Guests slam Star Grand Brisbane and Queens Wharf with shocking reviews in first month

Furious guests have labelled the Star Grand at Brisbane’s new $3.6bn Queens Wharf precinct “appalling” and vowed to never return.

Guests have been left fuming on reviewing platforms, crowning the Star Grand Brisbane with an abysmal 2.2 stars.

Brisbane’s newest five-star hotel has been slammed in online reviews just a month after its opening.

Furious guests have labelled the Star Grand at the new $3.6bn Queens Wharf precinct in the inner-city the “worst hotel in Australia” and have vowed to never return after waiting 90 minutes for room service after paying exorbitant rates and being greeted by poorly trained staff.

Many guests expressed their frustration at not having been warned that many of the hotel’s leisure facilities are still under construction - including the pools, gym, sauna and spa.

A Star spokesman insisted they had received nothing but positive feedback - but the hotel has an average rating of just 2.2 out of 5 on Google Reviews, three out of five on TripAdviser, and 6.2 out of 10 on Booking.com.

One TripAdvisor reviewer urged readers to stay away - warning of “absolutely appalling service”.

“We paid over $1250 for an overnight stay,” they wrote.

“When we arrived we had to have an argument with the female bell captain regarding valet parking and not damaging our car, then we arrive at our room and it stunk like absolute garbage like someone has been smoking cigarettes in it.

“Then to top it off we order room service and an hour and a half later we call to see where our food was just to be told ‘sorry we haven’t even made your food yet, we will make it complementary’.

“That is absolutely disgusting service for a hotel that is meant to be 5 star. We definitely will NEVER stay at any Star Casino again.”

Red tape and keep out signs go for miles through the entire Queens Wharf Precinct.

Another guest described the hotel as having the “worst service of any luxury hotel we have stayed at worldwide”.

“We paid over $1000 per night for a suite. The room itself is beautiful. The Star Grand is very new and we expected there would be some minor creases that required ironing out,” they wrote.

“However the service and standard of hospitality is the worst we have ever experienced and we are frequent travellers. Nobody knows what is going on, staff are poorly trained and have no clue.”

Other reviewers have labelled the hotel “nice, but not exactly great value” and “underwhelming - don’t think they were really ready to open”.

But the Star’s spokesman said: “The Star Brisbane has been delighted with feedback from our guests, which has been overwhelmingly complimentary of the guest arrival experience from valet, our porters and reception staff - right through to the service from our hospitality team members.

An unfinished portion of the leisure deck.

“We have received consistent positive feedback about the standard and quality of the rooms; the size, presentation - and of course the views.”

Large parts of the Queens Wharf precinct that opened at the end of August is still a construction site, with workers bustling in and out of every other door - and incomplete facilities, concrete dust, and construction waste littered across multiple levels.

Star Entertainment Group’s new chief executive Steve McCann recently warned the company was “on its knees” after an annual loss of $1.69bn.

Mr McCann has announced plans to slash up to 350 jobs and offload hotels and other assets.

Star’s share price has dropped 48 per cent so far this year.

Originally published as Guests slam Star Grand Brisbane and Queens Wharf with shocking reviews in first month