dfyant

I am not writing to vent but rather to ask for advice on what to do next.

Stayed at the Parker Meridien in NYC 10 days ago for several nights. Paid upgrade to corner suite. Bathroom was broken and extremely moldy with a strong mold smell, so bad that it permeated the whole suite and became the topic of conversation whenever friends stopped by.

I had to fight (really hard - harder then I have had to fight in recent years at hotels) just to get moved to the same room elsewhere in the hotel. I was told that mold is "normal" and "not all mold is dangerous" to which I greatly objected. The next room was not as moldy, but still some mold and cracking falling paint in the bathroom etc.. Calling downstairs for the manager always resulted in a total blowoff (he'll call you back, he's out of town till Monday, he just left) etc..

Gave up and called SPG number and opened a corporate complaint. I was told that the manager would have to call me back within 5 days. Now it's been 10 so I just called SPG again and (after a 15 minute hold) am being told that the hotel closed the complaint and noted that they had spoken to me and resolved it. However that's simply not true at all.

What do I do next?

ldsant

Wait for the Lurkers to read this They'll assist you with getting a response.

Starwood Lurker II

Well, I tried to retrieve any files created at this property 10 days ago but nothing about "moldy beds".

If I am able to obtain some details from the OP, it would be most helpful.

[email protected]

Thyetus Lee | Online Forum Coordinator(AP)
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd

dfyant

It wasn't a moldy bed, it was moldy bathrooms 10/8 - 10/11 Room 3602 and then moved to 3702 after begging, pleading and then downright insisting and asking to be moved to a Fairmont property

ldsant

You asked to be moved to a Fairmont property?! And thought they would/should accommodate this request?

soitgoes

Did you call SPG or customer service?
At any rate, a PM to Thyetus would probably help.

If you've already contacted customer service and that got nowhere, you can then escalate to Consumer Affairs. The number is posted in this forum. I'd give Thyetus a chance to help instead of going that route, at least at this point.

soitgoes

I'm confused, too. Move to a different room at the hotel, yes. Move to Fairmont??

dfyant

When the assistant manager refused to move me to a non moldy room I had no choice. I politely explained that if she continued her refusal I would need to move to a particular Fairmont hotel in NYC that I normaly stayed at and asked her to help arrange to transfer me over there. I don't think it was a far fetched or rude request given the circumstance (she said her hotel was completely booked and that she couldn't move me to another room and tried to teach me about how natural and safe mold was).

The other NYC Fairmont hotel that I normally stay at had room, and those rooms don't have mold in my experience. I really asked it very nicely and politely - not in any way rude or derogatory. Simply a "if you truly can't move me to a room without mold then I would appreciate your assitance in moving to xxxxxx".

AZ Travels the World

You recognize that the Fairmont and Le Meridien chains have no relationship with one another, right?

Starwood has many hotels in NYC. If the mold situation was simply intolerable (much of it would become an issue for me, as I have a severe allergy to mold), I could perhaps see a request to be moved to another Starwood property.

But a completely different, unrelated chain? Frankly, I can understand the 'blow-off' by the manager on duty.

dfyant

You're misunderstanding. I did not ask them to pay for my room at the other hotel. I simply asked them to send a bellman up to pick up my bags and to call a car service to transfer me over to the other hotel.

Given the options I was given (stay in your moldy room, mold is natural and safe), I had no option left other than to leave the hotel.

I made it very clear that all I wanted was for them to cancel the night and the rest of my stay and to assist in my departure and transfer. Transfer meaning physical move not "paid transfer". She completely understood my request and only then did she finally say she would move me to a different room without mold. If you understood how silly they were being (in rougly lecturing me about how safe and natural mold is) you would understand completely why I wanted to vacate the property.

Again - vacate meaning at my expense. Some things are worth more then money.

MilesTalk

The way I'm reading this, OP asked for assitance in being moved - not for the Parker Meridien to cover the cost of the Fairmont. But if I'm reading it wrong, yes, that would be too much to expect ;-) The rest of the post, however, seems like something the Lurkers can help sort. Certainly, the hotel closing the file as resolved without talking to you is no small matter for Starwood.

AZ Travels the World

Yes, I'm sorry, I did misunderstand. I interpreted, "downright insisting and asking to be moved to a Fairmont property" to mean that you wanted them to do so at their expense.

But I'm with you, some things are definitely worth more than money. If they couldn't give you a mold-free room, asking to leave, without penalty, to move to another hotel (and to have a little bellman help in the process) is a perfectly reasonable request.

mntblue

By Fairmont you are referring to the Plaza hotel at 59th/5th? It's one and half block from the Parker Meridien, why not just leave and fight the Starwood charge later?

soitgoes

I'm sorry for misinterpreting as well. That request is perfectly acceptable and shame on the hotel.

Starwood Lurker II

Not to worry, my colleague is working on this issue with the property. I will monitor the complaint and provide updates to the OP once I have any.

[email protected]

Thyetus Lee | Online Forum Coordinator(AP)
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd