Originally Posted by sam33

Based on what I'd read from some posters here, I did come in with at least average expectations. However, these last three days have shown me that the service level is roughly what it's been for the last few years- shoddy.
Anyway, yesterday (my last day) I stopped by reception around 11am, and asked for an 8pm checkout. I know I'm not 'entitled' to that late a checkout, but as most N.American flights leave around midnight, some of the better hotels in Israel will give it to you if they're not full. (At the Sheraton Tel Aviv, 9pm has always been given just for asking - every single time, but service at that hotel is in a very different league than this dump.) The immediate answer was "No, sorry, the hotel is full". I then asked the gentleman why he would try such a blatant lie, as I figured they had at least 27 rooms for sale that evening. He disappeared into the back office for about two minutes, and then re-appeared to tell me that 8pm was no problem - just like that! A while later, I wondered why Rama, the manager, had never bothered returning my call from the day before, so I called and left her another message asking for a callback, which never happened. Oh, and my promised platinum amenity never did make it to my room....