room !!!!??? Weird. The good: espresso cups in the room alongside the coffee machine - a detail that 9/10 hotels overlook when they supply only big cups or mugs. So thank you! A decent bath. Thank you again! Importantly, it is a good location and the ‘precinct’ feels good, like you can sort of imagine living there. Onsite parking, if booked with your room, is great - convenient and secure. The bad: the music pumping out from the lounge area (where the piano is) was so loud in morning!!!! Completely ridiculous. The room had an impossibly heavy blind on the window that without my husband I absolutely would not have been able to roll up. The light switches are seriously scratched up - perhaps replace and choose different ones! And the step from the bathroom into the bedroom was/is dangerous - it needs an ‘indicator’ or just a small ramp to join the ‘rooms’ better so you don’t continually stub your toes. We arrived back to our room in the afternoon to find there’d been no servicing and the receptionist told us we’d chosen a rate without servicing. We would not have done so voluntarily but we accept we must not have read the fine print. But how hard is it to remind guests at check in that they won’t have their towels changed or beds made, so they are conscious of it. The receptionist was understanding and swift to bring us some new towels. Finally, if you receive a free drink voucher do not ‘spend’ it on a glass of bubbles from the bar - the house bubbles are awful. Get a coffee or tea!!

Room was a bit tired, Bed heads had peeling fake leather, blockout curtains produced a heavy cloud of dust when moved, 3 of 4 provided coffee pods where decaffeinated, provided shower amenities where all empty, 2 towels provided for 3 booked in guests. Did get a personalised greeting card and front desk said they would let housekeeping know... Free to air tv channels provided with problematic ABC reception, wifi worked well. Breakfast buffet was ok but not restocked when empty, a la carte items and coffee where nice.