Hilton HHonors - Embassy Suites Phoenix - North Trip Reports and Reviews

First of all, formerly LAX 1K, now LAX1K to AmWest (catchy huh)?? Finally decided to re-register....

Ok.. Glad to be back but have a question...

I have been getting attacked by gnats (now 2 weeks in a row). They offered to comp a night under the "service guarantee" but I really do not care about that as my company pays for it. When I was a Starwood, I was given an option of a credit or X number of points. Does Hilton do that? Is ok to ask???

The bugs were all over the room... they tried spraying... and I ended up killing about 40-50 last night... then they sprayed during the day today, and I could hardly breathe as I got my stuff to a new room.... so I complained, but not certain how to handle it so I do not get "comped" a night, but can get points or something else....

Any ideas??

First of all, formerly LAX 1K, now LAX1K to AmWest (catchy huh)?? Finally decided to re-register....

Ok.. Glad to be back but have a question...

I have been getting attacked by gnats (now 2 weeks in a row). They offered to comp a night under the "service guarantee" but I really do not care about that as my company pays for it. When I was a Starwood, I was given an option of a credit or X number of points. Does Hilton do that? Is ok to ask???

The bugs were all over the room... they tried spraying... and I ended up killing about 40-50 last night... then they sprayed during the day today, and I could hardly breathe as I got my stuff to a new room.... so I complained, but not certain how to handle it so I do not get "comped" a night, but can get points or something else....

Any ideas??


I'd call and ask for points instead. They should leap at that, I think.

I hope you are not wearing that Hi Karate cologne from the 70s. I read on the gnats chat room that they loved that stuff!

I'm sorry to make fun of your discomfort but my mind had visions I couldn't control. Good luck reaching some level of satisfaction.

.... you know the one thing that pissed me off, was the gnats were watching TV when I got back...... :D

Seriously, it was annoying.. and the fumes from the bug spray was awful, not to mention now in a different type of room facing the highway... Sighh.... well, I will inquire about HHonors points for the mess...

The good thing about this room is it is on the other side of the property and is on the 3rd floor... just wish the highway soundtrack wasn't so loud...

Oh well.. maybe off to a Hilton next week..

We had problems at an ES once, manager offered us a free meal in restaurant, but we were going to company meeting that included a meal. So I asked for points instead! He said ok, but when the points posted to our account, he only gave us 2,500! Good luck

Better one, today after getting into my second room at the ES Logan Airport, first had a big liquid stain on carpet, I lifted the top of the toilet seat and lo and behold, yellow liquid, YUCK oooooooh. I called the manager who came right up and apologized saying that the new housekeeping person must have missed it. Anyway, housekeeping promptly came in and cleaned the seat. I get the willies just thinking of it. When the manager asked what she could do for me, well, I just asked for a dinner comp and she said no problem.

I guess, if the housekeeper had not missed it, I would have never known about it, so aside from being the lucky one to find it, I at least get a full dinner on the house.

The price we pay for being a HH Diamond :D

Sheldon

Yargh!

Fortunately, not at a Hilton - set off the "Fumakilla" bug killa in the room (electric cooker with some kind of noxious tablet,) darn near died from the fumes myself!

But to stay moderately OT, I did write a letter to the GM about the abysmal wait service at a Doubletree, and... I received a considered letter thanking me plus offering me two dinners at the property (which I did take advantage of.) And, best of all, service did actually change for the better!

And in a H property up north of our border, I wrote a letter addressing an abusive restaurant manager - dressing down workers in front of everyone, etc. workers all looking like they had bad cramps - I got a letter within a very few days thanking me, telling me they had, in essence terminated the guilty party and offering me a three nights' very nice stay.

If I had charged them (what I did is actually how I make a living,) it might have been about equal with their reward, except it cost them less to offer a suite and brekkies for two.

Sometimes, they DO listen.

Yargh!

Fortunately, not at a Hilton - set off the "Fumakilla" bug killa in the room (electric cooker with some kind of noxious tablet,) darn near died from the fumes myself!

....

If I had charged them (what I did is actually how I make a living,) it might have been about equal with their reward, except it cost them less to offer a suite and brekkies for two.

Sometimes, they DO listen.


Well i finally did get a response, teh GM called back my cell phone apologized, explained how the hotel was getting "infested" by bugs.. but apologized about how it troubled me. I then explained how I the room was full of fumes and I had cramps/sick after being in the room and they should warn guests.. he agreed, apologized and asked what he could do for me personally (knowing I was on a business trip). So I suggested HHonors Points, and he told me he will see how much he can get for me and should get back to me... nothing yet, but curious what they will give me... Nice of him to offer that way.

