"My experience at Hotel Argento was genuinely one of the worst hotel stays I have had, particularly as I was travelling for business and needed a clean, welcoming place where I could also work.
This hotel is advertised as a 4-star hotel, but clearly between 1 -2 stars at most. The gap between the advertised standard and what I experienced was significant.
The room had an unpleasant smell, and I found stained towels and bedding on arrival. On two separate occasions, I was also given pool towels that smelled unpleasant. The pool itself appeared dirty. The Wi-Fi had constant problems, to the point where I could not work properly, and I ended up going to a nearby café in the evenings just to get my work done.
My biggest concern, however, was safety. I was placed in a separate building across the road from the main hotel. There was no reception staff or visible hotel staff in that building when entering or leaving, which often made me feel unsafe, particularly in the evenings. I did not feel there was any proper staff presence or support should something happen. Given that I was travelling alone for business, this was particularly concerning and not what I would expect from a hotel advertised as 4-star. Check-in was also more than an hour late.
The biggest issue, however, was the customer service. On checkout day, I mistakenly thought checkout was at 12. A member of staff came to my door twice, and on both occasions she was rude. The second time, she aggressively told me, "You need to get out now." I remained polite, smiled, said okay and rushed to get myself checked out.
When I arrived at reception, another member of staff greeted me with, "Huh, what?!" I explained that I wanted to check out. She told me I was 45 minutes late. I apologised and explained that I genuinely thought checkout was at 12. The way she looked at me and spoke to me was openly unpleasant. I simply said that, given I had also been checked in almost an hour late, perhaps we were even. I had no interest in getting into a confrontation, so I left.
I want to be clear that, in my experience, this was not a language or cultural misunderstanding. The staff I encountered spoke English very well. The problem was the manner in which certain staff members chose to speak to and treat guests. The level of basic civility, hospitality and customer care was shockingly poor. I also witnessed staff speaking rudely to other guests.
Ironically, the only staff members who consistently smiled and were genuinely kind to me were the cleaning staff. They were by far the warmest and most welcoming people I encountered at the hotel. I also personally observed interactions that gave me the strong impression that they were poorly managed and not always treated with the same respect by some reception staff and management. It was uncomfortable to witness.
These interactions may sound small individually, but together they created a consistently hostile and unwelcoming atmosphere. As someone travelling for business, that is the last thing I expect when paying to stay in a hotel advertised as a 4-star hotel.
What makes this even more frustrating is that I have stayed at three other hotels in the same area and had absolutely no issues. In fact, I experienced amazing service and consistently polite, professional staff. The Mercure is one example. The difference in service and hospitality was significant. I will be sticking with those other hotels on my future visits to the area.
Management at Hotel Argento seriously needs to review its staffing, listen to guest feedback and invest in proper customer care and hotel service training. For the money, I do not think this hotel is worth it.
There are several other hotels nearby, within walking distance, and I strongly suggest choosing one of those instead."
