Guest User
July 1, 2024
It is a potentially nice hotel, that is irremediably ruined by some of its staff. In fact, in more than 2,500 hotel nights in my life, I’ve never met a front desk agent that I could describe as uncivil. It happened here. When I brought down my laundry bag at 8:15am in the morning, Ty, the front desk agent, informed me that, on that morning, the external laundry already called and was told there was nothing for them. Therefore: too late, no laundry service. I pointed out that their laundry form clearly states: ‘leave at desk by 8:30AM’, that it was 8:15AM, and that I really needed clean clothes. The agent said that she had to wait for the manager to finish a meeting, to then ask her if “she maybe wants to make a call to the supplier”. Now, I am not sure why the faults in the information flow between the hotel and its suppliers should concern the guest (in a normal world, you promised a service, you find a way to deliver it without the guest becoming aware there was a problem in the first place), and I suggested Ty that she took the bag so that she could give it to the laundry, if and when the manager got the issue got sorted. It was then that the agent became agitated, raised her voice and said: ‘I am not accepting custody of your stuff! Do not leave it here!!!’. She then said to the other front desk agent: ‘You deal with this guy!’. I was really taken aback. So, I had my muffin and juice looking sadly at my laundry bag, and I could not leave the hotel until the manager, Kaya, finally became available more than 20 minutes later. With this manager we got back into a more familiar territory of indifference and lack of accountability. But, at least, it was a civil interaction. She first reiterated that nothing could be done, and that, if I wanted, I could bring the laundry bag myself to the Dry Cleaners. We checked the location, and, as I couldn’t add 40 minutes to the travel to my place of work that morning, she finally did what should have been done 30 minutes later: she called the supplier. Turns out they were happy to come and pick up the laundry. Problem solved. I must say the whole ordeal was not just unpleasant, it was disturbing. Behaviors like the ones displayed by the front desk agent have no place in the hospitality industry. Even less in an (supposedly) upmarket hotel. It was an unacceptable experience, and I would actively tell others to avoid this hotel until they take decisive actions.