ederemer

It's up to the woman to request that... not me.

The hotel failed in an egregious manner. They violated a trust that we as consumers are dependent on: that no one, besides authorized hotel personnel, will enter our occupied room. The risk of theft and embarrassment is great.


In my mind, that wasn't a big request at all. (after all, what's the wholesale cost of a bottle of wine? $20-30 for an extremely good bottle?)

AndDee

1. Where was the risk to YOUR property with theft and embarrassment?

2. Now it's a egregious blunder ?

3. You told the staff member they made a "Huge Blunder" I am sure they realised they stuffed up and don't need you telling them how huge the blunder was.

4. You don't ask for a bottle of wine. It was a simple mistake, and if the hotel cared they would provide you with something without asking.

5. You received a double room upgrade and still were not happy.

JFKSFOLAX_friend

Every so often, I receive wine at hotels (either as a gift or make up for staff incompetence, etc.). Of course, I look up the price of the wine online (www.wine-searcher.com or www.wineaccess.com).

Wine that I have received has rarely (if ever) been > $10 per bottle. There is a funny episode of "The Office" called "Dinner Party". In that episode, Pam hands a bottle of wine to Jan. Jan (sarcastically) thanks Pam for the wine and says: "Thank you. This will be nice to cook with." Unfortunately, when I am staying at a hotel, I rarely have cooking facilities (and the wine given by hotels is rarely good enough to drink).

ederemer

There was no ACTUAL risk to my property. But there was great POTENTIAL risk, as the hotel could issue keys to my new room. Obviously, it happened to me, so it could happen again.

Would it help if you knew that the US Grant was a 5 star hotel? I expect better service from such a high-class hotel - and restitution if they make a mistake. In my experience, there's no harm in asking for compensation. I didn't demand it, the front desk agent AGREED to it, and promised it. At that point, he should have followed through. Or previously said "no, we don't offer complimentary wine to our guests."

It's the lack of follow through on their promise.

To the mods - sorry this thread is getting off topic, if you'd like to split into a new thread, please do so.

TriNorm

+1 (and a bit disapointed that that wasn't the case. A MUCH bigger inconvenience for the person already in the room)

Life_Platinum

I have enjoyed the service at the U.S. Grant on a number of occasions. On my last stay two months ago, I realized that I had left my Blackberry in the bathroom just before boarding my jungle jet out of SAN and called the hotel. I was told they would dispatch the supervisor of housekeeping to check to see if it still was being charged, and that they would immediately inform me if they had found it. Within an hour, the Housekeeping Manager emailed me, telling me that they found it and wanted to know if I wanted the hotel to overnight it on to me. Being that I would be returning to San Diego and would be staying down the street the following week at another SPG property, I picked up my Blackberry at the hotel the following week. Communication was superb, as when I returned, there was a message at the front desk about my Blackberry and that the hotel staff had locked it in a safe until I picked it up.

These are the little things that have made me appreciate this hotel over the years.

moka

Any chance in an upgrade for SPG gold? Should i email a request?

boifromtroy

This is the BEST property in San Diego for an upgrade, since about 1/5 of all rooms are Suites. However, as a Gold, you are at the mercy of the hotel... Their twitter feed is quite responsive if you try giving them a shout out, I found it helps!

w0r1dtrave1er

Bad service as a Plat. The tired old: "we don't have a suite tonight, but check tomorrow." On a three night paid stay. Suites were available to book online. As a previous poster said, this hotel has many many suites. Should've complained but didn't, I will just vote with my wallet.

multivariate

I have stayed many times at this hotel, and have always been either upgraded or have received an email stating that no upgrades would be available for the night. Last night, I was booked into a room with two doubles. However, looking at my spg app on the way in, I found multiple suites available - as well as standard king rooms. When I checked in, front desk stated "We're full - no suites, and no king for you." I grudgingly went up to my two double room.

I called the platinum SPG number, and explained my situation. When I asked what availability the agent was able to see, she replied "Uh, very limited for those types of rooms you are looking for." However, she did confirm that multiple king rooms were available on her system.

She called the hotel on my behalf, and spoke with both the front desk agent and manager - who responded that the system was 'slow' for some reason, and that in fact all the rooms in the hotel had been sold out. When I asked the SPG agent if sometimes this happens, her response was "It can".

I wasn't so much irritated by the lack of an upgrade (or getting a king bed) - I understand that these are not guaranteed - it was the distinct feeling that I was being played by this hotel. I probably would have been more happy had the front desk just said "we're hoping to sell these other rooms for more, and don't feel like giving you your platinum upgrade." It would have seemed at least honest.

Starwood Lurker

If they oversell some of their room types, it could very well have been the truth. But, if you were on a paid rate and did not get the room type you originally booked, that would be a room type discrepancy issue and you should contact Corporate Customer Service to file a formal complaint. 800-328-6242 or [email protected].

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

moka

I also just spent two nights there not consecutively and they also "sold out" their suites the last minute. Don't get why hotel managers want to play this game, it irritates me.

g11

What's a good place to park close to the hotel? Don't feel like shelling out $32/day for valet.

moka

Yup that annoyed me too, though many hotel charge for it. You can park by meters but you have to be out by 8 am. I parked on 3rd Ave between Broadway and B street, right after the tracks closer to B street (in front of the public restrooms). Officially its marked on the curb that those spots are for pedicabs only, but I parked there for 2 nights and didnt have an issue. Watch our for alternate side parking!

Rock72

I stayed here last night for 1 night (Christmas Day). This was just a short road trip for my family including my wife, 5 year old son, and mother-in-law. It was just for 1 night so we went to the hotel, checked in, walked around the gaslamp quarter, then came back to get ready for dinner. We had dinner, came back, slept, and checked out at 7am (we had to be back in LA by 10am so we left early).

I guess I can't say that it was a disappointing stay because we did get a Superior room which is what I booked. I wanted 2 beds and we got them.

However, it was a bit uncomfortable because the room was just so small. Maybe I shouldn't have expected more but:

1) Room had a desk but no couch or sitting area.

2) Beds were small. I think they were full sized beds. They definitely weren't queen. They were barely big enough for 2 people.

3) Parking was $35 for valet. I thought it was a bit much so I found street parking for free.

4) No upgrades. I guess the hotel might have been full but it didn't look full. The halls were pretty empty, lobby was fairly empty most of the time, etc. I asked if there were any upgrades available but the guy said no.

I have had a pretty bad year in upgrades. This is my last year as SPG platinum. I have liked the brand and am planning to stay loyal to the brand. I have a 10 day trip to Europe in Feb/March and I'm staying at around 6-7 different SPG properties but I think that maybe I'll start exploring other programs.

The upgrades as a platinum member have been so few this year and it's almost not worth it to go through the effort to get platinum. I don't travel much for work so it really does take an effort for me to get there.

In every stay that I can remember this year (about 10), I have never been offered an upgrade. I started asking recently and I was able to get 1 upgraded room and another time they moved me to an upgraded room the following day after many calls, etc. Other than that, no luck.

In any case, the US Grant is a nice historical hotel but unless you're in one of the suites, the rooms are just way too small. I'd rather stay at the Sheraton or the W or the Westin, etc.