Make sure you bring a BIG umbrella!!!
Written: Jun 29 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: lovely lobby, good location
Cons: very rude check-in clerk, delayed check-in, water gushing from ceiling, below-average accomodations for price
The Bottom Line: Unless you enjoy getting a shower in the hallway, rethink staying at the Waldorf, particularly for a special evening.
|
|
|
| pointman's Full Review: The Waldorf=Astoria? |
As part of our honeymoon plans, I thought it would be very romantic and special for my wife and I to spend a night at a luxury hotel in New York City. We considered several hotels including the Plaza and the St. Regis, and decided on the Waldorf=Astoria because of the tradition of excellent service that it boasts. This, however, proved to be a most unfortunate decision on our part.
When making the reservation we had requested to check-in at 2:00pm as we had dinner reservations at 6pm and wanted to allow sufficient time to relax, unpack and get ready for the evening. The reservationist assured us that this would not be a problem. When we arrived at the check-in desk at 2:00, we were told that our suite was not ready. Okay, we thought, we would just have to check-in at the standard check-in time of 3:00. We waited for an hour, walked around (I held tightly unto my wallet as my bride and I passed by the expensive lobby jewelry shops), and took in the atmosphere. The lobby was beautiful and elegant, but one interesting point to note was that most of the people staying at the hotel seemed to be in shorts and sneakers which gave the atmosphere an unexpected casual feel.
Anyway, at 3:10, we made our way back to the check-in desk, only to be told that our suite still wasnt ready, and that we might need to wait another 20 or 30 minutes. At this point, I could not understand our waiting for another half hour in the lobby for a suite that was supposed to have been ready over an hour beforehand, and for which I was being charged from 3:00. I politely made this observation to the desk clerk and was stunned by her becoming very huffy and rude. After several minutes, waiting at the check-in desk, she informed us in a decidedly sarcastic tone that we had a "lovely" suite on the 20th floor.
We went into the elevator and when we emerged on the 20th floor, our mouths dropped open in disbelief. The first thing that struck us was that the wallpaper was very dirty and stained, as was the carpet. All the paint on the doorjams was peeling. Then as we continued down the hall, our disbelief turned into utter shock as we saw water gushing (and I mean GUSHING) from the ceiling into a huge bucket. We had to flatten ourselves against the wall to avoid the water and the bucket.
When we turned the corner, we could not believe that there was a second waterfall of water gushing into another bucket. Finally we entered our suite which appeared to be clean, but the furuniture and decor was similar to that found in a Holiday Inn or Howard Johnson, definately not what we expected from a "luxury" hotel for which we were paying luxury prices. Also, we felt mislead because this suite was a far cry from what was depicted on the hotel website and in the hotel's brochures for the level of suite for which we booked and paid for.
I was extremely disappointed as was my wife, but we decided to try to make the best of it, since we felt it would be impossible at that point to try to get another room at another hotel for that same night. We went to our dinner reservation which we enjoyed, but unfortunately that bit of enjoyment was shortlived as we discovered on our return over two hours later, that the buckets and gushing waster were still present in the hallway. The crowning incident was my wife being wet by this water, which could have been sewer water for all I know, as she tried to maneuver around the bucket.
This was the final straw to my patience, and I called guest services to complain. The guest services rep said that this particular floor was scheduled for renovation in the near future, whereupon I pointed out that if the floor had such problems such as water gushing from the ceiling in two places, it should not be used for guests.
The rep (I think his name was Steve) was very apologetic and tried to move us into another suite, but was unable to do so. However, he did seek to rectify the situation by reducing our room rate and giving us complimentary tickets for brunch in Oscar's, one of the hotel restaurants.
We did appreciate these efforts to alleviate the situation, but unfortunately this was our honeymoon night which could have easily been spent at another hotel which would have given us the romantic surroundings we had hoped for. Instead, this irreplacable night was disappointingly marred, and we sadly regret our decision to stay at the Waldorf=Astoria.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
pointman
|
|
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.