W Barcelona Refuses to help Get Transport for Guests -Stranding them
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Jan 3, 2011, 1:04 pm
#17
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Jan 3, 2011, 1:06 pm
#18
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Hummm...it has been a while, so my memory is hazy, but can't you get to the airport by metro/subway in BCN? And aren't there plenty of subway stops in or around Las Ramblas?
Jan 3, 2011, 1:14 pm
#19
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Always .... always ask a day or two ahead of check-out if any special consideration needs to be given for transport away from the hotel. More often than not, they will tell you "No big." But, with the slightest chance of an issue, they will know and you can address it ahead of time.
Jan 3, 2011, 1:21 pm
#20
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Upcountry Maui, HI
Posts: 13,308
A common observance of posting here is that some expect things to be just they are " back home" NYE is a big event for many cities the world over.
I bet the OP would have experienced the same problem on NYE in Las Vegas (as I have) is one place which comes readily to mind.
I bet the OP would have experienced the same problem on NYE in Las Vegas (as I have) is one place which comes readily to mind.
I was a NYC cab driver a very long time ago. If you worked NYE, you could make a ton of money. Everybody wants a taxi on NYE and cab drivers want to make money. Even if they tripled the number of taxis on NYE, there still wouldn't be enough to go around.
On the other hand, NYD is just another regular holiday. Plenty of taxis, plenty of drivers, holiday schedules for most people, no morning rush hour. It's not that busy of a day for NYC taxi drivers.
-David
Jan 3, 2011, 1:56 pm
#23
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Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 24,153
since people werent looking to have a cab take them to the W area = no cabs to be found
I dont think the Hotel even has a shuttle van, and again I dont feel teh Hotel has to rent a van to shuttle its guest around , some might expect 1 to teh closet Metro station others would want nothing less then teh airport a Lose Lose situation for the Hotel
About all they should have done is have a notice up explaining that if you need a vechile to take you anywhere on a holiday you best prearrange 1, but I cant ever recall seeing such a notice by any other Hotel ever thats why I dont put Blame on this W
Jan 3, 2011, 3:56 pm
#24
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You didn't actually read the OP, did you?
I was a NYC cab driver a very long time ago. If you worked NYE, you could make a ton of money. Everybody wants a taxi on NYE and cab drivers want to make money. Even if they tripled the number of taxis on NYE, there still wouldn't be enough to go around.
On the other hand, NYD is just another regular holiday. Plenty of taxis, plenty of drivers, holiday schedules for most people, no morning rush hour. It's not that busy of a day for NYC taxi drivers
I was a NYC cab driver a very long time ago. If you worked NYE, you could make a ton of money. Everybody wants a taxi on NYE and cab drivers want to make money. Even if they tripled the number of taxis on NYE, there still wouldn't be enough to go around.
On the other hand, NYD is just another regular holiday. Plenty of taxis, plenty of drivers, holiday schedules for most people, no morning rush hour. It's not that busy of a day for NYC taxi drivers
Last edited by Oxon Flyer; Jan 3, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Jan 3, 2011, 5:58 pm
#25
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Upcountry Maui, HI
Posts: 13,308
The OP was having difficulty getting a taxi on the morning of New Years Day. With all the drivers working a long, busy (and lucrative) New Years Eve shift, it's hardly surprising that there are not many drivers on duty the next morning, when the city is still sleeping off its hangover.
The OP said ...
... Anyway, the story ends with us wandering down the empty streets in the harbor to find a few taxis, who were nice enough to let some guests carpool and pile in their cars to the airport.
-David
Last edited by LIH Prem; Jan 3, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Jan 3, 2011, 6:15 pm
#26
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Jan 3, 2011, 6:27 pm
#27
Join Date: Mar 2010
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Staying at quite a few W's this year, I'm a bit shocked by reading this. Yes, I know the service differs from property to property, but this is a matter of helping a paying customer and/or SPG member. The way I look at it, service difference can be seen as...one property doing what is expected of them, and another property going above and beyond to help a guests stay just be that much better. Getting a taxi for the airport is something that the hotel should have arranged, I don't care if it's NYD, Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, etc.
Seems more like the hotel had the attitude of, you paid, you're checked out...now go deal with it. It's unacceptable, and quite shameful in my opinion.
Seems more like the hotel had the attitude of, you paid, you're checked out...now go deal with it. It's unacceptable, and quite shameful in my opinion.
Jan 3, 2011, 6:33 pm
#28
Join Date: Oct 2006
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you know the bus stops right in front of the hotel (well at the street) and that takes you straight to Playa de Catalunya where you can take the airport express to BCN
Jan 3, 2011, 7:14 pm
#29
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,546
It is too bad the hotel did not warn you. Last time I was in BCN, it was made clear upon check-in that we should order our airport taxi the night before. And this was in the middle of the off-season.
Jan 3, 2011, 7:29 pm
#30
Join Date: Jun 2005
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Well, the humble little Hilton Brussels City that I stayed at last year handed out notes to guests at check-in and posted notices in the elevators regarding an anticipated lack of taxis due to some event that was going on. Concierge desk was able to arrange guests cabs in advance ... I was very happy with this service, but I didn't think it was rocket science. I'd be disappointed if a de-luxe hotel wasn't capable of the same forethought.
