You offer free breakfast and not coffee & donuts?
Written: Jul 27 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: free breakfast bar, clean, relatively cheap, free local calls
Cons: unprofessional staff who were not familiar with current promotions
The Bottom Line: A relatively cheap accommodation with free breakfast and local calls but check your bill for any discrepancy.
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| maceyr's Full Review: La Quinta |
During our brief weekend stay in Chicago, we stayed at the La Quinta at Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. I made the reservation through their toll free number and gave them details of a travel voucher I have via my travel agent that gave me a discount on the room. I was quoted the special rate of $79 and gave them my credit card to reserve it two days in advance. From Cincinnati (where we were at the time), it took us 6 hours of driving to reach Chicago. We got there close to midnight. The inn was composed of several two storey buildings attached to the lobby. There was ample parking outside around the perimeter of the inn. At the front desk, I gave details of my travel voucher but the girl at the desk told me that she didn't need it. I got my room key, which was a hole punched plastic card and found out that I needed to use it in order to get into the building. Hmm. That was nice. It certainly makes the inn more secure knowing that only guests with valid keys can enter the building. To access my room, I obviously need the key again.
The room we had was okay. It looked like it was recently renovated and freshly painted but still showed signs that the room and the inn was aged. There was a desk with desk lamp just on the left, a phone with voice mail, message light indicator and data port for computers, two double beds with night table separating them just behind it. Directly across from the beds was the cable TV supplied with pay per view movies, video consoles for pay per play video games. It sat on top of a three drawer dresser, and a closet stood beside it. On my right was a spacious sink area stocked with a coffee pot and coffee filters, styrofoam cups, stir sticks, etc. Beside the sink was a full bathtub and toilet. The room was decorated in green with green carpeting. I was simple yet adequate. It wasn't very spacious, but better than many other motels I've stayed at. One nice thing I liked about La Quinta was that local calls are free. Compared to many hotels or motels which charge anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar for a local call, this is a welcomed benefit. I used the free local calls to surf the internet using software such as Mypointsinternet (now dead).
Other amenities of La Quinta include a swimming pool, which I didn't use and could not comment, 24 hour front desk messaging system (wake up calls), and a complimentary buffet breakfast supplied at a breakfast bar in the lobby which includes fresh fruits such as banana, apple, pastries such as muffins, danish, bagels, cereals such as all bran or corn flakes, coffee, milk, juices, tea bags and hot water. Of course, spreads such as jams and cream cheese were also supplied. The selection was such a welcomed sight compared to the usual complimentary continental breakfast which meant coffee and a glazed donut. The eating area was located near the front desk with a couple of round tables and chairs, a serving area for coffee, cereal, juice, and a pastry and fruit cart nearby. Although the eating area seemed a bit cramped and could probably only hold little more than 6 people, it seemed okay as the majority of people grabbed their breakfast and left.
Checking out, ended to be the bad part of my stay. Thinking that I was going to get my discount no problem, I was just about to leave when I looked at the bill. I asked the front desk girl why I wasn't given a discount and was told that she wasn't advised that there was one. I went to show her the discount voucher and was told that she will bump off $29 bucks. Huh? According to my travel voucher, it states that should the price of the room be higher than the maximum value of $50, that the customer was obliged to pay the difference. There began a disagreement of the voucher's interpretation. The desk clerk was not budging and insulted my ability to read the English language by saying that "it says so in black and white". She gave me the business card of her manager and suggested I call him. I called the toll free reservation number instead to clarify my interpretation of the discount. I ended up talking to the supervisor of the reservation desk and was confirmed that my interpretation was correct. He called the front desk clerk and explained it to her and she eventually gave me my discount. This situation showed me that I should never be allowed to be bullied by someone to cover up a mistake and to clarify all discounts when checking in to prevent unexpected surprises. When I tried to call the manager, I somehow was unable to do so. I suspect that the front desk clerk disabled my phone from calling out to report the incident.
Still stung by the experience, I decided to contact La Quinta of the incident via their website. I gave details such as the dates, the reservation number, room number, names and details of the incident. Several days later, I received a reply from La Quinta, apologising for the misunderstanding and presented me with a free voucher for a night's stay at any La Quinta location. I wasn't expecting to get anything from my complaint but wanted to voice out my experience and was pleasantly surprized to receive it in the mail weeks later. This shows that complaining does yield some benefits and results.
Overall, I would recommend La Quinta as an affordable accommodation due to the secure key locks at the building's door, the free local calls, amenities that are usually offered at higher priced establishments and the complimentary continental breakfast. Although I did not have a good experience due to the discount, I still did like the services offered and will most likely stay there again. But, when compared to Fairfield Inn, I would prefer Fairfield over La Quinta.
For reasons why, please read my review on Fairfield Inn:
http://www.epinions.com/content_23444098692/tk_~CB005.1.3
Thank you as always for taking the time to read and rate my review.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
maceyr
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Location: Canada
Reviews written: 129
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About Me:
I hardly have time for Epinions anymore but do try to read and rate.
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