RC Powerscourt
Aug 5, 2008 | 2:20 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom
Posts: 52
RC Powerscourt
Before arrival and the reservation Process:
I telephoned the UK Reservations number on 0800 234 000, whilst I normally make my reservations through the RC website, on this occasion I was unable to find my preferred Club Suite and thought the reservation agent may be able to help with this.
It took over five minutes for an agent to answer the telephone, when I finally managed to speak to a member of staff she gave the impression that she was reading off a script, the interaction was very slow and almost comical. She asked various questions such as if we had stayed at a Ritz Carlton before? and if we were celebrating anything special? When I said that we had just come back from Japan and stayed at your Tokyo and Osaka properties there was just silence, I was expecting some small talk about the holiday.
I also mentioned that it was my partners Birthday and that is why we were staying at the Powerscourt premises, I assumed this would have been noted and perhaps a birthday card or a small acknowledgement made on arrival but we received neither.
Restaurant booking:
We were booked on a Gordon Ramsey Dining Experience rate. The reservations agent advised me that the restaurant would be in touch to take our dinner reservation.
No telephone call was received; I had to send an email and was telephoned back by the Gordon Ramsey Restaurant Team.
Concierge Request:
We sent a service request through the Ritz Carlton website asking for information on the wooden sculpture park at Ashford including opening times and directions.
I received an email back from Robbie Smyth on the 3rd June confirming my request; he stated that he had a map showing the sculpture of the woodland on it. He stated he couldnt find the opening times but had telephoned them and left them a message and as soon as he heard anything he would email us back. No email was received so we assumed the information including the map would be waiting for us in our suite on arrival. It wasnt there. We went to the Concierge desk and spoke to Alan who had no knowledge of the request and asked us to come back in 10 minutes when his colleague would be there. We asked if perhaps his colleague could telephone us in our room.
His colleague did ring us later that afternoon but no information had been passed on regarding what we were inquiring about, we therefore had to explain everything again. Finally the Chef Concierge arranged for the information to be brought to our room.
Brochure Request:
We made a request for a hotel brochure through the RC website using the Service Request function. We requested a hotel brochure as we wanted to show our family where we were going as we had planned to spend Christmas at the Powerscourt hotel in 2009 and this would have been a trial run to check the property out.
On our initial contact we received an on screen acknowledgement that the request had been sent and we would hear from the hotel soon.
No brochure was received after a week so we sent a second request, this time by using Contact Hotel and selecting General Brochure Requests, we received an on screen acknowledgement but still no brochure.
Finally about a week before our stay we sent a final request, again by the Brochure Request link, we still to this day await the delivery of the brochure.
Arrival:
We arrived at the hotel to an initial impression of a large grand hotel. We found a parking space right next to the entrance (parking bay number one!).
A member of staff saw us arrive but instead of coming over and welcoming us or asking if we needed any help with our luggage they just ignored us and started talking to a van driver making a delivery at the entrance.
We walked to the door and made our way into the lobby, again completely ignored by the staff outside.
The staff area is to the left of the hotel main entrance and staff who smoke can be visibly seen by guests.
Check-in
We approached the reception desk and were greeted by a friendly receptionist who issued our key card and called a member of staff over to show us to our room and help with luggage. There were no issues with the check-in process.
The Garden View Suite
The member of staff accompanied us to our suite; he gave us a quick introduction to the hotels facilities and explained what the suite offered.
As soon as we entered the suite (Room 237) we both commented on how hot the room was. The member of staff checked the air conditioning and turned it down from 20 to 19 which he said was the lowest it would go but admitted it was very warm.
He explained how to operate the electronic console and the other room facilities. I asked if there was any bottled water to be told that it was in the honour bar and available for a nominal charge (this turned out to be 5.25 for a 50cl bottle).
I then asked where the tea & coffee making facilities were only to be told that the room doesnt have any however you could call down for tea and coffee, there was no mention of any cost to this.
The initial impression of the Garden View Suite is that it is a good size and attractively decorated to the usual high Ritz Carlton standards. It wasnt until we had unpacked and had time to explore the room further that we started to become disappointed.
The door handle to the bathroom double doors came off in my hand, and then the handle to the toilet door did the same. The mirror was chipped and the fixtures in the walk in shower were rusty in places.
There were two wardrobes of a good size but only one of them had any hangers and then only eight were supplied. We were only stopping one night but we still had our dinner outfits, gym wear, the next days clothing, and an extra change of clothing just in-case not to mention our jackets.
The bathroom was beautiful but again lacked the finishing touches, no cotton wool pads, no shaving kit, no toothbrush or mouthwash, no hair brush or comb all these items have been readily available in the room at every RC hotel we have stayed in.
Again the living room was lacking the little touches that make RC the high class brand that it is. There was no DVD player or sound system in the room, only the 32 LCD TV which you had to pay for movies or music from.
There was inadequate glassware for a suite, two wine glasses and two tall tumblers, not suitable for drinking a liqueur from the honour bar and not enough for entertaining any guests if you wished to do so.
No bottle opener or corkscrew to open any of the honour bar drinks with despite the service guide stating there should be one. Neither were there any cocktail stirrers to mix a gin and tonic with.
There was no welcome letter or complimentary fruit, not to mention a total lack of recognition for our past custom with RC and no acknowledgement of my partners birthday (which they were made aware of)
The concierge information we asked for (see above) wasnt in our room on arrival and no confirmation of our dinner reservation in the Gordon Ramsey Restaurant.
