Hotel not mentioning refurbishment

I booked a 4* hotel in Holland for six people last July to go there last weekend, having stayed there before 3 times and found it a great place. Had told the accompanying 5 people how great it would be etc. However, the weekend was ruined by the fact that when we arrived the lobby area was completely closed off, the bar and breakfast restaurants were not available and makeshift rooms were only available instead and worse - the swimming pool was closed. Our party was all-female (cousins and aunts) and one of the girls is 7 months pregnant and the main purpose of her visit to the hotel (travelled from Germany) was to enjoy the pool if other people were off shopping / sightseeing etc.

I am planning to put my complaints in writing to the manager, but just wondering is there any point? I did tell the receptionist that I was not aware of the refurbishment and would not have stayed there if I had known but she was very short and just said it has been on the website for 2 months (but it hasn’t as I checked it straightaway), nothing at all is mentioned on the website. I said in any case that I booked last July. Surely they should have sent an e-mail or something to give people the opportunity to arrange alternative accommodation, which I would have – obviously they don’t want to do this as they will lose business but are they not obliged to? There were lots of other problems this time with the hotel overcharging etc. but won’t go into that as it’s not related.

Really ruined the whole weekend…………just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences?

Many thanks

I think you should look for a refund and I also think you should write a review of the hotel on Tripadvisor.

Yes will do the tripadvisor thing. I am probably wasting my time trying for the refund. I'm just going to put an e-mail together as soon as I get a chance though and see how it goes.

Did you not get an opportunity at check out to complain or refuse to pay the full amount?

At check out it was the same girl who was not helpful when checking in. There was another huge issue where I had enquired about an extra bed in one of the rooms at one point, but then confirmed to them that this would not be necessary in a later e-mail as we booked another room. They put the extra bed in and she said 'I will have to check with the manager' about charging for it. I had to traipse the city looking for internet (a policeman told me 'we have internet at home in Holland so we don't need internet cafes'!!! I eventually found a place and managed to get a copy of the e-mail proving that I had told them I didn't need the extra bed. They then obviously agreed to take the charge off, but when checking out they had not removed this and a rigmarole ensued with three staff trying to work out how to remove the charge. At this stage our taxi was waiting to go to the airport so I just couldn't face getting myself so wound up trying to sort it out then, so asked for the manager's card. I think I will take the route of expressing my disappointment about the whole thing rather than attacking.

If the hotel is part of a chain (Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Hilton, etc . . .) then you may get a better response by writing to the relevant brand person for the country or region rather than to the hotel itself. Finding this person may be hard, but it shouldn't be impossible. Check the corporate website (rather than the local website) for customer contact details.

The chains tend to be very protective of their image. If one of their property owners is letting the brand down (as they did in your case) then the brand people will do what they can to rectify the situation to avoid bad reviews and reputation.

I had to make a phone call from a Radisson in New York once and it cost something like $70 for 3 minutes to Ireland. I nearly fainted when I got the bill. It would have been cheaper to collect-call the Moon. I queried it at the desk but they just said "That's the cost, bud". When I got back home I got on to Radisson central customer services and told them there was no charge card in the room and even if there was the price was extortionate for a 3 minute call, they got on to the hotel and gave them a dig and the cost was refunded. I would have paid $5 or $10, but $70 was just a little greedy.

As it happens, this hotel lobby was also being refurbished at the time. On check-in they gave each customer a little goodie bag as a small compensation. The bag had things like a muffin, apple, sweets, discount card for the bar and ear plugs for the noise. It was a nice touch.

z

That is very helpful Zag - they are part of a chain, I think you are right I should address the complaint directly to the Company. So many points to put in the complaint I don't know where to start with drafting it..... many thanks

Take your time composing your complaint in order to ensure that you get all your points across. It is true that a chain will take things more seriously. I was pleasantly surprised by an Ibis in Paris this summer. Following a complaint about noise in the adjoining room one night, the receptionist on check out deducted the full room rate for the night in question! To be honest, I really wasn't expecting that in Paris in July. It goes a long way towards improving your image of the chain and the depth of your forgiveness!

Thanks for the suggestions and info, very helpful.