I stayed at this hotel 2 years ago when i visited Quetta with my husband, we have a lot of family in the city and hence visit frequently. We both really liked our stay as the rooms were good and the staff were friendly, as well as overall we loved the quality of service which made us realise there is a hotel to match qual quality of service in quetta to that of the marriott in karachi where we had stayed a few days before that when we were in karachi, and we really liked the marriott as well.

However, on this occassion, two years after that, I was travelling alone and visited my family first in karachi, stayed at marriott, and thought it had gotten better actually than my last experince, refurbished, great staff, brilliant food , AAA.

Then I visited quetta, and so, I made arrangements for stay at the serena. Also had their rent a car service booked for my entire duration of stay which was 3 days. At first, I must mention how difficult it was to even make a booking, and to get a hold of the sales manager as his mobile seemed to be OFF for at least 2 days, and that is the way to make a booking, calling his direct cell number?

So, anyway, arrived at reception and was greeted by a weird man with some difficult to understand expressions. And this is the best I can do to explain in words. I checked in, and he asked me to pay cash of all the 3 days in advance? I was like uh, this to be done when I check out. He then convinced me to pay at least 50%. Which I did, but he said it was supposed to be more than that, to my questioning, he had on his end added buffet lunch which he had added to my cost, although I only wanted the breakfast which was already added to the previoius rate. So anyway, had that charge removed as I was not going to be spending a lot of time in the hotel anyway, as I would be eating with family, relatives, friends at their homes during my visit.

Payed the 50% upfront, and asked for a receipt, man says, he doesn't have receipt yet, he will send to my room in 5 minutes. OKAY. I checked in, we to room. Nothing seemed very nice anymore. Called after one hour if he will be sending my receipt, but he again says in five minutes. Anyway, after a few hours I was going out so on my way stopped at the reception and ensured a receipt was made and given to me.

Now come to the rent-a-car service. The driver had no manners whatso ever. He was driving in opposite direction on one-ways, and was continuously on the phone with his wife as he was driving. And he was also fighting with her on the phone. Then he was telling me to hurry up whereever I would be as he had to go early??? Hello, i was paying for a service here and if you've got to be home, then you might as well stay at home and resign? Don't take a job which you cannot do. how about that? Anyway, didn't say all of this to the driver, next days asked the rent a car manager to maybe change my driver, or maybe if they dont have another driver, to tell this driver that the time is being payed for, he's not doing anyone any favours.

So anyway, the driver kept asking for tips and wanting tips, I'm not sure for what, he wasn't exactly the kind of driver I had duringt my stay with marriott karachi who even opened the car door for me.

My husband and I had particularly liked the buffet breakfast at serena on our previous visit, HOWEVER, the breakfast served now, was a below average buffet, and everything just made me realise something had terribly gone wrong at this hotel and so quickly, within 2 years, it had gone from 5 star service to 1 star.

finally. my rented car was going to drop me at the airport on the days I was leaving, so I checked out, when i went to the rent a car desk to clear my car rental bills as well, they said they will give them to me at the airport after calculating miles etc. I was like OK.

On the airport, the driver gave me a bill of 3 times the miles, so on the airport, I had to be standing and doing accounting with my mobile phone calculator, and the driver was doing the same,when his and mine calculation both came to the same, which was less than half of what they had mentioned on the bill, which by the way, had already been written at the hotel, but the manager didn't let me see it there and discuss it then, the driver said but now I have to pay whats on the bill anyway. And called his manager on the phone who spoke to me on the phone and said, they charge more for the airport, which was more than double of what i would pay for a full days car rent, I declined to pay the extortionary prices and he finally agreed on the phone. I couldn't beleive these people were wanting to rip me off, thinking of me as a solo female traveller, and trying to take advantage of that.

I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL, OR ANY OF THEIR SERVICE TO ANYONE. But if you have no choice to stay anywhere else in quetta, as there arent a lot of hotels there, then make sure you get receipts of monies paid right away, and avoit their rent a car service like plague. find another car rental in the city which will not depress you during your holiday :(

One of the worst elements of the hotel has been the poor service. Staff will respond to -practically- any reasonable request, there is no doubt about it. But they will NEVER go the extra mile to see the task through. I have always suspected that they are in some sort of white strike, I could not possibly explain otherwise their rapidly deteriorating comprehension of English when I insisted on a request. So if you need an errant and need anything done inside or outside the hotel with peace of mind forget about it! Triple check always.
The second worse element is the lack of attention to detail. The hotel complies to check-list type of controls but quality levels are low. For example, yes there is a safe in the room, yes there is a TV, a working bathroom with hot water, BUT the TV is likely to have poor image, the safe to close with difficulty, and the bathtub to look disgusting and prone to flooding. (actual experiences).
Finally, the kitchen hygiene leaves something to be desired. I spent too much time in the bathroom and took too many anti-diarhea pills during my stay. 5 stars quality cooking standards? Definitely not!
If you get HALF a chance of staying in some other secure place take it

Really, where else can one stay in Quetta? However, the Serena does quite nicely. Located in the Cantt, and with its own impressive security arrangements, the hotel offers a sense of tranquility and security. Rooms are of a nice size and clean and the buffet breakfast not bad, as are room service selections. Complimentray WiFi and TV with some reasonable choices all contribute to a decent stay.

I have stayed in Serena Quetta several times on business trips. This is a great, safe and beautiful hotel with guaranteed Serena standards. Rooms are ok in size and decor, hotel staff is helpful and nice, restaurant is very good. All in all, it is a quiet and relaxing nest in busy Quetta.