We pass through Port Huron frequently on our journeys to the middle of nowhere Canada where my husband's family lives. We used to stay at the Hampton Inn before & after crossing the border. No more.
Hotel options with 2 room suites are limited in the Port Huron area, so we started looking for adjoining rooms to give our family space. We decided to call to make reservations to ensure that our request was clear. They told us it would be no problem, but they offered a higher rate than online. We asked if we could still get adjoining rooms if we made our reservations online. They said, "Yes, just call us once the reservations are in the system." So, we made the non-refundable reservations online & called back to put in our request for adjoining rooms. Funny thing. Their tune suddenly changed. They had our money & now it was coincidentally impossible to accommodate us. We protested, & finally, a manager grudging told us such a promise should not have been made, but they would do their best to accommodate us. He told us call back a week before to remind them of our request.
My husband called back a week before we were traveling. "Can't help you yet. Call back in a couple days." We kept calling back, as they told us, only to be rebuffed over & over. At one point, he said to them simply, "Look, we're just trying to be considerate here. If our rooms aren't together that means that we're likely going to disturb everyone around us. The 6 year-old will be running up & down the halls to visit her sister. Once she's asleep, if we need help with the baby, we'll have to carry her, screaming, down the hall to get that help because we don't want to leave the 6 year-old alone & she has the amazing ability to sleep right through the baby crying." They, of course, told us to call back later. We sighed & did as we were told. My husband made our final call the night before our trip.
The morning of our trip, I was packing & the phone rang. The caller ID told me it was the hotel, so I answered, hoping they'd tell me that I could stop worrying about rooms across the hotel from each other. Nope. It was a manager calling to tell us that they were canceling our reservation due to "harassment & threats to their guests." How following their directions amounted to harassment, I don't know. And simply explaining the reality of the situation to them clearly wasn't a threat, but an attempt to impress upon them that fulfilling our request benefits them too. Still, I was told they wouldn't be honoring our request. I protested & the manager changed his story. He lied to me & told me that my husband had sworn at them & threatened them personally. I told him that was absolutely untrue. He smugly told me that he was sorry to alert me to the dark side of my husband. I replied with something like, "First, I have known my husband since we were children. I know his so-called dark side, thanks for your concern. You know what else I know about my husband? He's a very successful attorney, something he couldn't be if he were prone to losing his temper & threatening the people with whom he is negotiating or otherwise seeking concessions. There is no chance he did any of the things alleged, especially considering that I overheard the majority of conversations my husband had with people at your hotel. They were all very civil." He either ignored me, or didn't understand what I said to him & restated that he & his staff felt threatened. Probably because he was angry at me for calling him out on his bull, he added that he would call the police if we tried to enter the hotel.
I scoffed & asked him what I was supposed to do when I'm leaving shortly. He told me that he had made a reservation at the hotel across the street. I asked him how he was going to refund me the difference in cost. He told me that the rates were the same. I told him they were not. The hotel across the street was $10 per night less, or $40 less total. (Like I said, we pass through a lot). He either didn't realize the difference, or thought the employee across the street would lie, because he smugly told me he'd prove it & called the hotel to inquire about their rates. He had them on speaker phone on another line, so I could faintly hear the conversation in the background. They confirmed the price difference. I adopted his own smug attitude and asked again what he'd do about the difference. He angrily told me he'd send me a check for $40. I said fine, but I was certain the money was gone. And, quelle surprise, it's been a couple years now & no check. I hate that they caused so much stress for us & turned a profit. But, I console myself by thinking about all the money this place has lost from us and our family. Hopefully, they'll lose a bit more now. read more
