I had booked to stay in September after doing the 100km Thames Path Ultra Challenge. I phoned the hotel before booking to enquire if I could get an early morning check-in on Sunday as I wasn't sure when I'd be finishing the walk, I've never walked 100km before! They said they could do check-in till 3am if I paid for the 2 night stay I required. I thought great, so I booked and paid.
When it became apparent on Sunday morning that I wouldn't finish and make check-in at 3am, I rang several times to speak to someone at the hotel, but there was no answer.
I finished my walk at 07:00 hours after walking 23 hours continuously. I rang the hotel at 9 am to explain what had happened, and the gentleman at the desk was rude and bluntly told me that my room had been cancelled as I was a no-show. I tried to explain that I tried to call the hotel during the night to say I would definitely be there in the morning. He couldn't care less and responded with i started work at 7am. How do I know what the night staff do!
I had at this point been awake for 29 hours, very tired, 128 miles away from home, nowhere to go, and on my own. Essentially, I was stranded and a vulnerable lone woman. When I told him this, he said I could book a room, but I would have to pay for it and wouldn't be able to check in till 3pm. I had already paid for a room, I told him. I had to end the conversation there as I was totally and utterly blown away by his responses and just stood and cried, physically and emotionally drained.
I sat on a park bench for 3 hours, nodding on and off and waiting for my son, who drove all the way from Nottingham to Henley On Thames to pick me up.
For a well-known hotel company like Ibis to treat its customers like this is despicable read more