HRH Problems!

[lynn46356]

We just returned from three days at the HRH. We had some problems while there unfortunately. We arrived at the HRH at 7:00 a.m. after a 20 hour drive. We immediately went to check in so we could get our room keys to use for Universal Express. At check in I was of course informed that our room was not ready. One could only hope after no sleep! I informed them that we would need a rollaway bed and was charged $25 a night which I thought was pretty steep. Then I proceeded to pay the $6 parking fee. Again, not too thrilled. Oh well. Universal Express would make us happy. I inquired about the straight a program and was told they weren't honoring that program any more. I also asked about the $35 upgrade and that was a no also. We gave them our cell phone # so they could call us when our room was ready though. We ate a quick bite at the Sunset Grill. Our waitress was nice enough to see that our three sons weren't big eaters and only charged us for one. She was a doll. Much better than the women at check in. She seemed as tired as we were. Ha. We went and did the parks and I called about 3:00 regarding our room as they had not callen us. It was ready. Yeah. I had booked a pool view. After seeing it I could hardly believe that's what we got. Looking out the window I saw a huge palm tree and a one foot spot of water. This is what we were paying extra for! Oh well again. Our room was at the very end and I mean very end of the hallway, floor 2. A mile from the elevator but close to the stairs which was so handy with a stroller. We managed though. We didn't see the lobby until we checked out on our third day!!! On our second day, which was spent at IOA, we came back around 5:00 pm and guess what, our room still had not been cleaned. We saw housekeeping in the hallway and I went and asked if she was going to clean it. Guess what, no. It wasn't her room to clean!!!!! I asked if we could have some clean towels and our overflowing garbage can emptied and she did do that. Guess we were lucky there. At check out the next day I explained our situation and asked about a refund for the rollaway bed as we had not seen housekeeping since we arrived and I thought I was on vacation except I was cleaning up our room the whole time we were there. They did refund me our $50 which did make me happy I guess. I would like to write a letter or email someone regarding this. So my question finally is who to send this to. We did enjoy our trip but had hoped it would have been somewhat better I guess. It's sort of a let down when things like this happen. Sorry this has gotten so long. Guess I just like typing!!!!!!

 

[h20jag]

Not surprised here.
I think they (loews' upper echelon) think, "people're coming here regardless!".
Hard Rock is a great place in a great spot, we'll go there even if/when they call us bad names. Whatcha gonna do?
Hope ya'll had fun though, thanks for posting!
Jim

 

[Jon360]

Let me get this straight. You paid for a pool view room, they gave you a garden view room, and you accepted it???????? WHY????????????????????????

Did you ever push the Star Service button on your phone and tell them you want the room cleaned right now??????

If something is not happening, SPEAK UP!!! It's your vacation you shouldn't let BS like this happen. If they gave you a Garden view room, they should have given you the Garden View rate or moved you to the pool view that you originally paid for!!!

Also, you should have printed the $30 suite upgrade from the Loews website since it states that it is valid until June 30th. Or you could have asked for the manager and told them to look at loewshotels.com right then and there to see that the offer expires June 30th.

The Grade A Kids program is on the website as well. I would have told the manager that I would go with him to a computer and bring up the Loews website to see that the program is still valid!!!

This type of thing happens because people do not bother to SPEAK UP if they are not getting what they paid for. Sometimes the front desk clerks are incompitent. You MUST know what you should be getting and if you are dissatisfied, let the manager know about it.

Of course I'm a New Yorker so it might be more natural for me to ***** and complain but you really need to say something if this stuff is happening on your vacation.

-Jon

 

[Robinrs]

Jon, I'm from NY, too, but there's also a thing I aspire to and that's NOT blaming the victim.

Lynn, your situation is similar to the one I had at the All Stars resort in Disney. I DID complain and got a phone call and a letter from WDW to apologize and offer special treatment on my next visit. Needless to say there was no next visit.

The $35 upgrade is strictly based on availability. I wanted to try it out myself but since there was no guarantee, I decided against it. Would've been nice though.

