HotelChatter

The hotel staff was the most unaccommodating I have ever come across. We spent 2 miserable, sleepless nights with no air conditioning and lots of mosquito bites, because the hotel air conditioning wasn't working - they were "waiting for a part to come in." We're reasonable people - we could deal with that, if we had to, and if the message was presented to us in a polite, apologetic way. There's still some doubt as to whether the AC was working, though, because one guest complained of the heat to the front desk, and was told that the hotel absolutely "does not turn on the air conditioning before June 1st" (this was the last week of May).

In the hotel restaurant, we shared our table with an older couple, who was a little confused about which champagne they had ordered, and the waiter, instead of helping them, insulted them and insisted that they pay the higher price. Naturally, they agreed, but they certainly didn't need to be chastised, or humiliated by him.

On the final night of our tour, or tour director (who, by the way, was Wonderful), asked us to gather in the hotel lobby, so that he could go over departure plans with each group for the next morning. The front desk staff became very annoyed with the fact that some people were standing too close to their automatic doors, and they very rudely, and with dagger- looks, demanded that everyone move away from the doors. Feeling very uncomfortable, most of us moved outside to wait, and several people, including an 84-year old man (the same one from the champagne incident) sat on the steps outside the hotel. Then, the front desk staff demanded that we move away from their doors, and off their steps. When our tour guide had gathered everyone, the staff informed him that he absolutely could not hold his quick meeting in their lobby. I have to say, I watched the man at the desk speaking a our tour director, and although I did not understand all of his Italian, I was shocked by his mannerisms, and the very nasty sideways glances he was giving to our tour guide. I actually began to wonder whether he would become physically violent.

To try to diffuse the situation, our tour guide requested the use of the hotel restaurant for 5 minutes, to give us our itineraries for the morning departures to the airport, etc. With much reluctance, the staff agreed, and we all filed into the restaurant. Just as soon as we sat down, the hotel staff came in, saying our time was up, and we couldn't stay in the restaurant either. When our tour guide politely asked them where we might convene, they made it clear that they didn't care where we met, as long as it was anywhere other than their hotel. Flabbergasted, we filed outside, and held our meeting standing outside, around the corner, away from the hotel.

Needless to say, the entire situation put a bit of a damper on an otherwise outstanding trip. The biggest disappointment for me, was that my husband and I had planned our trip so that our anniversary would fall on a day that we were in the world's most romantic City. We made the most of it, of course, but I hope this email will help get the word out, and prevent other people from such a disappointing and shocking experience.

[Editor's Note: We couldn't find an official hotel website, so we just linked to our friends at Virtual Tourist for further info.][Update: Found the official web site--linked in the story above].

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Tags: Hotel Hell

by childersjk