Peppers Gallery Hotel

Looked like a nice hotel, but ........ when we arrived, it was undergoing front foyer renovations. There was signage directing to a side entrance, which we went to to find out the doors were looked 3 minutes before our arrival. We attempted to call the number listed however call failed four times requiring us to find accomodation late at night on a long weekend. Hotel called first thing next morning and because they assumed we were a no show had rebooked the room, so no loss of money for them. Offered a tokenistic one night refund.

Very comfortable and large room. But the lack of care and attention to detail is blatant: missing or broken light fixtures, badly peeling pleather bedhead, mismatched crockery, badly scratched powerpoints, stain-darkened couch, terrible TV reception, leaky shower stall. And that was just in my room. Seems like this would have been a truly great hotel about 5 years ago.

This is a 1920s heritage listed three storey 85 room hotel, located in Acton, about a 10min walk to the civic precinct (shops/restaurants). It was originally built to accommodate VIP guests arriving to Canberra for the grand opening of the first Parliament house. Be aware it is currently going through renovations so to get to the reception you’ll need to use the side streets. Also the hotel restaurant is closed, so no meals or room service. As it is a low level historic hotel there are a number of wings with long corridors to navigate - layout can be a bit confusing to navigate. The hotel and the rooms are tired, worn and a bit shabby. The reception staff were helpful, accompanying back to my room when I kept on having problems with the room key not working. The carpets are stained and threadbare in places. I had a classic room with a queen bed, which actually was two singles jammed together (not the most comfortable sleeping arrangement). The bedhead was worn and flaking. The couch was past its use be date, with numerous stains. The LED television was hardly a smart tv - couldn’t even pick up most of the free to air stations, let alone cable or streaming services. At least the wifi worked, so I could watch Foxtel on my phone. The block out curtains worked a treat - couldn’t tell if it was day or night but they were really heavy, dusty and hard to open. Not a big fan of the patterned wall paper on the ceiling. The bathroom felt more modern than the bedroom and whilst I initially had problems with the shower head that did get someone into fix it relatively promptly. The towels were nice and fluffy and the room was serviced daily however they never replaced the used cups & cutlery in the room. I think that the whole hotel is in need of a major refurbishment not just the front reception. As an Accor member I was fairly disappointed with the standard & condition of the rooms - need to lift their game, big time. Would recommend staying at the nearby QT hotel.

errible Stay – Not Up to Peppers Standards Our stay at Peppers Gallery Hotel Canberra was extremely disappointing and nowhere near what you’d expect from the Peppers brand. At best, this felt like a 3-star roadside motel. We were initially placed in a “Queen” room that was incredibly small, with barely any space around the bed. The furnishings were old and damaged, including a chipped cupboard, and the bathroom door was faulty—it kept falling off and trapping you inside whenever it was closed. We had booked a five-night stay and knew immediately this wouldn’t be comfortable, so we went to reception. Because we booked through Webjet, a refund wasn’t an option, but we were moved to another room and given a bottle of wine. While this second room was larger and appeared newly renovated, the problems continued. The bar fridge didn’t work at all—we stocked it with drinks and food ( as there was no in room or onsite dining) , only to have everything spoil because it couldn’t keep anything cold. To make matters worse, milk was not replenished during our stay—you’re given a single small UHT milk on arrival, which is useless when the fridge doesn’t work. The TV was not a smart TV, and there was no Foxtel—only two free-to-air channels worked, with the rest not tuning in. The bathroom design was extremely poor. The only mirror was positioned along the bath wall, making it impractical to use unless you stood awkwardly inside the tub. The shower had inconsistent hot water and very poor pressure, with only a fixed rain shower head—no handheld option. The bathtub itself couldn’t be filled properly due to a low overflow drain. There were also no basic conveniences: no room service phone and no onsite dining at all. The minibar was completely empty on arrival. The bed was uncomfortable memory foam, and there were no extra blankets provided, forcing us to run the heater overnight, which made the room too hot. Housekeeping was another major issue. Despite staying five days, our booking only included one clean, and we had to choose the day. We were expected to take out our own rubbish and collect fresh towels ourselves. For the price and supposed standard, this is unacceptable. The room itself was not clean to begin with dirty carpets. There was no street parking available nearby for quick access—you’re forced to use paid parking a block away, which is inconvenient and costs extra. To make matters worse, the hotel was undergoing renovations during our stay. There was dust, chipped paint, tradespeople everywhere, and parts of the hotel were inaccessible, making it feel like a maze. Overall, this was a revolting and uncomfortable experience. I would not stay here again and would strongly advise others to look elsewhere. This property does not meet Peppers standards, and I would honestly like my money back.Terrible Stay – Not Up to Peppers Standards

I’ve been staying at this property since it was The Diamant many years ago. It has remained very similar in style ever since, and in some ways is showing signs that it’s becoming dated. Being that the property od very likely to be Heritage listed, there’s only so much that can be done and probably needs time to get certain approvals, etc. but I can imagine this hotel being a stand out. In saying that, the staff are friendly, the rooms are clean, and the location is peaceful. There are restaurants close by - currently the on site restaurant is closed for renovations and you are directed to the QT next door - I didn’t actually have a need for it. Canberra centre is within walking distance, although I didn’t realise that there was substantial road closures and much of the centre is being redeveloped for the light rail extension. Even the maps feature on phone couldn’t keep up with where to go. It probably took an extra 400m until I figured out the way and then going back from the city I chose a different route to avoid the works.