Leisure Inn Plaza Hotel Townsville

In the short time I stayed at this hotel there were a few things that instantly caught my attention:

- The toilet was not flushed before I entered
- The bathroom door jammed itself on the bathroom ceiling. That's right; on the ceiling.

Structural and hygeine mishaps aside, after returning back to my room the following day after a nice day out, I found that a large swarm of tiny brown ants had gone searching and found my stash of biscuits I keep with me in my bag. It's not like I left them all over the floor either - I discovered a swarm of them coming through a crack in the outside window.

The following morning I put a DO NOT DISTURB sign on my door because I wanted to have a sleep in (it was a saturday), only to be startled in the shower at about 10am by the cleaning lady who did not seem to notice this sign. If it wasn't for the door jamming on the ceiling I might not have been able to grab my towel in time to save myself from more embarassment.

To be fair, the service was done with a smile, and the staff were all too happy to help me out with what they could. It was the building itself that needed the work. The hotel has been set up in an extremely old building, where the fire code means you can't have a microwave in your room, and the cracks in the walls are so large they would be in their rights to charge more for extra living space.

The restaurant downstairs provides good meals and service, and the hotel itself is right on the corner of Flinders Mall, and just a short walk from the Strand and other city centre attractions and public transport.

Overall, in my opinion it was a terrible hotel experience, only saved by the friendly service and close location to interesting things I could quickly leave and distract myself with. I would recommend this only for those who use their hotels for sleep and shower only - it is not somewhere you want to hang out or relax with a book.

FYI - There is no dedicated car park, you just need to try and find a spot around town to park your vehicle - although they do have a valet service to do this for you.