"Although the description is "smoking in desgnated areas only", this actually meant people were and are allowed to smoke everywhere in the hotel except their actual room, and includes hallways outside the rooms where cigarette receptacles are frequent. So essentially the place reeks and you can't even go through the lobby without breathing it in. So that was very disappointing. The staff upgraded us the first night from the first to the second floor, which smelled not as bad, and we paid a bit extra to stay there the second night of our stay. The room faced the inner courtyard, which was fine the first night, but a small group of people who were very loud remained there until past 10 pm the second night, so no sleep until i went to the front desk and asked them to tell the group to shut up. Although the staff member initially balked at that " as they are guests too", once i persisted, a request of the group was made as i heard nothing after. So, the staff did try to be helpful in the end, which was appreciated, but i wouldn't want to have to stay there again. We were trying to make an ethical choice and not stay at the Mercure hotel because that owner is heavily involved in the palm oil business. I would look for other options if i ever went there again."