atlhalfjap
Jan 9, 03, 11:48 pm
Ok, this is gonna be a long one, but I just HAD to ask...Here's the drill, I and 2 friends when to NYC the weekend before X-mas. Stayed at the W NY (49th and Lex), first stay for all of us. Nice enough hotel, quite a bit of attitude from staff but I suppose if you are "hipper than thou" you can have an attitude. That's not really my problem.
The Problem? I have just found out that my friend paid CONSIDERABLY LESS than me, even though he had a King room and I had a Queen. We were on the same floor, had adjoining rooms, actually, due to the only person at the desk who didn't flip attitude. I booked on the Starwood site and he bought thru Orbitz. His price for 2 nights (SAT & SUN)= $336 and change(roughly 168 per night), MY Price for 3 night (FRI, SAT & SUN)=$678 and change (roughly 226 per). That's a $58.00 per night difference. Yes, this includes taxes, etc. What gives here? I booked my room about a day after he booked his so the differences are negligible. Doesn't Starwood's site boast that they have "guaranteed lowest rates"?
As an aside, I also discovered a charge of $34.00 for 2 drinks(glass of Pinot Grigio and a Malibu Bay Rum) from the nightclub/bar (Whiskey Blue) attached to the hotel, on Saturday night . When I asked a question about this to the guy at the desk prior to checkout, I was told with a shrug that it sounded "about right" to him. When I expressed disbelief - due to the fact that I had paid IN CASH for 2 drinks (Sky dirty martini and Sky vodka tonic) on Friday night I was charged $19.00. I'm aware that there is a 18% automatic gratuity when charged to the room, and I don't mind. EXCEPT, there's no way a $15.00 difference is 18% of $19.00! This is , of course, assuming that there wasn't some astronomical price difference due to the different drinks - I was told "Well, I could go in the back and look in the reciepts, BUT, it will take a lot of time and it sounds about right to me. Its pretty expensive to drink in there. It sounds right to me." At which point, due to the large number of people stacking up behind me and not wishing to create a scene, I paid the bill and checked out. If I truly owed the $34.00, I'm happy to pay but I find it pretty incredible to believe. I also find this man's idea of customer service pretty incredible, is this just his idea of service, or perhaps it's an example of Starwoods' take on serice? I certainly hope not. I liked the hotel but not enough to pput up with this kind of treatment. BTW- the people I bought the drinks for, they live in NYC and go to Whiskey Blue just to hang out. They say that the $34.00 for their drinks is too high, they get the same drinks and they don't pay that much. No, they don't remember exactly what they pay as it is usually a group of them and they generally have more than one drink each.
Anything anyone can do to straighten out or clarify this for me would be most appreciated. Thank you.
[This message has been edited by atlhalfjap (edited 01-09-2003).]
The Problem? I have just found out that my friend paid CONSIDERABLY LESS than me, even though he had a King room and I had a Queen. We were on the same floor, had adjoining rooms, actually, due to the only person at the desk who didn't flip attitude. I booked on the Starwood site and he bought thru Orbitz. His price for 2 nights (SAT & SUN)= $336 and change(roughly 168 per night), MY Price for 3 night (FRI, SAT & SUN)=$678 and change (roughly 226 per). That's a $58.00 per night difference. Yes, this includes taxes, etc. What gives here? I booked my room about a day after he booked his so the differences are negligible. Doesn't Starwood's site boast that they have "guaranteed lowest rates"?
As an aside, I also discovered a charge of $34.00 for 2 drinks(glass of Pinot Grigio and a Malibu Bay Rum) from the nightclub/bar (Whiskey Blue) attached to the hotel, on Saturday night . When I asked a question about this to the guy at the desk prior to checkout, I was told with a shrug that it sounded "about right" to him. When I expressed disbelief - due to the fact that I had paid IN CASH for 2 drinks (Sky dirty martini and Sky vodka tonic) on Friday night I was charged $19.00. I'm aware that there is a 18% automatic gratuity when charged to the room, and I don't mind. EXCEPT, there's no way a $15.00 difference is 18% of $19.00! This is , of course, assuming that there wasn't some astronomical price difference due to the different drinks - I was told "Well, I could go in the back and look in the reciepts, BUT, it will take a lot of time and it sounds about right to me. Its pretty expensive to drink in there. It sounds right to me." At which point, due to the large number of people stacking up behind me and not wishing to create a scene, I paid the bill and checked out. If I truly owed the $34.00, I'm happy to pay but I find it pretty incredible to believe. I also find this man's idea of customer service pretty incredible, is this just his idea of service, or perhaps it's an example of Starwoods' take on serice? I certainly hope not. I liked the hotel but not enough to pput up with this kind of treatment. BTW- the people I bought the drinks for, they live in NYC and go to Whiskey Blue just to hang out. They say that the $34.00 for their drinks is too high, they get the same drinks and they don't pay that much. No, they don't remember exactly what they pay as it is usually a group of them and they generally have more than one drink each.
Anything anyone can do to straighten out or clarify this for me would be most appreciated. Thank you.
[This message has been edited by atlhalfjap (edited 01-09-2003).]