Well i finally did get a response, teh GM called back my cell phone apologized, explained how the hotel was getting "infested" by bugs.. but apologized about how it troubled me. I then explained how I the room was full of fumes and I had cramps/sick after being in the room and they should warn guests.. he agreed, apologized and asked what he could do for me personally (knowing I was on a business trip). So I suggested HHonors Points, and he told me he will see how much he can get for me and should get back to me... nothing yet, but curious what they will give me... Nice of him to offer that way.

What is the nice offer that you mentioned? You have been significantly inconvenienced. The GM calls and asks what he can do. You suggest points and he says he'll see what he can offer you and will get back to you?

I would expect the GM to have absolute authority in offering you points compensation. After all, it is the property that will pay for those points. Admittedly, hotel management may be different than ownership, but the person contacting you should have authority to settle the issue immediately. If not, then why are they bothering you?

Equally important, though, as part of the negotiation is that you should have some expectation as to what you consider appropriate compensation. That expectation should be aggressive, but reasonable. I would have then "marked up" that expectation and suggested to him a points amount (one that leaves him/her an opportunity to offer a lesser amount, yet satisfy you). Otherwise, you will likely get a "corporate" minimal offer.

I hope this works out to your satisfaction.

What is the nice offer that you mentioned? You have been significantly inconvenienced. The GM calls and asks what he can do. You suggest points and he says he'll see what he can offer you and will get back to you?

I would expect the GM to have absolute authority in offering you points compensation. After all, it is the property that will pay for those points. Admittedly, hotel management may be different than ownership, but the person contacting you should have authority to settle the issue immediately. If not, then why are they bothering you?

Equally important, though, as part of the negotiation is that you should have some expectation as to what you consider appropriate compensation. That expectation should be aggressive, but reasonable. I would have then "marked up" that expectation and suggested to him a points amount (one that leaves him/her an opportunity to offer a lesser amount, yet satisfy you). Otherwise, you will likely get a "corporate" minimal offer.

I hope this works out to your satisfaction.


I had the GM come out as I was checking out and told me I would receive 50,000 pts. Which was a nice gesture. I was happy to see this post to my account. It posted as meeting planner points, but still addded to my balance.

The funny thing is I had to come back this week, since the Hilton is booked, will be in the Hilton next week... the gnats are back.. but in small numbers... Very strange... actually I smell a cigar in the room next door.. and I think that is keeping them away....

Thanks for the feedback... points are fun!

50,000 points?! Wow, that's really generous. With apologies like that, some people are going to be carrying bags of dead bugs to their next Hilton room. :D

I think they did right by you.

Mike

I had the GM come out as I was checking out and told me I would receive 50,000 pts. Which was a nice gesture. I was happy to see this post to my account. It posted as meeting planner points, but still addded to my balance.

The funny thing is I had to come back this week, since the Hilton is booked, will be in the Hilton next week... the gnats are back.. but in small numbers... Very strange... actually I smell a cigar in the room next door.. and I think that is keeping them away....

Thanks for the feedback... points are fun!

I just want to set the context for the OP's complaint. PHX has had an unusually wet winter (the same systems causing the mudslides in California). Therefore, when it warmed up, the gnats were out in FULL force. I was even killing them inside my apartment, although by no means did I have a swarm. I live just a mile from the Embassy Suites.

It has turned cool here again in PHX this week. We are hoping that the gnats' eggs will die and lessen the impact in the coming weeks. On behalf of Phoenix, we are sorry for your inconvenience.

I had the GM come out as I was checking out and told me I would receive 50,000 pts. Which was a nice gesture. I was happy to see this post to my account. It posted as meeting planner points, but still addded to my balance.

50k points! Not bad at all. Much better offer than I would have expected. Glad it worked out so well for you.

50k points! Not bad at all. Much better offer than I would have expected. Glad it worked out so well for you.


Well first of all, thank you for the apology, but not needed. I think the problem has been the craziness of all the bugs.... more each day.. but the kicker was the fumigating of the room that caused some physical problems (do not feel like going into too much details), but I think that is why they apologized as they did.

They did first offer to comp the whole night (around $100)... so I feel the points are an equal compensation.. (and generous).... :D

Had a dreadful three-night stay at the Embassy Suites Phoenix North a couple of weeks ago.

