1 Star – The Problem Was Bad Enough; How It Was Handled Was Worse
I rarely leave one-star reviews, but this experience was frustrating from beginning to end.
We checked in at approximately 11:00 PM and discovered there was no TV remote in the room. I went to the front desk and reported it. I was initially told there were no extra remotes and that they were certain there was one somewhere in the room. We searched extensively and found nothing.
I went back to the desk and explained that there was definitely no remote. At that point, the employee produced a box containing multiple remotes and gave me one to try. Strike one - they told me they didn't have any extra remotes prior. Unfortunately, it didn't work. The cable box itself would not turn on, even when we tried the physical power button.
I returned to the front desk again, explained that the TV still wasn't working, and asked to be moved to another room. I was told there were no rooms available. I was also told the manager wasn't available until 10:00 AM the next morning, when we would already be gone. After going back and forth with the front desk, I was directed to contact Hotels.com.
So I did exactly that. I immediately called Hotels.com while still at the property.
While I was on the phone with Hotels.com, the front desk called our room and said they had spoken with the manager and wanted to come into the room to inspect the TV. I declined at that point because my wife was already asleep after our 11:00 PM check-in, and I was already on the phone with Hotels.com trying to resolve the problem after having made multiple attempts to resolve it directly with the hotel.
The frustrating part came afterward.
When Hotels.com contacted the hotel about my complaint, the hotel's version was essentially that they had offered to inspect the TV and I declined. That is technically what happened at the very end of the sequence, but it completely ignores everything that happened beforehand: I reported the missing remote, searched for it, obtained a replacement, tried it, reported that the cable box itself wouldn't work, requested another room, was told none were available, and was then directed to Hotels.com.
Problems happen. TVs break. Remotes go missing. I understand that. What I don't understand is why the situation couldn't simply be acknowledged and handled honestly.
Hotels.com ultimately refused a monetary refund because the hotel denied my claim and offered me $50 in restricted OneKeyCash instead to stay there again in the future. I declined.
This wasn't about expecting perfection. It was about expecting a hotel to make a reasonable effort to resolve a problem and then accurately represent what happened afterward.
Unfortunately, based on this experience, I would not stay here again.