I stayed at The Social Hub for one night and it was a nightmare from beginning to end and ruined my stay in Groningen.
The first room was beat-up with stains all over the wall, the carpet was shabby and the furniture had dents everywhere. But the worst thing was how dirty everything in this room was. All the surfaces were dusty and/or full of fingerprints and/or full of stains, the sink in the kitchen was covered in limescale. The worst was the bathroom – limescale and all kinds of other dirt in- and outside of the shower. Below the toilet there was a big blob of a white substance, which I hope was body cream.
Naturally I asked for a different room. The new room was not much better, which made me realize that the lack of cleanliness is a bigger, structural problem at this ‘hotel’.
Again, there were thick patches of limescale in the bathroom; dust, fingerprints and splashes of dried liquids everywhere in the room – on the desk, the curtains, the TV screen, etc.
Other issues:
- The mattress was old, sagging and was also slanted to one side - which means: no sleep
- The temperature control in the room was either broken or disabled
- There was no hairdryer in the bathroom, even though it was listed in the room amenities
All of this makes me wonder – who is in charge of this place? These are not minor issues - the dirt, the worn-out mattresses, the lack of maintenance. Is this a conscious decision by The Social Hub to not care about guests' experiences and basic needs?