Wife and I stayed August 5th for a long weekend getaway. We prefer boutique properties over the cookie-cutter chains. Booked a queen suite at The Gould and were excited about our weekend. The GM who reserved our room via phone was very accommodating and pleasant and we anticipated the same excellent service. Unfortunatey we were wrong on so many levels.
I will preface that the temperatures were in the low 90s during our stay as its germane to the story. First off, if you park in the rear lot, the smell of rotting garbage from the kitchen's dumpsters is intolerable and will ruin any dinner appetite you may have had planned. Secondly the property is 'quaint' which translates to somewhat downtrodden.
Check-in process was seamless and they already had my money. We entered the room and it was sweltering. Thermometer on my backpack showed 80F. I was sorely disappointed to see that in a very small two room suite the only functional AC was a portable floor unit on ducted out the window on the right side of the bed. We had dinner reservations and had to leave quickly after our arrival so no time to talk to front desk. After dinner, we get back to the room and still 79F. Head to the front desk and talk to a new clerk as shift change occurred. She states "it's probably the batteries in the thermostat" after I explain there's a portable AC unit running in our room. She grabs some spare batteries and heads to the room with me. We pull the thermostat and replace the batteries. No dice - the wall mounted AC still does not work. I notice a switch next to the unit about 9ft up on the wall and ask the clerk if it's OK to turn it on. I get the affirmative nod and using the ironing board to activate the switch, the unit is running and blowing cold air. Problem solved or so we thought.
Head out to drinks (not at the hotel bar b/c after sitting for 10 minutes directly at the bar, we were not even acknowledged and left) and come back to the room which is now 70 F - awesome! About 1130P though, we start hearing a drip, drip, drip. We'll, it's the wall mount AC condensate pan with a crack in it dribbling on the floor. Decision time - we either swelter or listen to the drip. We put a hand towel in the ice bucket and located it under the drip. After an absolutely TERRIBLE night's sleep due to the continuous din of the water torture it was time to shower up and head out. BTW, the shower was the best part of the stay and the hot water was HOT.
Well, the bathroom was equipped with a generous 1/5th roll of toilet paper and no spare to rationing was warranted. Additionally, no bathmat and almost went on my butt on the floor getting out of the shower. Also, if you're going to install dimmer switches in the rooms and try to be manage your carbon footprint with LEDs simultaneously, at least spend the extra few bucks and but the dimmable bulbs. Walk the walk as a trendy boutique hotel, don't just talk the talk.
I convey our disappointment to the clerk upon checkout and he basically blows us off as "being the weekend guy" who can do nothing. He takes my number and says the GM will call me Monday August 8th. No call - EVER. I then call once a day for the next 2 wks and not one time did someone answer the phone. How the hell do you do business this way unless they knew it was me calling and were ignoring me.
I almost called my credit card company to dispute the bloated room rate under breach of contract but decided to keep trying to contact The Gould to speak my piece and apprise them of the dissatisfaction. I gave up after 6 wks on nobody answering the phone, thus the rationale for this lengthy review.
If you have a good stay there, congratulations. It may have been just a one-off experience for us, but when they won't even hear your concerns, that is where I have the problem. I'm aware of employee scarcity, but hire some professionals in the hospitality sector, not whomever you can get in from the street.
Never will go back and will make sure I give the aforementioned recount when asked for any recommendations in the Seneca Falls area. read more