After being told that the room would be ready within the hour, we came back 80 minutes later and still had to wait another 20-30 minutes before finally getting into the room at 3:45PM. I understand that a room is not always availabe when you try to check in, but if you tell us it'll be ready within the hour and that a "rush" has been put on it, then have it ready.

They sent up a bottle of wine as an apology for the wait, which was nice, but no Diamond status recognition.

I remembered reading a thread on FT that mentioned free internet access and other amenities that are given to Gold/Diamonds at this hotel. So I asked about the internet access and they confirmed it was free for Dimonds, but didn't say anything about additional Diamond privileges.

We get into bed at night and the pillows (all five of them) stank like a wet dog had been sleeping on them. Too tired to do anything about it, we put towels over them. We figured it was the pillowcases and that we'd have them changed the next day.

Next morning I read the thread on FT again and find out that they also give a free movie pass and popcorn to Diamonds. I could care less about the popcorn, but the free movie would be nice, so I call down to reception again and ask them about this and why no one told me. Receptionist says I should have gotten a black bag with some "goodies" and a letter in it explaining the added amenities. The room manager brings it up personally, and we tell him that the pillowcases stink. He says he’ll make sure they change the sheets.

Around 11AM we call down to housekeeping and ask them to clean our room as soon as possible. They say no problem we’ll do it right away. We get back at around 3PM and the room is still a mess. After more investigation, I find out it’s not just the pillowcases that smell, but the pillows themselves. Having had enough, we call the GM. He’s very apologetic and has housekeeping replace the pillows with brand new ones. He also says he’ll adjust our room rate (he gave us a $20 reduction in the rate). Kudos to him for taking care of it in a responsive way, but they really need to pay more attention to getting things right the first time. Granted the hotel was full due to a wedding and a conference, but smelly bedding (the mattress pad also stank) is a big turn off in my book. I don’t think they were dirty, it was more like they had gotten wet and were not dried properly.

On the positive side, the breakfast was great, it was nice to have free internet access and a free movie, and aside from one of the receptionists, the staff were all pleasant. The property itself is quite nice and has potential, but the room was a bit worn.

I like this hotel in the Phoenix area. Usually pretty reasonably priced.

I think it may be a little run down, and the gym might be kind of sucky, but I remember the pools being really nice..

Stanj,

sorry to hear about your experience. I stayed there a couple of weeks ago and had no such problems (got the goody bag, free internet etc.). The hotel is so-so, but I generally don't get to spend a lot of times in my hotel room.
I will be staying there again next week (not my choice anyway - gotta go where my client wants to be). I'll be certainly careful to make sure I get the same treatment I received the first time, and not the one you got...

Usually pretty reasonably priced.

Price is certainly one thing the hotel has going for it.

I had high hopes for our stay there, as it's in a fairly convenient location. I'd probably give it a second chance, especially since the GM made an effort to correct things.

I stayed there a couple of weeks ago and had no such problems (got the goody bag, free internet etc.).

I'm sure that in general they're pretty good about it. Guess it was just one of those stays where things seem to go wrong.

Just came home from a weekend at the ES Phoenix North. The front desk supervisor was great and even though there were some difficulties and aggravations she always made us feel important.

People make all the difference.

86

Just came home from a weekend at the ES Phoenix North. The front desk supervisor was great and even though there were some difficulties and aggravations she always made us feel important.

People make all the difference.

86


I have to agree, the hotel property is old, but they had some recent improvements. But the staff has always been responsive. I had an incident there around 1 1/2 years ago.. and they handled it well.. I was very annoyed it happened at all, but ended up with the Gm's card and cell phone in case he could help with anything.

I prefer other properties for roomes, etc.. but staff is nice at this location!

Just came home from a weekend at the ES Phoenix North. The front desk supervisor was great and even though there were some difficulties and aggravations she always made us feel important.

People make all the difference.

86

they have always been great to me when I have called them up + visited at the front desk. The only complaint I have has been I have been assigned a room by the highway every week that I do not call up beforehand and make sure that this does not happen. They are always very accommodating when they see I am gold (not to mention pretty much lived at the property the last 4 weeks), but according to them, gold members should be assigned to the side of the property away from the highway w/o asking.

On a side note...I was very disappointed to see how cheap the people during the manager's reception were towards the bartenders. Just because the drinks are free, does not mean you shouldnt tip them. I waited in line for 5 or 10 minutes last week, and only saw a couple people tip the bartenders after filling their hands out with 2 drinks each...