- Rockford Hotel Adelaide

This hotel was a lovely place to stay. All the staff I dealt with were fantastic. I had booked a room with breakfast as it was the cheapest option, even though I knew I had to leave before breakfast commenced. Upon realising this at check in, the young lady kindly let me know that they would organise a breakfast box for me.
She also advised of the best time to leave, so I could get to the airport on time to check in and organised a taxi.
The passage/hallways were a bit dark and gloomy (dark grey), so I was pleasantly surprised when I entered my hotel, which was bright and airy.
It was only a short walk to various restaurants/pubs/casino/take away places for dinner, (I chose the Strathmore on North Terrace).
The breakfast box I received was excellent, so much choice! 2 mini boxes of cereal, bread rolls, spreads, butter, pastries, fruit, I really enjoyed it.
And the staff member was very friendly helpful when I left.
Yes I would stay again
I stayed with Rockford for one night with my sister, and booked the accommodation through the TravelZoo deal with guaranteed upgrade to the Deluxe King room. Before making the journey to Adelaide, I requested the king-size bed to be twined into 2 singles, however; upon the room inspection, the request was not fulfilled. To our delight, the front desk was very helpful and have upgraded us to the Deluxe King Suite which had 2 king-single beds and bigger room size.
Overall, the room was very well maintained and we had a quite good night of sleep despite it being a Saturday night where all the club activities were happening on Hindley St. Highly recommended.
We've had two stays here, the first in August 2011 for one night, the second in late January 2012 for two nights. On both occasions we booked through the Accor website into a superior king room.
Our choice of hotel for August was based on location as we were attending a wedding at Holy Trinity church across the road.
In August we had a 4th floor room at the back of the hotel - whilst well appointed and comfortable, it overlooked a laneway and bar which was loud enough to prevent sleep with music, fights, singing and garbage collection going on until about 5am. In contrast, in January we had a 1st floor room at the front with no disturbance at all. On arrival this time we found that our allocated room smelled very strongly of smoke and were moved to another room with no fuss or drama immediately.
The translucent glass door to the bathroom wasn't a problem for us travelling as a couple, but could be a bit uncomfortable for friends travelling together.
We enjoyed an evening meal in the restaurant in August - good menu options, quality Australian wines on the wine list and excellent service. This latest visit we had breakfast and enjoyed the fresh fruit juice and the expected range of hot foods and pastries.
All the staff we encountered were friendly and professional. I'd be happy to recommend this hotel to friends.
Well, where does one begin? I had read all of the reviews of TripAdvisor for this hotel, and on weighing up the nearby options, I was finally swayed by the cheaper price of the Rockford over the other comparable brands in the nearby streets.
Check In
Not an auspicious start, my reservation wasn't in the system. This was despite me receiving a call the day before to confirm. Admittedly, that call went to my voicemail, and I didn't pick up the message until after I was already checked in. Eventually, my reservation was located and a room allocated. Upon entering the room however, I realised two things 1) The room wasn't the Spa Suite which I'd booked; and 2) The stepladder in the shower and the giant hole in the bathroom roof are not likely to be standard features. I returned to reception where (fortunately) the Hotel's maintenance supervisor was able to confirm my story of the room's unsuitability. I was eventually given a Spa Suite after only about another 5 minutes of frantic keyboard tapping by the reception staff.
The Room
Well, the room was nice - spacious, airy, well airconditioned, the Spa was a good size and the shower a thing of wonder with two separate shower heads. The desk and work area was cleverly located in its own little alcove. However, the bed was - to put it frankly - appalling. I am quite used to seeing two king sized single bases with a full size king mattress on top, however the two king sized singles held together with the sheets was most certainly sub standard. Also - no additional blankets or pillows in the room.
Amenities
The food in the restaurant was quite good, although I thought somewhat overpriced. I attempted to order room service on day one of my six night stay, only to be told that room service wasn't available until thirty minutes later (at 1430). Whilst this is unusual, it's not unheard of so I wasn't all that concerned. However, when I attempted to call back at 1440, 1445, 1450, 1500 and 1530 the phone wasn't picked up. I gave up at that point. Later on in the week I was able to persuade room service to answer their phone, and the food was really quite good - although not quite matching the menu.
The less said about housekeeping the better really. I could mention the generally messy spa, or the fact that the complimentary grooming kit in the bathroom was provided with complimentary earwax on the already used cotton buds...
Checkout
Checkout was processed efficiently, and flawlessly. I was almost surprised.
Location
Well, this is the only thing I'm surprised at all the reviews - yes, it's in the nightclub district, and yes going outside after dark makes you want to shower in bleach afterwards, but I didn't find it that noisy really. I knew where it was when I booked. If those things were going to be a negative then I really should have booked elsewhere. For those who don't know Adelaide it is only a 5-15 minute walk to pretty much any of the cities attractions - Rundle Mall, Adelaide Oval, Casino, Parklands...
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