When we booked our room we were told it would be a Garden View Suite with views overlooking landscaped gardens and the surrounding Powerscourt Estate. The RC website also confirms this information. What view did we get? A ground floor view of a fire escape, the rear entrance to a pub, the door to the Kids Club, a few over grown shrubs, cigarette ends and lots of weeds on an internal courtyard.
Thankfully the hotel was quiet and the Pub was closed, I would have been even more upset if we had suffered noise from children in the kids club or noise from those on the smoking area of the pub. I also wouldnt have been happy regarding the lack of privacy and poor personal security, we did have a net curtain but that doesnt stop the feeling of being overlooked.
I would probably expect an exaggerated statement such as this from a package tour operator but never from a Ritz Carlton.
As I said before the room is fantastic in size and internal appearance but it is these little touches that make a hotel what it is, especially in a suite.
Anyway let me continue with the problems.....
We had now unpacked our luggage and I was hoping to take a sleep before dinner as we had been awake since 0430hrs that morning.
Unfortunately the temperature in the room was getting hotter and hotter and we were now both nearly passing out.
I telephoned reception at 1515hrs and explained the problem, I also told them about the two door handles that had come off in my hand. I was told that an engineer would attend to our room within about 15 minutes.
Whilst we were waiting for the engineer we decided to order some tea. My partner pressed the in room dining button only to be greeted by an automatic message asking if we knew the extension number and to enter it. He tried again and this time a member of staff answered only to say he needed in room dining and they would have to transfer the call (it was in room dining that was pressed!).
The tea arrived for us to discover a charge of 5 each plus a 4 service charge.
I have no problem paying for items ordered from room service and a service charge is expected. However it is also expected that a Five Star hotel would have the appropriate facilities to prepare your own hot drinks within your room. Again this has never been a problem in a RC before.
The tea was delivered without any biscuits (the little touches missing again) and no lemon for the earl grey and no sugar.
I asked for some lemon and waited another 10 minutes while the member of staff went to get some. By the time they had brought it to the room the tea was no longer hot.
Fed up and totally disappointed the time was now 1600hrs and still no engineer had arrived. The heat was getting worse and I now had a throbbing headache. I telephoned again; I was given an apology and was promised a call back.
I was called a few minutes later by reception to be told that an engineer is working on the problem and would be up in about 15 minutes to fix the door handles. They asked if I would like to speak to a Manager about the problems, I said that I would and she told me that the Manager would be asked to make contact.
The maintenance gentleman arrived at the suite at 1610hrs and apologised for the problem. He confirmed that the room was boiling hot and stated that the problem had been caused by a fault on the main heating valve that had been turned to be fully on causing excessive heat to enter the system and instead of blowing cold air it was blowing hot air. He stated this had affected several rooms and that cold air should start to blow through.
He fixed the door handles and advised me to call back in an hour if the room hadnt cooled down.
At 1640hrs I received a call from the Call Centre asking if Maintenance had been to the room. I confirmed that they had and told them what they had said. I also told her that the room was still very hot, it was not getting any cooler, the air conditioning was blowing cold air now but the fan speed was so low (it was set to high) that it would take hours to even notice any change.
I also told the call centre that I wasnt happy that the Manager hadnt made contact within the last 40 minutes; she apologised and said she would pass my comments on to the Management team.
Five minutes later I received a telephone call from the Duty Manager. I explained that we were un-happy with the suite, the problems with the heating, the door handles, the lack of view and lack of facilities. He said he would try and find a cooler room and ring us back.
At 1705hrs we received a further call from the DM stating he was outside and he offered to show us to a different suite to see if it was suitable.
The suite we were shown was room number 242 a Mountain View Suite. As soon as we entered the corridor outside our room we noticed the lovely cool air and Patric commented on the heat from our original room.
The Mountain View Suite:
We confirmed the new suite was suitable and the member of staff then helped us move all of our clothes and baggage to our new room. Unfortunately there was now no chance of having a quick sleep before dinner, my headache was worse than ever and we were very disappointed.
I do ask why the first suite wasnt checked before our arrival as it was very evident how hot the room was. It could also have been picked up by the person who escorted us to our room. Instead we were made to wait over 2 hours until we were moved.
Whilst I appreciate we had in theory been given an upgrade to this new suite there was no other form of service recovery.
I did ask the DM to arrange for some tea and coffee making facilities and some complimentary water to be brought to the new suite which was done whilst we were getting ready. The only problem was the bottled water was poured into the kettle for some reason.
Again this new suite was missing some of the smaller things that make a five star hotel what it is. The bottle that should contain bath salts was empty, again no shaving kit etc. No fruit in the suite, half of the magazines in the suite were out of date and had stains and marks form coffee cups and glasses on them, four large wardrobes but again only eight hangers in one of the wardrobes and none in the others.
The closet in the entrance hallway for hanging coats had no hangers to put them on. No tissues in the guest bathroom and only one hand towel.
The TV in the living room is in the wrong place as you cant see it directly from the sofa; it also suffers with noise distortion due to the cabinet it has been placed in.
No sound system or DVD player despite plenty of space for one.
A suite is often used for entertaining guests yet again there were only two wine glasses and two tumblers, no cocktail stirrers, all the same things missing as the previous suite.
There was a nice kitchen area with a coffee machine but no instructions on how to use it and no milk or sugar provided not to mention any cups, saucers, etc.
There were many empty cupboards in every room of the suite, perhaps some could be filled with some books, DVDs, Music CDs, Sound System, DVD Player, IPod Dock, Small box of chocolates or biscuits, all things that are common place in even a four star hotel.
