The Viking,
Thanks for the tip. Now I'll know to ask for that in the future at other Spanish Hotels which "give me lip" (i.e. uncooperative attitude). I will not need that at the Hotel Mencey since I will not stay there again.
Of course, back then I did not regularly read FT, and had I known, I would have complained to *Wood Headquarters in White Plains.
But I have found a similar form of customer feedback to work well at Indian train stations-- ask for the "complaint book" (which is kept at each station master's office) if you encounter a particularly nasty case of bureaucratic obfuscation when attempting to buy a ticket or procure a reservation without resorting to “baksheesh.” Works wonders!