Boab Inn

Having lived in Derby for 3 years I booked into the Boab Inn for my last few days in Derby after the removalists had taken away all my furniture. On the day before I was due to catch my flight I spent the night cleaning my (rented) home and making sure I had packed everything I needed. As I was leaving my home for 3 years I spent a great deal of time packing, and then wheeled my luggage up the road to go to the boab (I do not have a car), where I was due to catch a bus at 6 the next morning. I arrived at the hotel at 11:30pm, and discovered that the hotel gate was locked. There was no after hours number listed, and no key for the gate was provided with my room key. I could hear voices on the other side and it was clear staff were still awake, but I was completely ignored when I knocked on the gate. Looking over the fence I saw that there were staff sitting with in, but they completely ignored my polite request that they open the gate. After waiting a few minutes I realised they could not be bothered getting up to let in a paying customer, so I dragged my luggage the half kilometre back to my unit where I slept on the floor for the night. This experience was incredibly frustrating and disappointing, especially on my last night in Derby. I strongly advise visitors to Derby to go to the King Sound instead, which in my experience has a far more understanding and proactive approach to customer service. (Date of experience: Dec, 2010 )