On August 13th, my spouse, 1 year old child and myself stayed at the Aurora in Kingston for what was our first family trip. I would describe the motel itself as average, some renovations have been done in the bathrooms, otherwise the rooms were small but comfortable. Unfortunately that is where the positive comments stop. Although the staff was friendly, I cannot say the same for the Manager/Owner. To describe his attitude as rude would be an understatement. Ill-mannered, abrupt and impolite would be more correct. Checking in, I was left waiting for over 10 mins before he emerged from the back and greeted me rather abruptly, and with annoyance. We were given our room key and proceeded to get settled. The room was excruciatingly hot. The area was experiencing heatwave with temperatures reaching 40C with the humidity. We turned the air conditioner on to cool off the room. My spouse then left the baby and I to unpack while he ran errands. Within minutes the air conditioner shut off. I called the front desk and informed the manager of the issue. I expressed my concern with not having AC particularly because of the baby. He's response "Don't plug anything on that wall." I told him there was nothing of ours plugged in anywhere. He goes on to inform me that because of the heat some AC units are tripping breakers. I asked if the issue would be rectified. He said they were working on it. They AC came back on but shut off again less than 10 min later. I called the front desk and I once again expressed my concerns as the room was stifling hot. To which he responded "What do you want me to do about it? Just call and I'll go downstairs and trip the breaker". I was taken aback by his aggressive tone. So much so that I dreaded calling every 10-20 mins when the AC shut off. After the 19th call, my spouse proceeded to go speak to the manager and see if another room was available. The manager treated my spouse with distain and insolence. Saying we can have our money back and leave. Had any other accommodations been available in the area we would have left but we're obligated to stay. Thankfully a friend was kind enough to drop off a fan to get us through the night. From speaking to other guest it became obvious that this manager was treating everyone with disrespect. At $140/night, a price more reflective of a hotel rather than a motel, we expected at the very least decent customer service. We can understand that issues arise, however, how staff treats its guests and the ability come up with solution/compensation is what separates a good business from a bad one. The only reason the Aurora is still is business is likely due to the lack of accommodations in the area. I would classify the Aurora as to be avoided if at all possible. read more
