I have read these forums for over a year but never felt inspired to really be an active member until now...
I stayed at the W South Beach the 2nd weekend they were open with my boyfriend. We are both platinum SPG and booked the room using free weekend nights for his birthday trip.
Had a major altercation... I was on call for work on Saturday so when we decided to go out to the beach I left my iPhone on the credenza so it would ring before kicking to voicemail (horrible reception in the rooms BTW).
Anyway- we came back after being out a couple hours and housekeeping had come and cleaned and also taken my iPhone. I have been staying in hotels every week for the past couple of years and htis is the first time anything has ever been stolen from me.
After we searched the entire room and realized that both the phone and the charger that was plugged in to a wall in the other room were missing, we called security and filed a report so they could begin their 'investigation'.
We were told that they would get back to us in an hour or so. When we didn't hear back we stoped by the W/W desk and inquired on status and were told she would check the status and let us know in 15 minutes. Well, 15 minutes later, still nothing and so we called back (at this point i was starting to freak out). Then were told to wait another 2 hours. So finally when we still hadn't heard and we were getting ready to leave the hotel for a night out, we asked to speak to the head of security. My boyfriend talked to him first and basically the head of security said that it would take a couple of days for them to complete an investigation and he argued we wouldn't be here then so what are we supposed to do in the meantime? We got no real answer. So I decided to speak with the head of security, at this point getting upset. You can tell they are a new hotel and not ready to handle these situations because the head of security basically said it was my fault i didn't put the phone in the safe provided (this sent me into tears!)... so I'm in the lobby crying and arguing with the head of security and I basically just said can't you do something in the interim so that i'm not left without a phone. Obviously with new staff they can't know that all of housekeeping is 100% trustworthy.
So, finally after all the arguing and insults thrown at me by the head of security I was able to get him to apologize and remedy the situation by reimbursing me for the purchase of a new phone... unfortunately it took them 8 hours and a good deal of arguing to agree to this.
My point - beware! Lock up your valuables to avoid this drama!
On another note, we came back to our room on sunday to find empty beer cans we didn't drink in the kitchen, to which we notified the W/W desk and the charges later showed up on our bill... how ridiculous! its a nice property but obviously they've got a great deal to figure out before they are able to offer the service you would expect to get at W. As for me, I think I'll stick to Luxury Collection