Contact Loews at

Loews Hotels
667 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10021
212.521.2000

Sorry your experience was tainted by these inconveniences. I hope the Universal Express was worth it, though!

 

[lynn46356]

Thanks for the address Robinrs. I will be sending a letter. I guess I'm not a pushy person and just expect things to be done correctly the first time. Live and learn right. We did thorougly enjoy the Universal Express. It made waiting in line with a 4 year old wonderful. I'm sure we will go back again. Maybe try out one of the other hotels though. The lesson learned I guess is don't expect everything to go smoothly even though your on vacation. Again, thanks for the info.

 

[DVC Daisy]

Jon360,

Where did you find the Grade A info on the website? Help - I am having a hard time locating it. I wanted to print it out, "just in case".

Thanks!

Deb

 

[bjakmom]

I received a flyer/brochure just last week advertising the "Grade 'A' Kids" program, quote "When kids score A's on their report cards, they earn terrific privileges at every Loews Hotel, including free soft drinks and desserts in the property's restaurants."
All the specials on this flyer are for "this summer" and the small print at the bottom notes: "Rates valid 7/01/02-9/30/02" - so this is certainly a current promotion - maybe it just hasn't kicked in yet!

 

[Jon360]

Check out this page:

http://www.loews-info.com/kids_star

 

[BC]

Nothing that ruined our trip, but we stayed 5 nights and not once did our room get cleaned completely! There was trash overflowing from our tiny trashcan and wet towels left in the bathroom every day! I finally threw them on the floor out in the hallway so someone would get them. We also had to call twice for clean towels and cloths in the mornings. I think all they did was halfway spread up the beds. The linens were not changed for 6 days, but I guess that was OK, as lots of people only change them about once a week at home. Also, our Loews First welcome gift was not delivered the first night, but I called down on the 2nd night and they brought it. I also had 2 cards for complimentary suite upgrades and a card for the $35 suite upgrade and was told nothing was available. Also, I had written Loews about something else before our trip at the address in the above post and never heard a thing from them! I guess I was the type they wanted as I never send a second letter. Well, just wanted to let you know you are not alone and I hope you get a response. Keep us posted!

 

[pixie dust gal!]

Loews' office in NYC is "notorious" for not returning calls/letter - they have the worst customer service. ( I know)

Write the hotel directly and send it to the attention of GM - Lou Carrier. They are a fabulous group of people and would have apologized and accomodated you to your satisfaction. Next time, just call down to the concierge and express your concerns. That was such a disappointment after such a drive AND months/weeks of anticipation of a great vacation. I, too, am from NY - live upstate now, but was born, raised and worked my whole life in NYC - when something is not going right, I give them time to fix the problem; if there is no satisfaction, DH takes a deep breath, rolls his eyes to the person and says "you should have done it the easy way; now, let me introduce you to my wife".........lol

They have taken so many of the 'great' "roadies" and placed them over at the new resort - I bet they are short staffed. That, of course, is no excuse.

I am sure they will make this past trip up to you on your next visit.


PDG

 

[rhw]

Sorry about your stay at HRH. Please do not count on the "grade A kids deal". Or at least don't tell the kids about it until it does happen at the hotel. I had told my kids, got report cards early, and even locked them in lock boxes at other hotels on the way. No program. They used to have it they said. Also the kids welcome pack that every child gets on check-in, not available. Truck should come that night, and then the next, and then the next. Our pool view was just trees also. In fact, I didn't really see many rooms that would have a good view of the pool. I really looked from the pool since of course I was a little disappointed, but only spent time sleeping in the room. Every day went to the desk for the kids pack, said they would mail it to me. Finally after being home for 2 months, I got ahold of someone(real live person) after having left messages. Within 2 days the kids received their kids pack in the mail. Even more fun as a surprise. I will say, that even though this all happened, we loved the HRH and would definitely stay again(but not expect any treats). The room was clean, and the pool was fantastic. Please keep calling, and at least get the kids pack.

