Let me start by saying that we have been making our annual trip to the Lodge each year as it has become a family tradition for us. Unfortunately this year one episode has made us second guess returning. In years past, we have found it very comfortable spending our down time in the hotel lobby, sharing food/drinks/games with our family. This year however, our experience was not as satisfying due to the interaction we had with the "security manager," Jarret. We were in the lobby on Saturday evening and the table and chairs were removed from the area that we were sitting in due to the tree lighting and arrival of Santa. In years past, we have been witness to how difficult it is to find a location to sit and enjoy the family time so we considered ourselves "lucky' to have found this spot. When Jarret approached us to remove the table/chairs with a second female security guard, this encounter was perceived as 'threatening' to my family. We were not aggressive nor did we offer any resistance other than to question why this was happening. To come over with a security guard and draw attention to us was uncalled for. We were told that the table was removed to allow for the children to fill in for the event and for "liability" purposes. He ACTUALLY TOOK THE CHAIR OUT FROM UNDER ME, and said to me "I am going to ask you to stand for the event." I was sitting comfortably, enjoying family time and the next thing I know, I am being asked to stand for the next hour to accommodate other families when I was sitting there for the last hour? From our perspective, this was an area that we purposely found to sit and put our personal belongings on to have them simply removed with poor rationale. When asked when the chair and table will be returned, I was told that housekeeping would bring them back once the manager decides if safe when the event is over. My family's comfort levels and ability to enjoy their time in the lobby was compromised due to this. We were forced to sit on the floor, play games and EAT DINNER ON THE FLOOR as there was no table to place our food/drinks on. By us sitting on the floor we actually took up more room in order to eat comfortably, which I am sure looked great to guests making their way to their rooms after just checking in and leading to an even larger liability for someone to trip over us. Jarret's lack of reading a situation in this sense was completely sub par and quite frankly a poor decision. To make matters even more concerning, he did not return later to apologize for our inconvenience nor did he offer alternatives to our obvious dissatisfaction with the situation. It was only after I asked to speak to the manager on duty, Mrs. Russell that she brought us a table and a chair back. This was of course after 9 pm and when my children had already completed their dinner on the floor. In our opinion, if the Lodge decides to keep this event in the same location, maybe taping off the area to prevent sitting in these areas after a certain time or maybe changing the location to a larger ball room or front lobby where a larger size crowd could be better accommodated should be considered. To ask a family to compromise their comfort to accommodate the Lodge is unacceptable and goes against one of the Lodge's core values of "Selfless Spirit of Service and the guest experience." We were actually approached by multiple guests that went out of their way to comment to us how ridiculous the whole incident was and that security's attention should have been on the surrounding potential liabilities such as unsupervised games of tag and footballs being hurled in lobby. Additionally, the highlight of the potential "liability" rationale came to a head when during the Santa line event a small child stumbled over the photographer's light stand causing it to a nearly fall onto the line of waiting children if not for my wife catching it to avert disaster. This save was observed by bystanders, including Jarret who DID NOT even offer a thank you to my wife for preventing what would have been significant injuries and "liabilities". We felt that Jarret's entire approach to this incident was not guest friendly and quite arrogant. Despite Miss Russell's accommodation of bringing the table and chair back to us, there was a comment made that did not go unnoticed also. When my wife was describing the scenario to her where she caught the lighting stand, Miss Russell's comment was "ok, you're a hero", yet another display of arrogance on the staff's part. In closing, this may not be considered significant, but to us we were extremely disappointed with the lack of customer service. We have considered the customer service quality at the Lodge exemplary in the past which is why we return year after year. These events however have left a sour taste that will lead us to possibly consider some of your competition in the future. I do hope you can appreciate this feedback as an opportunity to improve. read more