nssfly

Hi all,

Book SPG properties worldwide using the 50% promo rate by March 23rd and score some great deals. One example is the Palace in San Francisco at $126 per night. See link below for more info: http://www.starwoodpromos.com/hotel-...ATIONAL_GLO_W1

mysteryman2007

You can get this hotel for $107 (just did last week) + tax.

Golden Toque

Beware though, that rate will get you blood on your sheets, and dirty glassware as mentioned in the master thread for the hotel!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...-thread-4.html

towards the end of the page, and followed on page 5.

Just doing my part to promote this "Luxury" Hotel

EWRFlyerAL

I just stayed at the Palace Hotel last week and had no problems. THe room was very clean and the hotel staff was great.

sfozrhfco

I stayed there last week and had no problems either. The blood stained sheets must have been a special Platinum benefit only available for that night. Should I complain and ask for compensation because I did not receive this special benefit?

MikeBOS

I too stayed last week and I'm not going back. Among other things, they charged me $22 for a phone call to an 800 number (admittedly long, but this is ridiculous because there is no way it could have cost the hotel anything). I was told that there was nothing that could be done about the charge on checkout, that the manager would call me, and that the receipt would be emailed. No call from the manager, and no receipt. I called Platinum Concierge to complain, and they opened up in a complaint file, which resulted in an emailed copy of the receipt (complete with $22 charge for the call). No response from the management (again).

I will be staying in SF about every other week this year, but not at the Palace.

DCBob

That's not such a good deal. During the same period, you can book the Westin San Francisco Market Street at $99 a night and Le Méridien San Francisco for $111 a night. Both hotels are better than the Palace, with its dowdy decor and paper-thin walls.

KathyWdrf

Savvy consumers know that the quickest and easiest way to deal with such nuisance charges is simply to dispute them with their credit card company. In many cases (such as with Amex), you can even file the dispute online.

At least, this method has always worked very well for me over the years.

Anyhow, this thread really isn't supposed to be a complaint thread (though you can pretty much count on FTers to try to turn any thread into a complaint thread ) -- it's a thread about a promo rate that is OK but not so unusual.

allset2travel

I second that!

ENIAC

Not to distract anyone from recycling complaints about one of the hundreds of hotel participating in the offer, but these rates are pretty good and have no minimum stay.

Sheraton Wild Horse Pass from $109. Westin Kierland from $129 (many blackouts).

Westin Chicago North Shore for $69 at weekends, availability is wide open.

W Silicon Valley for $79 at weekends, incl. Thursday nights.

Sheraton Ottawa for CND 109, good availability.

4pts Chelsea from $140, didn't check availability, no posted blackouts.

So I'd say trending a little lower than previous offers.

DBCme

But did the hotel disclose there was a charge for calling an 800# ? Often this appears nearby the phone, or in a guest services/directory guide in the room.
If they disclose this, is there really anything to dispute?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's crazy hotels charge for 800#'s, but they are not non-profit organizations either. If they want to charge guests $25.00 a call and pocket the whole thing as profiit, I think they have a right to, as long as they inform their guests. When it doubt, don't use the room phone.

MikeBOS

After I saw the charge on my bill, I looked around for disclosure, and found it in fine print on a phone card that was under a stack of other stuff. The point is not that they aren't entitled to charge whatever fee they want; it is that if they want my future business (and it is a lot more than $22) they need to remove the charge whether or not it was disclosed. I make phone calls to 800 numbers when I am staying on business (calling into teleconferences) and there are plenty of other Starwoods (and other hotels) that don't have these ridiculous charges. I will not dispute the charge on my credit card, but I will also not stay there again.

wcj1

I agree that is the easiest, but I firmly believe that for small dollar amounts like this the credit card company just eats it. For me, half of it is trying to get the company to own up to their mistake, but if the cc company eats it then it just ends there.

Now credit card companies are making outrageous fees, so maybe they are getting their due. Or maybe it is just a vicious circle. I am still trying to figure out where it ends and what matters more, if anything.

BillJ

DCBob

Sorry, but the charge was correctly disclosed on the phone card (so it must have been one VERY long call to end up totaling $22), so it would be dishonest and unethical to dispute the charge with the credit card company.

But if the OP doesn't want to do business with that hotel again, that's fine. He should certainly call or email the general manager DIRECTLY and let him know that. The general manager (if he's any good) will likely reverse the charge.

Desk clerks (and I know because I used to be one) are strictly required to follow most rules and can't bend them just because a guest feels the charges are outrageous (even when they are).

MikeBOS

It was a long call -- 3 hour meeting, and I agree that it would be inappropriate to dispute the charge, but I also have no obligation to stay there again. I attempted to contact the manager twice, once through the desk clerk and once through SPG Customer Service, and got no response either time. I take this as indicative of their interest in solving the problem.

As a side note, at most hotels I stay at the desk clerks are given a fair amount of latitude to adjust these kinds of charges (some examples: Intercontinental LA, any Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis SF, and most Westins and Sheratons). If the Palace chooses not to do this, they do so knowing that it will cause some percentage of their customers to leave dissatisfied.