The outdoor terrace was a nice feature however we were expecting fantastic views similar to those on the RC website. It was now that we realised that most of the landscaping pictures on the RC website are of the neighbouring Powerscourt estate and not the hotel grounds. Instead we had a view of grass leading to an overgrown area where the helicopter pad is located. Thankfully the view of the mountain distracted from the otherwise plain landscape. Why couldnt a few colourful flower beds be added?
Im sure by now youll think we are being picky and looking for problems. Unfortunately the problems kept leaping out at us and therefore that made us look in more detail at what exactly we were paying for.
Pre Dinner Drinks:
We went to Restaurant Gordon Ramsey to have a pre dinner drink. After trying to remember what floor we were on and if we needed to go up or down in the lift (the floor number system is very confusing and we werent the only ones, even the staff hate it!!!), we arrived at the restaurant, we peered through the windows but couldnt see any lounge to have a drink so we assumed we must use the Sugar Loaf Lounge.
At the Sugar Loaf Lounge we sat down at a table that had two dead roses in a small vase (very nice!), after five minutes a member of staff came over and offered us a menu. My partner chose champagne and I wanted a Strawberry Daiquiri. Unfortunately a Strawberry Daiquiri isnt offered on the limited cocktail menu (6 cocktails from what I remember), I asked if the bar person could make one anyway. The member of staff went away and came back and told me it wouldnt be possible. I therefore chose a Singapore Sling.
While we were waiting for our drinks, the same Duty Manager came over to ask if everything was now running smoothly. I told him about the problem with the Strawberry Daiquiri, he went to the bar and also confirmed they couldnt do one. I asked why there were unable to make such a simple drink, I pointed out that they had lime juice, strawberries, rum and sugar syrup as they were all formed part of the other cocktails so why couldnt they put them all together to make a daiquiri?
The Duty Manager agreed that it seemed stupid and he asked me to leave it with him. He went off returning a few minutes later to state that Restaurant Gordon Ramsey would be able to make a Daiquiri for me when we went down. Our other drinks then arrived. Yes we finally got our Daiquiris but why couldnt the Sugar Loaf Lounge make them, this is a five star hotel and I cant believe the bar staff are so poorly skilled that they cant make a simple cocktail.
Dinner:
Following our drinks we made our way back to Restaurant Gordon Ramsey, we were greeted at the door and showed to our table. We then noticed the lounge area at the other side where we could have had the drinks of our choice.
The Daiquiris were brought to our table and were excellent. The evening in the restaurant was perfect, food, service, drinks everything, excellent.
My only comment would be about the location of the rest rooms. Has the designer of the hotel put any thought into it? Who wants to go on a five minute walk round the building to go to the toilet during a meal where you are paying hundreds of euros? Surly toilet facilities could be located within the restaurant itself.
Turn Down:
We returned to our suite to find that we had received turn down but again the little things were missing. No chocolate, no weather forecast for the next day, the napkin had been placed next to the bed but no one had bothered to get the slippers out of the wardrobe and place them next to the bed as well. The bath towels were still in the same places where they were left, on the floor. Other RC properties do this!
The day time pillows had been taken off the bed but had been left at the end of the bed on the floor. There are four large wardrobes, countless cupboards, surly the pillows could have been put away. Our bathroom items hadnt been tidied up or placed neatly on a face cloth. The towels hadnt been replaced but the dressing gowns hadnt been hung up. Yes these are little things but they are all things that have been done in every other RC hotel and they do mean a lot to guests who come to expect this level of service from the brand.
Breakfast:
The next morning we went to breakfast expecting the same high quality, how wrong we were.
Yes we were greeted and shown to our table. We were then left 10 minutes before someone offered us coffee or juice and another 5 minutes until it arrived.
There were no menus on the table at all and no indication anywhere of what you could order. The cold buffet was very good with a nice selection of cheese, fruit and cereals. The pastries were disappointing and nothing special.
My partner managed to flag down a member of staff and asked about ordering poached eggs. It wasnt a problem but you would expect a menu indicating what is on offer.
When the eggs arrived he went to top the plate up with items from the hot buffet only to discover when he started to eat it that the buffet items were all cold. He complained as did several other guests and fresh items were cooked but this once again spoiled the experience.
Why arent the kitchen staff checking the temperature of the hot food, or even better why isnt it cooked to order? I would also add that the sausages are an embarrassment to Ireland (they were cheap, tastless and cold)
The rest of the stay:
We later returned to our room to enjoy our view of the overgrown helicopter pad and the mountain.
At 1140hrs the door to the suite opened without any knock or press of the door bell and in walked a member of housekeeping staff. My partner was getting changed for the gym at the time but thankfully was in the bedroom with the door closed. The member of staff did apologise and said that the room was down on her sheet as unoccupied.
At 1505hr the same thing happened, no knock or press of the doorbell and a member of staff again walked straight in, explaining the suite was shown as unoccupied. She then sensed we were not happy and she asked if she could check the mini bar. She did this and then left.
At 1510hr yet another member of housekeeping came to the door, at least this time she knocked before opening the door. By this time I was very angry about the total lack of communication between staff in this hotel.
You may think things could get no worse, sorry but they do.
We rang in room dining to request Afternoon Tea in our suite. The response was the normal not quite sure if we can do that attitude we were now coming to expect from this hotel. The member of staff said they would have to ring the Sugar Loaf Lounge and enquire and then would ring me back.
In the meantime I telephoned Patric again as I was very unhappy regarding the staff from housekeeping entering the room without knocking.
He assured me we could have Afternoon Tea in the suite and that it would be delivered as soon as possible. I ordered vegetarian sandwiches for myself and normal sandwiches for my partner.
The tea arrived and looked very nice, the member of staff went into detail explaining about every little detail. This was a bit pointless however as the detail on the plate were missing.
