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Old Jul 26, 2019, 10:11 am
  #118  
Bryan C
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 3
Have an opportunity to stay at the LM Philadelphia? DON’T!

This is the email I sent to my Ambassador. I got kind of stiff with her because she and Ambassador support both failed to respond to messages earlier in the week. The response was one sentence short of a form letter and they have kicked it to the hotel. Hotel hasn’t responded. Can’t post the chat screen caps which are spectacularly unprofessional.
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This is regarding the reservation referenced in the attached PDF at the Le Meridien Philadelphia. As the PDF shows, an upgrade was confirmed on 18 July. There are multiple issues, detailed below. My expectations for relief are as follows:

- A response to this message by the close of business on Wednesday, 24 July. If the content of this message cannot be substantively addressed by that time, a response indicating that you have received my email and a commitment by when I will receive a follow-up.

- Refund of all points (140,000) used for booking at the LM Philadelphia, to my account.

- Refund of 5 Suite Nights to my account.

- Acknowledgement by Marriott Bonvoy that the manner in which my wife and I were treated today is unacceptable.







I messaged the hotel directly on Monday evening to inquire about the reservation, and the fact that our confirmed suite was not longer showing on the reservation, and a standard king guest room showed instead. Multiple messages went unanswered.




Between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon, the reservation once again reflected a suite as the room type.




Upon arriving at the LM, I attempted to utilize the $50 Bonvoy gift card that I received via email. I was informed by the front desk manager that (paraphrasing) "since transitioning from the Sheraton program two years ago, we are still integrating our systems and aren't set up to take this yet." This statement is ridiculous on its face, over and above the fact that the property refused to honor the gift card.




After check in we proceeded to our room, which to my surprise was a standard guest room. We returned to the front desk and I explained that we had a confirmed suite upgrade (per the attached email PDF). The manager proceeded to tell me that I did not have a confirmed upgrade, only a requested upgrade, but he would see what he could do. I explained that my upgrade was indeed confirmed, and showed him the confirmation email. He said that "he believed me" and that he would see what they had available. He put us in a suite on the 7th floor, which was both poorly maintained and dirty. Additionally, the room had not been de-feathered, as was requested on the reservation.




My wife and I left to get something to eat and decide what to do next, and asked for the room to be de-feathered. Upon our return, we discovered that the LM Philadelphia's idea of de-feathering is to leave four pillows on the sofa and not actually remove any of the down pillows, duvet, etc. I received a notification on the Bonvoy app that I had a chat message. Refer to the attached screenshots, chat_1.png and chat_2.png. Please pay particular attention to the content of the message I received this afternoon; it gives a very clear indication of the unprofessional and insulting attitude adopted by the LM manager.




It is after receiving that message that I booked a room at the nearby Aloft and we departed the Le Meridien. I have literally never been treated so intentionally poorly by a hospitality provider. These are not exigent circumstances, or responses to events out of anyone's control. This is blatant and willful disrespect and is completely unacceptable.




The only thing that has redeemed the Bonvoy program on this trip has been the manager at the Aloft who in the time it took us to walk from the LM had upgraded our room and talked us down from being at our wit's end.

Last edited by hhoope01; Jul 26, 2019 at 12:05 pm Reason: Removed hotel employee names per FT Rule 21.
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