colonius
Oct 13, 09, 8:33 pm
On a day trip on Sunday Oct. 4 I missed the last ferry going back to Vancouver Island, called my wife who made a reservation for me at the "Quality Inn Vancouver Airport" (the one on Marine Drive). I had not stayed there before and I certainly will not stay there again. Here are my experiences.
Almost missed the place on arrival, as the hotel signage was dark. Exterior of the building is extremely dingy, lobby OK. Checked in and got a parking pass. I was instructed to drive around the building and "honk" when I arrived in front of the gate. Not a problem for me, but what about the residents across the street? Parked the car, garage and corridors were filthy.
Got to my room on the third floor. HOT, all the baseboard heaters were on, the thermostat was broken - had to turn on the air conditioner (loud). Holes in the upholstery of a filthy, filthy chair and even filthier ottoman. Chipped furniture, chipped door frames, chipped everything. Filty curtains, filthy beadspread. Remote control for the TV broken (scotch tape to hold it together).
Finally, small black bugs crawling over the pillow. At that point I returned to the reception, asking for another room in polite but certain terms.
Clerk told me she gave me an upgraded room, on the sixth floor. Only problem would be that her key-coder was broken and she could not make a key for the room. She suggested that an employee would let me into the room and they would slip the key under the door later. I agreed to this, grabbed my stuff in the old room and went to the sixth floor, were a Sikh gentleman was waiting for me. Without comment, he sat down in front of the door to my new room and began to fumble around with some kind of keyhole on the underside of the locking mechanism. After about five minutes, in which the whole situation started to feel more and more surreal, he managed to get the door open.
My new room: even smaller than the first one (what upgrade?). HOT, with a thermostat that did nothing to control the HOT baseboard heaters. I had to run the airconditioner again. Holes in the upholstery of two somewhat filthy chairs, chipped furniture, chipped door frame, chipped everything. Filthy curtains, dubious beadspread.
After a long, detailed inspection revealed no bugs in the bed - just an old issue of Penthouse under the mattress - I decided to spend the night (I was tired and just wanted to sleep). Needless to say that no key was ever delivered for the room.
Next morning: no sign or indication of the continental breakfast that was supposed to come with the room. Not that I had any confidence in whatever would be served in this place. Indifferent clerk at checkout, she would not hear any complaints.
When trying to exit the parking garage, I found out that one of the two exit gates was not working. Why was I not surprised.
If you feel comfortable in staying at that place, I would like to hear from you... :D
One question: is there an email address for Clarion / Quality Inn customer relations? I really don't feel like filling out the online form, which is probably going to /dev/nul anyway - and from the looks of the place, the general manager would probably not care about any comments.
Almost missed the place on arrival, as the hotel signage was dark. Exterior of the building is extremely dingy, lobby OK. Checked in and got a parking pass. I was instructed to drive around the building and "honk" when I arrived in front of the gate. Not a problem for me, but what about the residents across the street? Parked the car, garage and corridors were filthy.
Got to my room on the third floor. HOT, all the baseboard heaters were on, the thermostat was broken - had to turn on the air conditioner (loud). Holes in the upholstery of a filthy, filthy chair and even filthier ottoman. Chipped furniture, chipped door frames, chipped everything. Filty curtains, filthy beadspread. Remote control for the TV broken (scotch tape to hold it together).
Finally, small black bugs crawling over the pillow. At that point I returned to the reception, asking for another room in polite but certain terms.
Clerk told me she gave me an upgraded room, on the sixth floor. Only problem would be that her key-coder was broken and she could not make a key for the room. She suggested that an employee would let me into the room and they would slip the key under the door later. I agreed to this, grabbed my stuff in the old room and went to the sixth floor, were a Sikh gentleman was waiting for me. Without comment, he sat down in front of the door to my new room and began to fumble around with some kind of keyhole on the underside of the locking mechanism. After about five minutes, in which the whole situation started to feel more and more surreal, he managed to get the door open.
My new room: even smaller than the first one (what upgrade?). HOT, with a thermostat that did nothing to control the HOT baseboard heaters. I had to run the airconditioner again. Holes in the upholstery of two somewhat filthy chairs, chipped furniture, chipped door frame, chipped everything. Filthy curtains, dubious beadspread.
After a long, detailed inspection revealed no bugs in the bed - just an old issue of Penthouse under the mattress - I decided to spend the night (I was tired and just wanted to sleep). Needless to say that no key was ever delivered for the room.
Next morning: no sign or indication of the continental breakfast that was supposed to come with the room. Not that I had any confidence in whatever would be served in this place. Indifferent clerk at checkout, she would not hear any complaints.
When trying to exit the parking garage, I found out that one of the two exit gates was not working. Why was I not surprised.
If you feel comfortable in staying at that place, I would like to hear from you... :D
One question: is there an email address for Clarion / Quality Inn customer relations? I really don't feel like filling out the online form, which is probably going to /dev/nul anyway - and from the looks of the place, the general manager would probably not care about any comments.