Yes I was given vegetarian sandwiches and yes the member of staff explained which ones they were. The sandwiches were on two plates but instead of separating the vegetarian ones onto one plate and the meat ones onto the other they were all mixed together. This meant we had to pick them apart to find out which were the ones I had ordered.
We then started on the scones; well we could have done if they were edible. We tried to cut then but they were cold and rock hard and the centre of the scone was dry as if it was stale.
I telephoned in room dining and was told some fresh scones would be sent up. They arrived and were this time red hot and soggy as though they had been placed in a microwave. When I tasted the scone I was unable to eat it as the middle was soggy.
It was then that I noticed the date on the pot of Irish Coffee Curd that I had put on my scone and nearly eaten. It was over a month out of date. I have retained the jar as evidence.
I immediately telephone the duty manager and explained again the poor standards of service and the out of date food. He advised me that the Afternoon Tea would not be charged (I should hope not!)
We immediately packed and went to check out.
We have been promised that these problems were rare and that our contstructive comments have been noted. We have been in communication with Andrew Nassau (former RC Hong Kong fame) and he promises that our complaint has been acknowledged and the points raised will be dealt with and improvements will be made. I have been promised a letter in August 2008 with the latest improvements. We are returning to the RC Powerscourt. Hopefully it has improved and have been promised full VIP courtesies We'll see..
I telephoned the UK Reservations number on 0800 234 000, whilst I normally make my reservations through the RC website, on this occasion I was unable to find my preferred Club Suite and thought the reservation agent may be able to help with this.
It took over five minutes for an agent to answer the telephone, when I finally managed to speak to a member of staff she gave the impression that she was reading off a script, the interaction was very slow and almost comical. She asked various questions such as if we had stayed at a Ritz Carlton before? and if we were celebrating anything special? When I said that we had just come back from Japan and stayed at your Tokyo and Osaka properties there was just silence, I was expecting some small talk about the holiday.
I also mentioned that it was my partners Birthday and that is why we were staying at the Powerscourt premises, I assumed this would have been noted and perhaps a birthday card or a small acknowledgement made on arrival but we received neither.
Restaurant booking:
We were booked on a Gordon Ramsey Dining Experience rate. The reservations agent advised me that the restaurant would be in touch to take our dinner reservation.
No telephone call was received; I had to send an email and was telephoned back by the Gordon Ramsey Restaurant Team.
Concierge Request:
We sent a service request through the Ritz Carlton website asking for information on the wooden sculpture park at Ashford including opening times and directions.
I received an email back from Robbie Smyth on the 3rd June confirming my request; he stated that he had a map showing the sculpture of the woodland on it. He stated he couldnt find the opening times but had telephoned them and left them a message and as soon as he heard anything he would email us back. No email was received so we assumed the information including the map would be waiting for us in our suite on arrival. It wasnt there. We went to the Concierge desk and spoke to Alan who had no knowledge of the request and asked us to come back in 10 minutes when his colleague would be there. We asked if perhaps his colleague could telephone us in our room.
His colleague did ring us later that afternoon but no information had been passed on regarding what we were inquiring about, we therefore had to explain everything again. Finally the Chef Concierge arranged for the information to be brought to our room.
Brochure Request:
We made a request for a hotel brochure through the RC website using the Service Request function. We requested a hotel brochure as we wanted to show our family where we were going as we had planned to spend Christmas at the Powerscourt hotel in 2009 and this would have been a trial run to check the property out.
On our initial contact we received an on screen acknowledgement that the request had been sent and we would hear from the hotel soon.
No brochure was received after a week so we sent a second request, this time by using Contact Hotel and selecting General Brochure Requests, we received an on screen acknowledgement but still no brochure.
Finally about a week before our stay we sent a final request, again by the Brochure Request link, we still to this day await the delivery of the brochure.
Arrival:
We arrived at the hotel to an initial impression of a large grand hotel. We found a parking space right next to the entrance (parking bay number one!).
A member of staff saw us arrive but instead of coming over and welcoming us or asking if we needed any help with our luggage they just ignored us and started talking to a van driver making a delivery at the entrance.
We walked to the door and made our way into the lobby, again completely ignored by the staff outside.
The staff area is to the left of the hotel main entrance and staff who smoke can be visibly seen by guests.
Check-in
We approached the reception desk and were greeted by a friendly receptionist who issued our key card and called a member of staff over to show us to our room and help with luggage. There were no issues with the check-in process.
The Garden View Suite
The member of staff accompanied us to our suite; he gave us a quick introduction to the hotels facilities and explained what the suite offered.
As soon as we entered the suite (Room 237) we both commented on how hot the room was. The member of staff checked the air conditioning and turned it down from 20 to 19 which he said was the lowest it would go but admitted it was very warm.
He explained how to operate the electronic console and the other room facilities. I asked if there was any bottled water to be told that it was in the honour bar and available for a nominal charge (this turned out to be 5.25 for a 50cl bottle).
I then asked where the tea & coffee making facilities were only to be told that the room doesnt have any however you could call down for tea and coffee, there was no mention of any cost to this.
The initial impression of the Garden View Suite is that it is a good size and attractively decorated to the usual high Ritz Carlton standards. It wasnt until we had unpacked and had time to explore the room further that we started to become disappointed.
The door handle to the bathroom double doors came off in my hand, and then the handle to the toilet door did the same. The mirror was chipped and the fixtures in the walk in shower were rusty in places.
There were two wardrobes of a good size but only one of them had any hangers and then only eight were supplied. We were only stopping one night but we still had our dinner outfits, gym wear, the next days clothing, and an extra change of clothing just in-case not to mention our jackets.
The bathroom was beautiful but again lacked the finishing touches, no cotton wool pads, no shaving kit, no toothbrush or mouthwash, no hair brush or comb all these items have been readily available in the room at every RC hotel we have stayed in.
Again the living room was lacking the little touches that make RC the high class brand that it is. There was no DVD player or sound system in the room, only the 32 LCD TV which you had to pay for movies or music from.
There was inadequate glassware for a suite, two wine glasses and two tall tumblers, not suitable for drinking a liqueur from the honour bar and not enough for entertaining any guests if you wished to do so.
No bottle opener or corkscrew to open any of the honour bar drinks with despite the service guide stating there should be one. Neither were there any cocktail stirrers to mix a gin and tonic with.
There was no welcome letter or complimentary fruit, not to mention a total lack of recognition for our past custom with RC and no acknowledgement of my partners birthday (which they were made aware of)
The concierge information we asked for (see above) wasnt in our room on arrival and no confirmation of our dinner reservation in the Gordon Ramsey Restaurant.
When we booked our room we were told it would be a Garden View Suite with views overlooking landscaped gardens and the surrounding Powerscourt Estate. The RC website also confirms this information. What view did we get? A ground floor view of a fire escape, the rear entrance to a pub, the door to the Kids Club, a few over grown shrubs, cigarette ends and lots of weeds on an internal courtyard.
Thankfully the hotel was quiet and the Pub was closed, I would have been even more upset if we had suffered noise from children in the kids club or noise from those on the smoking area of the pub. I also wouldnt have been happy regarding the lack of privacy and poor personal security, we did have a net curtain but that doesnt stop the feeling of being overlooked.
I would probably expect an exaggerated statement such as this from a package tour operator but never from a Ritz Carlton.
As I said before the room is fantastic in size and internal appearance but it is these little touches that make a hotel what it is, especially in a suite.
Anyway let me continue with the problems.....
We had now unpacked our luggage and I was hoping to take a sleep before dinner as we had been awake since 0430hrs that morning.
Unfortunately the temperature in the room was getting hotter and hotter and we were now both nearly passing out.
I telephoned reception at 1515hrs and explained the problem, I also told them about the two door handles that had come off in my hand. I was told that an engineer would attend to our room within about 15 minutes.
Whilst we were waiting for the engineer we decided to order some tea. My partner pressed the in room dining button only to be greeted by an automatic message asking if we knew the extension number and to enter it. He tried again and this time a member of staff answered only to say he needed in room dining and they would have to transfer the call (it was in room dining that was pressed!).
The tea arrived for us to discover a charge of 5 each plus a 4 service charge.
I have no problem paying for items ordered from room service and a service charge is expected. However it is also expected that a Five Star hotel would have the appropriate facilities to prepare your own hot drinks within your room. Again this has never been a problem in a RC before.
The tea was delivered without any biscuits (the little touches missing again) and no lemon for the earl grey and no sugar.
I asked for some lemon and waited another 10 minutes while the member of staff went to get some. By the time they had brought it to the room the tea was no longer hot.
Fed up and totally disappointed the time was now 1600hrs and still no engineer had arrived. The heat was getting worse and I now had a throbbing headache. I telephoned again; I was given an apology and was promised a call back.
I was called a few minutes later by reception to be told that an engineer is working on the problem and would be up in about 15 minutes to fix the door handles. They asked if I would like to speak to a Manager about the problems, I said that I would and she told me that the Manager would be asked to make contact.
The maintenance gentleman arrived at the suite at 1610hrs and apologised for the problem. He confirmed that the room was boiling hot and stated that the problem had been caused by a fault on the main heating valve that had been turned to be fully on causing excessive heat to enter the system and instead of blowing cold air it was blowing hot air. He stated this had affected several rooms and that cold air should start to blow through.
He fixed the door handles and advised me to call back in an hour if the room hadnt cooled down.
At 1640hrs I received a call from the Call Centre asking if Maintenance had been to the room. I confirmed that they had and told them what they had said. I also told her that the room was still very hot, it was not getting any cooler, the air conditioning was blowing cold air now but the fan speed was so low (it was set to high) that it would take hours to even notice any change.
I also told the call centre that I wasnt happy that the Manager hadnt made contact within the last 40 minutes; she apologised and said she would pass my comments on to the Management team.
Five minutes later I received a telephone call from the Duty Manager. I explained that we were un-happy with the suite, the problems with the heating, the door handles, the lack of view and lack of facilities. He said he would try and find a cooler room and ring us back.
At 1705hrs we received a further call from the DM stating he was outside and he offered to show us to a different suite to see if it was suitable.
The suite we were shown was room number 242 a Mountain View Suite. As soon as we entered the corridor outside our room we noticed the lovely cool air and Patric commented on the heat from our original room.
The Mountain View Suite:
We confirmed the new suite was suitable and the member of staff then helped us move all of our clothes and baggage to our new room. Unfortunately there was now no chance of having a quick sleep before dinner, my headache was worse than ever and we were very disappointed.
I do ask why the first suite wasnt checked before our arrival as it was very evident how hot the room was. It could also have been picked up by the person who escorted us to our room. Instead we were made to wait over 2 hours until we were moved.
Whilst I appreciate we had in theory been given an upgrade to this new suite there was no other form of service recovery.
I did ask the DM to arrange for some tea and coffee making facilities and some complimentary water to be brought to the new suite which was done whilst we were getting ready. The only problem was the bottled water was poured into the kettle for some reason.
