Starwood Preferred Guest - Four Points Rochester

Note this my first (or first in a really long time) Four Points experience. And if this place is any indication of Four Points, I will never stay in another one again.

Now folks I don’t want to go off an a rant here…

But to begin with, the Four Points Rochester is under construction. That is something they failed to mention when I booked the room. There is dust everywhere. And not just a little bit of dust! They have a big pile of dirt sitting in the middle of the place with no tarp or cover and totally unsealed off from the hotel. I normally don’t have any problems with allergies or such but the dust is so heavy that you can actually taste it. Next. The TSA is conducting job interviews and training at the hotel and have blocked off the entire 7th and most of the 3rd floor. They have “guards” everywhere and apparently the guards have no oversight because they are loud, arrogant, obnoxious, and generally just sit around 24 hours a day loudly chatting with each other. The guards should apply for the airport screening jobs. They would be perfect. This morning they were whooping it up at 7:00AM so I had no need to be upset that the wake up call that I had ordered never came. By the way, these “guards” get nice piles of bottled water but apparently a guest can’t get a bottle of water. I did mention everything is covered in dust, right? So you can imagine how fun it is trying to clean the film off of a glass and fill it up with tap water. Oh yea. It might be just a coincidence that the guards all seem to have a copy of the USA Today, but that the one that I heard thump against my door in the middle of the night was somehow not there when I went to fetch it in the morning. And when confronted with the issue the staff just stares at me like I am some wacko (ok that one they have me on) and make calls and point fingers instead of just trying to solve the issues. Would you like to take a guess at the outcome of the two calls to fix my alarm clock and the lights next to bed? No. Well, I’ll you anyway. Nothing. Zip. Nilch. Ok. On to the fun lady bartender. She really is right out Twin Peaks or something. This woman came into the bar and asked for a sandwich to which the bartender responded with a line like “Well, I since I am of absolutely no importance in the world and even though I am working two jobs, the hotel does not have sandwiches here. If you would like to yell at me that is o.k. since you are obviously important and I am just a measly hotel worker. Really feel free. Shout at me. Really I am a nobody. Just take it out on me.” At that point, I almost took her up on the offer, except that somehow I bet the TSA has jurisdiction over the hotel and I might be banned from air travel forever. In all fairness she is so crazy that my hotel bill might as well be labeled “entertainment”. Enjoy your stay at the Four Points Rochester. I am enjoying mine.

End of rant.

I have had similar experiences at non-Four Points and non SPG properties. One of my faves was at a Sheraton under renovation where the elevator on my floor had scaffolding right in front of the door - which wasn't apparent until going up to the room and trying to walk out of the elevator. After dodging that, the fumes in my room were so bad I had to leave and ask to be put on a different floor (at which point they told me I should have used a different elevator. Silly me, who would have known that there was another elevator in the back of the hotel.) I have been at properties where certain groups make it impossible to use the public areas of the hotel, and impossible to sleep well at night. I really wish that these properties would have renovation information available at time of booking (like, "if you dive into our pool during this stay, the only liquid in the pool will be blood from your head", or "our buffet breakfast will be topped with sawdust") instead of surprises upon arrival.

Sometimes I like to lay my hand on a hot burner just to make sure it is really hot.

And sometimes I like to stay at a property that I've been repeatedly warned about just to make sure it still sucks.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

LOL @ techgirl

So auh2o was on the mark about the construction going on, although it seemed to be pretty well contained. The TSA is also still onsite although I didn't spot anyone on the Executive Floor.

Here is what I did notice - burnt out lightbulbs in my room (two of them), a nasty musty hasn't-been-aired-since-1973 smell in the room and halls, plastic packets of shampoo in the bathroom (uh, Motel 6 anyone?!), a SINGLE phone line (and no face plates on my phones which rendered any specially programmed buttons useless) and an archaic clock-radio that wouldn't hold a station.

My FAVORITE part, however, was the hotel shuttle service. I called down last night to make sure a shuttle would run in the am to the airport. The front desk clerk said it ran every half hour beginning at 5 am. "So there is a shuttle that leaves at 6 am?", I asked. "Yes, it leaves right at 6 am."

So... at 5:50 I leave my room. No USA Today. No bill under the door. I head down the worlds slowest elevator and arrive in the lobby at 5:54 where a man is standing waiting for me. He yells "Shuttle?!" I nodded yes. He GRABS my bag out of my hands and says "come NOW". I looked at him dazed... I needed to grab my paper (of which there were PLENTY in the lobby, being read by the TSA and their guards, too) and check-out. I look at both my watch and the lobby clock which agree 5:54. The desk clerk completes my check out in only four minutes. (Yes, four minutes with no line at the desk... and the guy is grinning at me the whole time asking if I'm in a hurry?!) I get on the shuttle van at 5:58 in time to hear the driver make a snide comment to the CO crew riding about people being LATE. The time on the van's clock? 5:57.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

The bartender? What about the bartender? Do tell!

I may be selectively deaf, but I did heed warnings about the bartender, so no report there...

... actually, from what I was told at check-in, there wasn't a bar or restaurant open on-site due to the construction.

An old Sheraton Atlanta Downtown story. Fly the redeye. Get early check-in. One small problem, they are using a jack-hammer to remove the floor directly above the bed. Call down to change room. Answer was, "Sorry, we are full" Yeah, right since it is about noonish. Desk clerk says to come down to the lobby, we have something that will help. Receive a pair of foam earplugs attached to a Xeroxed note suggesting that since it is noisy we should use the enclosed. They had a very large supply of said amenities.

Sorry to hear about the bad recent experiences. I stayed here in May, obviously before construction started http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif I had a fine experience. Great attitude from staff. Good location for downtown business. Best of all, a perfect recommendation for a late dinner on night of arrival...an authentic Texas Roadhouse BBQ joint right around the corner, complete with free flowing Bud, loud live blues/honky-tonk band, a giant lone-star flag, and the best ribs I've had north of the mason-dixon. Yes...I'm a former native-texan, and thus biased. A definite recommenadation for anyone in town, and I wouldn't hesitate on the 4points POST-construction/TSA takeover, just remember it is definitely a 4points...and not a sheraton or westin.

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I stayed there not too long ago and was definitely not impressed. That was my first four points also -- bad service, noisy, heater wouldn't stop at night (too late to move rooms), etc.... stay away from that place.....



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Will someone else who stayed at this property please look at your bill. Doing expenses this weekend, I noticed I had a charge each day labeled "Safe Warranty" on my bill. What is that? Why was I charged? I did not even use the safe!

Thanks.

John.

I did notice something odd... the bill I got had NO logo on it, no address, NOTHING that would indicate that I didn't print it up myself on my home printer. In fact, when I was doing my last three weeks of expenses, I got to this one and had to pull out my calendar to figure out where I stayed because nothing indicated where I might have stayed.

I did not, however, notice a safe warranty. Perhaps that was the surcharge for having the TSA and their guards to keep you "safe". I don't recall seeing safes in the rooms either....

Why, oh why, didn't I search for this thread before I booked here?

I stayed there a few weeks ago...never again I might add... I didn't know they had an Exec. Floor, as they didn't upgrade me. I called for the shuttle when I was at the airport (found out that it doesn't run after 9pm I was told)

I too had the safe charge on the bill. I think it was them charging for that little safe in the closet. I never used it, so why am I charged??? All in all, the hotel stunk in my opinion. It's a good thing I only had 1 night there, and then stayed in the Westin Prince in Toronto the next night. Went from HEL*ISH Bed to Heavenly Bed...would have been a nightmare if it was the opposite. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif