Review of Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise, an IHG Hotel 4*

I went to the Gold coast on my way back from a business trip to Sydney. And stayed for a few nights as a treat to us well we were in Australia. (Originally from New Zealand) The accommodation was very expensive and over priced. But thought hey its kind of a one off thing so lets just do it so for 3 nights $703.40 later and a $50 bond we were away laughing. Sort of. We got to the room and it was hard not to notice the smell of the room was awful. Kind of a damp smell. I was starting to wonder if the room had actually been cleaned the shower had hair all around and the sink in my opinion seemed anything other than clean. The paint around the rail on the balcony was all chipping off and Ash from smoking all over the floor of the balcony. Which obviously ended up on the bottom of my feet. (Being a smoker myself) I can understand this and I always use a ash tray provided. But when you come to a hotel you would expect if the guests prior to us were smokers the least they could do is use a ashtray or one of the cleaners clean it before our arrival. On the first night we decided to have a quiet night in and relax. Planning on getting room service quickly changed our mind when we seen the very limited selection and the price was ridiculous. On the Friday we went out during the day only to come back and find that our bags had been gone through. Both the suitcase were done up and tidy. When we come back to the room we could tell that some of the things in the suitcases were moved around. However did not notice if there was anything missing. I just find this totally unacceptable for this to happen. Went down to the reception and was pretty much made out that I was lying and this sort of thing wouldn't happen here. I also commented on the condition of the room but the lady was just not interested and sort of brushed it off and said sorry?. I'm sorry but when you spend $700 for only three nights I didn't pay for a sorry I paid for a 5 star experience which I did not get. AT ALL I think once upon of time this hotel may have been 5 star luxury but now it just seems like a old run down hotel with very old furnishings etc. I think the best part would be the pool and spa that was something I couldn't fault. I asked on checkout about a refund or something and to speak to the Manager and was told he was busy and that it would be better to send a email. I was also on my way to the Airport. I sent multiple emails when coming back to new Zealand only to get ignored. I wanted some form of refund because I find this was just a joke $700 for what. A smelly outdated room with a dirty shower. Gross balcony not the best view of a petrol station And for someone to open our bags well we were out there is nothing superior about this stay and totally disgusted avoid staying here and try and find a more affordable and better value for money. Don't be fooled by the 5 stars!