Again this new suite was missing some of the smaller things that make a five star hotel what it is. The bottle that should contain bath salts was empty, again no shaving kit etc. No fruit in the suite, half of the magazines in the suite were out of date and had stains and marks form coffee cups and glasses on them, four large wardrobes but again only eight hangers in one of the wardrobes and none in the others.
The closet in the entrance hallway for hanging coats had no hangers to put them on. No tissues in the guest bathroom and only one hand towel.
The TV in the living room is in the wrong place as you cant see it directly from the sofa; it also suffers with noise distortion due to the cabinet it has been placed in.
No sound system or DVD player despite plenty of space for one.
A suite is often used for entertaining guests yet again there were only two wine glasses and two tumblers, no cocktail stirrers, all the same things missing as the previous suite.
There was a nice kitchen area with a coffee machine but no instructions on how to use it and no milk or sugar provided not to mention any cups, saucers, etc.
There were many empty cupboards in every room of the suite, perhaps some could be filled with some books, DVDs, Music CDs, Sound System, DVD Player, IPod Dock, Small box of chocolates or biscuits, all things that are common place in even a four star hotel.
The outdoor terrace was a nice feature however we were expecting fantastic views similar to those on the RC website. It was now that we realised that most of the landscaping pictures on the RC website are of the neighbouring Powerscourt estate and not the hotel grounds. Instead we had a view of grass leading to an overgrown area where the helicopter pad is located. Thankfully the view of the mountain distracted from the otherwise plain landscape. Why couldnt a few colourful flower beds be added?
Im sure by now youll think we are being picky and looking for problems. Unfortunately the problems kept leaping out at us and therefore that made us look in more detail at what exactly we were paying for.
Pre Dinner Drinks:
We went to Restaurant Gordon Ramsey to have a pre dinner drink. After trying to remember what floor we were on and if we needed to go up or down in the lift (the floor number system is very confusing and we werent the only ones, even the staff hate it!!!), we arrived at the restaurant, we peered through the windows but couldnt see any lounge to have a drink so we assumed we must use the Sugar Loaf Lounge.
At the Sugar Loaf Lounge we sat down at a table that had two dead roses in a small vase (very nice!), after five minutes a member of staff came over and offered us a menu. My partner chose champagne and I wanted a Strawberry Daiquiri. Unfortunately a Strawberry Daiquiri isnt offered on the limited cocktail menu (6 cocktails from what I remember), I asked if the bar person could make one anyway. The member of staff went away and came back and told me it wouldnt be possible. I therefore chose a Singapore Sling.
While we were waiting for our drinks, the same Duty Manager came over to ask if everything was now running smoothly. I told him about the problem with the Strawberry Daiquiri, he went to the bar and also confirmed they couldnt do one. I asked why there were unable to make such a simple drink, I pointed out that they had lime juice, strawberries, rum and sugar syrup as they were all formed part of the other cocktails so why couldnt they put them all together to make a daiquiri?
The Duty Manager agreed that it seemed stupid and he asked me to leave it with him. He went off returning a few minutes later to state that Restaurant Gordon Ramsey would be able to make a Daiquiri for me when we went down. Our other drinks then arrived. Yes we finally got our Daiquiris but why couldnt the Sugar Loaf Lounge make them, this is a five star hotel and I cant believe the bar staff are so poorly skilled that they cant make a simple cocktail.
Dinner:
Following our drinks we made our way back to Restaurant Gordon Ramsey, we were greeted at the door and showed to our table. We then noticed the lounge area at the other side where we could have had the drinks of our choice.
The Daiquiris were brought to our table and were excellent. The evening in the restaurant was perfect, food, service, drinks everything, excellent.
My only comment would be about the location of the rest rooms. Has the designer of the hotel put any thought into it? Who wants to go on a five minute walk round the building to go to the toilet during a meal where you are paying hundreds of euros? Surly toilet facilities could be located within the restaurant itself.
Turn Down:
We returned to our suite to find that we had received turn down but again the little things were missing. No chocolate, no weather forecast for the next day, the napkin had been placed next to the bed but no one had bothered to get the slippers out of the wardrobe and place them next to the bed as well. The bath towels were still in the same places where they were left, on the floor. Other RC properties do this!
The day time pillows had been taken off the bed but had been left at the end of the bed on the floor. There are four large wardrobes, countless cupboards, surly the pillows could have been put away. Our bathroom items hadnt been tidied up or placed neatly on a face cloth. The towels hadnt been replaced but the dressing gowns hadnt been hung up. Yes these are little things but they are all things that have been done in every other RC hotel and they do mean a lot to guests who come to expect this level of service from the brand.
Breakfast:
The next morning we went to breakfast expecting the same high quality, how wrong we were.
Yes we were greeted and shown to our table. We were then left 10 minutes before someone offered us coffee or juice and another 5 minutes until it arrived.
There were no menus on the table at all and no indication anywhere of what you could order. The cold buffet was very good with a nice selection of cheese, fruit and cereals. The pastries were disappointing and nothing special.
My partner managed to flag down a member of staff and asked about ordering poached eggs. It wasnt a problem but you would expect a menu indicating what is on offer.
When the eggs arrived he went to top the plate up with items from the hot buffet only to discover when he started to eat it that the buffet items were all cold. He complained as did several other guests and fresh items were cooked but this once again spoiled the experience.
Why arent the kitchen staff checking the temperature of the hot food, or even better why isnt it cooked to order? I would also add that the sausages are an embarrassment to Ireland (they were cheap, tastless and cold)
The rest of the stay:
We later returned to our room to enjoy our view of the overgrown helicopter pad and the mountain.
At 1140hrs the door to the suite opened without any knock or press of the door bell and in walked a member of housekeeping staff. My partner was getting changed for the gym at the time but thankfully was in the bedroom with the door closed. The member of staff did apologise and said that the room was down on her sheet as unoccupied.
At 1505hr the same thing happened, no knock or press of the doorbell and a member of staff again walked straight in, explaining the suite was shown as unoccupied. She then sensed we were not happy and she asked if she could check the mini bar. She did this and then left.
At 1510hr yet another member of housekeeping came to the door, at least this time she knocked before opening the door. By this time I was very angry about the total lack of communication between staff in this hotel.
You may think things could get no worse, sorry but they do.
We rang in room dining to request Afternoon Tea in our suite. The response was the normal not quite sure if we can do that attitude we were now coming to expect from this hotel. The member of staff said they would have to ring the Sugar Loaf Lounge and enquire and then would ring me back.
In the meantime I telephoned Patric again as I was very unhappy regarding the staff from housekeeping entering the room without knocking.
He assured me we could have Afternoon Tea in the suite and that it would be delivered as soon as possible. I ordered vegetarian sandwiches for myself and normal sandwiches for my partner.
The tea arrived and looked very nice, the member of staff went into detail explaining about every little detail. This was a bit pointless however as the detail on the plate were missing.
Yes I was given vegetarian sandwiches and yes the member of staff explained which ones they were. The sandwiches were on two plates but instead of separating the vegetarian ones onto one plate and the meat ones onto the other they were all mixed together. This meant we had to pick them apart to find out which were the ones I had ordered.
We then started on the scones; well we could have done if they were edible. We tried to cut then but they were cold and rock hard and the centre of the scone was dry as if it was stale.
I telephoned in room dining and was told some fresh scones would be sent up. They arrived and were this time red hot and soggy as though they had been placed in a microwave. When I tasted the scone I was unable to eat it as the middle was soggy.
It was then that I noticed the date on the pot of Irish Coffee Curd that I had put on my scone and nearly eaten. It was over a month out of date. I have retained the jar as evidence.
I immediately telephone the duty manager and explained again the poor standards of service and the out of date food. He advised me that the Afternoon Tea would not be charged (I should hope not!)
We immediately packed and went to check out.
We have been promised that these problems were rare and that our contstructive comments have been noted. We have been in communication with Andrew Nassau (former RC Hong Kong fame) and he promises that our complaint has been acknowledged and the points raised will be dealt with and improvements will be made. I have been promised a letter in August 2008 with the latest improvements. We are returning to the RC Powerscourt. Hopefully it has improved and have been promised full VIP courtesies We'll see..
Aug 6, 2008 | 7:02 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom
Posts: 52
RC Powerscourt
Its just the little things, which I expect (and I'm sure so do others on here) which are important to a RC property, unfortunatly at Powerscourt they aren't available.
It is to be noted that there has been a change of management at the RC Powescourt, the former GM of the RC Millenia Singapore has taken charge of the RC Powescourt property, so it would be good to see what "improvements" have been made when we return in February 2009. We'll see.
Aug 6, 2008 | 3:53 pm
#4
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Posts: 304
I should have posted my views on RC Powerscourt earlier.
I have been at two business meetings here with one overnight. Its a convention hotel in my opinion.
The location is lovely, weather permitting, so its a shame its not better for leisure visitors. Perhaps the new management will sort this out.
Dont get me started about the Gordon Ramsay restaurant, it is not highly regarded here despite his celebrity status in the UK.
I have been at two business meetings here with one overnight. Its a convention hotel in my opinion.
The location is lovely, weather permitting, so its a shame its not better for leisure visitors. Perhaps the new management will sort this out.
Dont get me started about the Gordon Ramsay restaurant, it is not highly regarded here despite his celebrity status in the UK.
Aug 7, 2008 | 2:12 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
Posts: 27,232
Looks like its no better than the Capella Castlemartyr then (see my recent posts!) - even down to the lack of DVD and the toilet handle door coming off in your hand! It is SO frustrating to have such well-built properties within a short traveling distance of the UK but knowing that they are so badly run you can't risk visiting them.
Last edited by Raffles; Aug 7, 2008 at 2:20 am
Aug 7, 2008 | 2:16 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom
Posts: 52
I'm reserving judgement about the RC Powerscourt for when I return. Hopefully the new GM will sort the place out.
Did anyone read the report on the property having to cut jobs?
Aug 7, 2008 | 6:06 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom
Posts: 52
RC Powerscourt
An interesting news article send to me by a friend;
THE 250m Ritz Carlton hotel has confirmed it needs to cut jobs because of slumping sales targets in the latest sign that no one is safe from the Irish recession.
In a move that will send a shiver down the spines of hoteliers around the country, management at the five-star Ritz hotel in Powerscourt -- seen as a symbol of wealth by those who stay in it -- has announced that it now needs to cut at least 20 jobs from its staff levels.
The luxury hotel, a playground for the wealthy visitors to Ireland, currently has a full-time staff level of 265 people -- but due to the economic downturn, it is now facing the prospect of slashing almost 10pc of its workforce.
In a statement confirming the grim news, Ritz Carlton Human Resources director Grainne Johnston explained that due to the unforeseen slowdown in the market and a failure to reach initial targets, at least 20 full-time staff members will now face the reality of following visitors in packing their bags and heading out the door.
Forecast
"When we opened we forecast that we would do a certain level of business and we staffed according to that plan, but we're not hitting those targets," explained the luxury hotel's representative.
"It was a big decision for us, but business is down across the board. We didn't envisage this sort of a slowdown."
Rooms at the five-star hotel, which was developed by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett's Treasury Holdings and whose name is seen as a symbol of top-notch services for visitors, were initially advertised at up to 450 for a one-night stay during the pre-opening phase.
However, after realising that it was failing to meet the targets the high-profile hotel had set for itself in recent months, management at the hotel -- which houses a restaurant run by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay -- has began to slash its prices.
THE 250m Ritz Carlton hotel has confirmed it needs to cut jobs because of slumping sales targets in the latest sign that no one is safe from the Irish recession.
In a move that will send a shiver down the spines of hoteliers around the country, management at the five-star Ritz hotel in Powerscourt -- seen as a symbol of wealth by those who stay in it -- has announced that it now needs to cut at least 20 jobs from its staff levels.
The luxury hotel, a playground for the wealthy visitors to Ireland, currently has a full-time staff level of 265 people -- but due to the economic downturn, it is now facing the prospect of slashing almost 10pc of its workforce.
In a statement confirming the grim news, Ritz Carlton Human Resources director Grainne Johnston explained that due to the unforeseen slowdown in the market and a failure to reach initial targets, at least 20 full-time staff members will now face the reality of following visitors in packing their bags and heading out the door.
Forecast
"When we opened we forecast that we would do a certain level of business and we staffed according to that plan, but we're not hitting those targets," explained the luxury hotel's representative.
"It was a big decision for us, but business is down across the board. We didn't envisage this sort of a slowdown."
Rooms at the five-star hotel, which was developed by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett's Treasury Holdings and whose name is seen as a symbol of top-notch services for visitors, were initially advertised at up to 450 for a one-night stay during the pre-opening phase.
However, after realising that it was failing to meet the targets the high-profile hotel had set for itself in recent months, management at the hotel -- which houses a restaurant run by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay -- has began to slash its prices.
Aug 7, 2008 | 7:49 pm
#8
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: AA Platinum, Delta Gold
Posts: 186
Thanks for the detailed report. I love to read them, although i am sorry that your stay was disappointing. I agree that most of the things that were unsatisfactory to you would have been to me also. One thing that would not have bothered me is the lack of shaving equipment or toothbrush/toothpaste. I've never seen those amenities in any hotel without first requesting them.
A question: you were in the room past the normal checkout time when housekeeping walked in (the second time). Had you arranged a late checkout? (By the way, I often find that housekeeping is zealous in their attempt to turnover my room on the day that I checkout, so I always keep the Do Not Disturb sign on the door on the last day, regardless of the time of day).
Thanks again for your report.
A question: you were in the room past the normal checkout time when housekeeping walked in (the second time). Had you arranged a late checkout? (By the way, I often find that housekeeping is zealous in their attempt to turnover my room on the day that I checkout, so I always keep the Do Not Disturb sign on the door on the last day, regardless of the time of day).
Thanks again for your report.
Aug 8, 2008 | 2:07 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom
Posts: 52
A question: you were in the room past the normal checkout time when housekeeping walked in (the second time). Had you arranged a late checkout? (By the way, I often find that housekeeping is zealous in their attempt to turnover my room on the day that I checkout, so I always keep the Do Not Disturb sign on the door on the last day, regardless of the time of day).
Thanks again for your report.
Thanks again for your report.
Aug 8, 2008 | 1:57 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
Posts: 27,232
Same with Castlemartyr. My old Gallivanters Guide quotes prices of Euro 425 for the basic rooms, which they are currently advertising in the Irish Times at Euro 180 with breakfast, 1 dinner (on a 2 night stay) AND a round of golf thrown in.
Sep 14, 2012 | 5:17 pm
#12
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Dublin,Ireland and Nice France
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 2,417
It depends on the time of day.
I can drive normally from there and be sitting off grafton street in about 30 minutes.
Add an hour to that if you do the journey between 730am and 930am heading in or between 5pm and 6pm on the way out.
Not sure on the taxi cost,but it could be north of 30,it's dear.
They may have a complimentary car,I'm not sure.
You can get a bus from Enniskerry village,which is just down the road from the hotel,they will drive you there.
I can drive normally from there and be sitting off grafton street in about 30 minutes.
Add an hour to that if you do the journey between 730am and 930am heading in or between 5pm and 6pm on the way out.
Not sure on the taxi cost,but it could be north of 30,it's dear.
They may have a complimentary car,I'm not sure.
You can get a bus from Enniskerry village,which is just down the road from the hotel,they will drive you there.
Sep 16, 2012 | 7:12 am
#13
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Here there and everywhere
Posts: 6,303
Same is true of R-C Powerscourt. R-C is no longer what it was and the Irish economy can no longer support those early rack rates, which means Powerscourt has dumbed down on most levels. It remains a good hotel, but not a truly high-end good hotel.
Sep 17, 2012 | 6:21 am
#14
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Fairfield County, CT USA
Programs: AA PLT+2MM / DL DM+1MM / A3 *G / Fairmont LT Plat / Ritz Gold / SPG Gold
Posts: 4,077
The original post sounds just atrocious. While many aspects I'm sure were fine, the totality of the little things gone awry can really ruin a stay. I'm surprised the op was willing to return.
Has anyone visited the property subsequent to the management change?
Has anyone visited the property subsequent to the management change?
Sep 17, 2012 | 7:46 am
#15
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Dublin
Posts: 188
Not me; having had similar experiences to the OP (albeit slightly less surreal) shortly after the place opened , I'm in no hurry to rush back. I just wrote the place off as one of those horrid Celtic Tiger aberrations. It's a shame, because the location is lovely for a weekend break from Dublin.
Last edited by ThudAndBlunder; Sep 17, 2012 at 7:51 am