Upon checking in, the FD asked if I had three people instead of two. When I replied yes, I was told it was a big problem and that they would try to find a solution. And this was not presented in a helpful way, but in a way that made it clear that I was scum of the earth. So the "solution" that was ultimately presented to us - after an hour of waiting in the hotel restaurant - was that we pay for a second room, or we pay a FIVE HUNDRED EURO "supplement" to upgrade to a suite. Neither of these options was really an option at all, but in the interest of keeping my sister with us, I opted for the ridiculous five hundred euro supplement to the "Attic Suite". If you visit the Palazzina website or look at their hotel on any of the Marriott/SPG apps or branding, the Attic Suite is the one that comes up - it has Grand Canal views, a huge couch, tons of lamps, very atmospheric, etc. Okay - fine. I'll play ball and pay your fee for the chance to stay in a room like that and treat my guests to an experience of that magnitude.
Did you think the story ended happily there? Spoiler alert, it didn't. I go into the bedroom to look and see a GIANT swatch of black mold on the bedroom wall above a large mirror. Not like, mold in the shower corner, oops, someone didn't put enough elbow grease in on that last clean, but a HUGE patch of mold. It was absolutely a health hazard. It obviously made the room completely uninhabitable.
So, we file back downstairs after taking a picture - and let them know that the room is lovely but we can't stay in it because it has MOLD. They didn't seem too alarmed but said that they would talk to "management" and see what could be done. I was pleasant but told them that this was absolutely a health hazard and that we needed to be moved to another room, no matter what the size (going back to the three person thing - we were told that this suite was the only room in the hotel that would fit three people which is why I had to pay the uncharge, etc). I also told them that based on the inconvenience we had already been through at this point, I didn't see any reason why we should pay a "supplement" for another room at this point.
Time was ticking at this point on our Venice stay and we had dinner reservations so we decided to go out to dinner, and come back and see what had been decided. Although it had been 2.5 hours we were away at dinner with the obvious mold issue - there still was not a room ready. But what was decided was that we had two choices. One, we could be moved to an even bigger suite and still pay the supplement. Two, we could stay in the room WITH THE MOLD and not pay the supplement. We spent another two hours in the lobby (grand total at this point of time spent on hotel issues and NOT spent enjoying Venice: approximately 3.5 hours), dealing with the FD person and trying to unsuccessfully resolve the situation, both with the FD, with "management" (who were either not there in person or refused to come out of their office, it was unclear), and ultimately with Marriott directly. Due to the time change, it was difficult to get through on the Customer Service line. After about three tries, I finally got through to someone who seemed like he could help me. He listened to my concerns, opened a customer service case file, and called the hotel directly (I was told). He came back on the line and told me that the issue had been resolved directly with the FD and that we were to be put up in the new room and NOT be charged the supplement. I wanted to cry, I was so relieved. The CS rep told me to stay on the line and confirm with the FD that our new room was ready for us, which I did. We were able to get into the new room, and get some sleep.
Oh wait. Did you think the story ended happily there? Spoiler alert, it didn't.
When we went to check out the next morning, I was told we would still have to pay the supplement, which was not the understanding from the previous night. We dealt with a new FD clerk, who was about as inclined to help as the FD clerk from the night before (read: not very). We were told that "management" had decided that we had to still pay the supplement despite the conversation with Marriott CS, etc. They literally told me that it did not matter what Marriott CS said. I asked to speak to the manager on duty and the FD clerk disappeared for about five minutes and came back with a card with an email address on it. The manager would literally not come out of their office to talk with me. At this point, I had no other choice than to sign the bill - although I did sign it with an asterisk noting "under duress". It was just the most unbelievable culmination of events and the way we were treated, from beginning to end, was absolutely incredible - almost laughably bad. I'm currently in follow up mode with Marriott (SPG) customer service.
Review summary if you don't like reading - stay far, far away from the Palazzina G, unless you are some kind of hotel masochist. read more
