The Euphemism:
Actions speak louder than words
The Action:
I am in Leeds on business, and will be here for a total of 10 days. After checking into one of the executive suites, I spent about two hours locating another hotel and checked out the next morning.
The Words:
A lot of things are wrong with this hotel. I am writing this two nights after checking out, so I may miss a detail or two, but I will give you the highlights.
1) I decided to have my breakfast delivered to my room so I could relax and enjoy a coffee along with my view of the city (which is quite nice from the 20th floor, admittedly). After calling down to have someone bring up my door hanger to fill out (it was not in the room already as expected) I checked the box "07:00-07:30" for delivery time, and filled out my selection of food. At 06:30 I woke up and began my preparations for the day. At 06:42, while I was in the shower, the phone rang...and rang...it as room service, with my order. I answered the phone (getting soap and water all over the bathroom) and indicated I was in the shower, and that why were they ringing me before 07:00 and hung up.
20 seconds later, the phone rings again....and rings....and rings and rings. I pick up the phone, say "I'M IN THE SHOWER!!!" and hang up.
You will never believe this....The jackass calls back again in another 10 seconds. I answer: "WHAT?!?!" to which the man has the nerve to sound curt, and say that he's at the door waiting with my food. I told him (in not so many words) precisely what he could do with that tray of food.
He left it by the door. It wasn't very good anyhow...the fruit was obviously cut yesterday morning. What a surprise.
I had already decided to check out of the hotel the night before; but if the other items hadn't conspired to drive me away, this single act of douche-baggery sent my blood boiling.
I don't know who you are, but I really hope you get fired, and soon.
2) This place is *shabby*...and I mean in a way that only low quality Ikea grade furniture that is 10 years old can be shabby...and a building to match. At some point in history, this place may have been halfway decent...but the old, matted carpets are stained with multi-colored streaks of black, the couch is a joke and the shower lets more water out on the floor than goes down the drain. The main TV is an old shitty tube set that flickers so badly it may cause seizures, the espresso machine didn't work, the batteries in the cordless phone were dead and so was the iron.
Fortunately, I checked into my new hotel "Residence6" (right next door!) early enough so that I could break out the iron and make myself presentable before rushing off to my client's site.
3) I would however like to make a few comments about the rest of the staff, who were very friendly. My check-in was very easy, and when I checked out the girl actually blushed a little when I described my problems (I was quite cordial, so I don't believe she'd be reacting to my demeanor). I also enjoyed the bowl of fruit that was awaiting me upon entry. The pizza I ordered from roomservice the night before was actually very good too...but that's about it.
Yes, I did get 20% off my night's stay...whoopee. As a business traveler, this means almost nothing. My company or client are footing the bill 99% of the time anyhow. What IS important to me are expectations.
Expectations?
1) Everything in my room actually works. If I am renting an executive suite for a week, maybe someone might want to check the room ahead of time?
2) At this price point, some up-to date amenities are simply par for the course. Get flat screen TVs like the rest of the world...
3) How about some basic upkeep? Those carpets look like they were worn out years ago, and I do believe that couch was a piece of shit the day it was purchased.
I can't say The Park Plaza is the worst hotel I've seen, but it certainly isn't worth the money, and there was no way in hell I was staying there for the duration of my stay.
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