I usually don't write reviews, but the terrible experience I had at this hotel makes this an exception. I booked this hotel for part of our honeymoon. I read the reviews and it looked like a great choice. Obviously, the pool looks incredible, but the photos don't show that it is now a deck overlooking other buildings. It's definitely not as pictured. That's not a big deal though. It was the "customer service" that really ruined this portion of our honeymoon.
My husband and I thought it would be nice to go horseback riding in the area. So I went to the front desk in the morning and asked where we could go. They said they would make arrangements and let us know. They told us that we would be set to go at 2:00on and it was about a 20 minute drive. They said nothing about a cancellation policy. As the day went on, I began to feel like I was getting sick. I badly wanted to go and tried my best to suck it up, but by 1:30pm, I realized that it would not be the best thing. Therefore, I called the hotel and let them know that we were not going to be able to make it because I was ill. The lady on the phone said she was very appreciative that I coordinated of not just showing up. Again, nothing was mentioned about having to pay a cancellation fee. I figured if not when we first inquired about going, then at least this would have been mentioned at this time.
A bit later, my husband goes to the front desk to ask a question and he was then informed by the manager that we were going to be charged a cancellation penalty. Nice of them to tell us after the fact. They didn't tell us how much it would be either. I spoke to the manager (who can clearly see that I am not feeling well), and explained the situation. She said that they are not in charge of the place and that she had no control over us being charged, but it would go on our hotel bill. If I would've made the reservations directly, we would've never been charged, but the hotel used us as their guests to take advantage of the situation and conveniently tack it on to our hotel bill.
Upon check out, I noticed that the charge was the full amount. After some discussion, I was informed that the manager was in a meeting and could not discuss it with me at the moment. After some discussion with the receptionist, her colleague spoke to her and they both told me that since I was never informed of the cancellation policy that the manager would refund me a portion. But after reaching out to the manager through email, she told me that that wouldn't refund me anything.
At this point, I then reached out for the stable and they told me that the hotel has known about the 100% cancellation policy for over a year. I was never told this when making the reservation, nor when cancelling. Therefore, the hotel should accept part of the responsibility.
A hotel that cannot accept that they were partly at fault for an incident like this deserves less than one star. So much for customer service. Furthermore, the manager stated that "Swiss law" says that they dont have to disclose cancellation or change policies. I find that very hard to believe. What kind of business practice is that? read more