 

[sha_lyn]

Welcome to the wonderful world of getting screwed by HRH. As beautiful as the hotel is I have had nothing but problmes with them. The first trip we had horrible housekeeping. The toilet overflowed the first time it was flushed, about 4 pm on our first day. Maintanence was quick in fixing it and put in an order for housekeeping to mop it up. We returned around 10 to find it still hadn't been cleaned up. Called house keeping, got maintanence. Did this 4 times. At 1 am dh got on his hands and knees and cleaned up what he could. Next day when we returned from parks it was obvious the bathrrom floor had not been mopped and the wet rug for the sink and tub areas were still pilled up the way we left them. Called for housekeeping, got maintanence again and again and again. Found out housekeeping was sending it to maintanence each time they received the order. It was not a mess up by who was taking the calls. Day 3 repeat of day 2. Day 4 as we were checking out DH demanded to see the manager (he had spoken with the night manager the 2 previous nights and promised housekeeping would mop the floor and replace the wet rugs). We received free breakfast at the Sunset Grill and a free nights stay i nthe future.


Fast forward 9 months later. I had arranged to use our free night and beek 2 aditional night. DH could not come so I invited my sister and niece. I was told when I checked on the reservation that the corporate office had changed it to 2 free nights. Great we thought. The day before we were to leave I read here on the DISabout problems with the ticket special for SE state residents they were having. Was told once again that we were given 2 free nights instead of 1. No one knew how we were to get the special. One said just show ID, one said there wasn't a spceial, another told me it had to booked as a package. Finally was told that it had to be booked under a code and ours was nto booked that way. She claimed to give us the code and issued me a new reservation number. Checked in and went to room. Were told at check in once again that the corporate office had arranged for 2 free nights. Keys wouldn't work. Was told by frotn desk "well this hotel is a yr old". She issued a new set. They didn't work. She said it must be the battery i nthe door. Sent security to check. Security's key worked and gave the code (flashing light) that we had invalid keys. She insisted it was the battery. Security argued with her for 30 minutes and we were finally offered a free room for the night (by this time it was 1:30 am, we had been there 2 1/2 hours), and an upgrade for the stay to a pool view room, after he let us in the room and we began unpacking while waiting for maintanence.

Next am we were told we didn't book for the ticket special. Conceirge Desk over rode the computer code and gave us the special but it took about 45 min to get straightened out.
No problems until a few weeks later. My sister credit card was billed for 2 nights. Our final bill at check out show the 3 free night. She called hotel and manager said we were told at check out that they would review our problems and then decide it we received any "extra" free nights. Thsi was a bold faced lie. Sis wrote to everyone. Universal main office, Loews main office and her sredit card. Credit card agreed to drop charges. 3 months later Loews rebilled and the credti company said there was nothing they could do about it. Sis wrote more letters and received some very nasty replies. Basically they took the managers word over ours that the bill at check out was due to a computer problem and we were never told that we had more than 1 free night.
I will never stay at the HRH again and it is doubtful I will stay at a Loews hotel again.

 

[Sherrilatte]

How awful Sha-lyn!!
What a horrible representation of customer service!!! You should get the name of the regional manager, or the CEO if you have to, and speak with that person, not write. I had the same problem you had with a well-known insurance company. I was cheated out of $500 and being treated awful to the point of having a customer service manager slam the phone down while I was talking and trying to explain the problem for the 100th time. The customer service office was located in Dallas, the corporate office was located in D.C. I concentrated on the corporate location. It took me a week or so to pin down the name of someone in charge of a of several regions--corporate level, not a location. But once I did, I got my money back and verbal & written apology. Do not let customer representatives get away this! You, the guest, are the one that make their salaries possible. It may take a little time, but get the name of someone who understands and KNOWS this fact. I got the name of the person I needed once I convince those on the ladder under him that I did not have a complaint. If I would have mentioned that I was dissatisfied, I would probably still be out of $500.00 today.

Don't give up Sha-lyn. I can almost bet that the key person that truly understands the mission of the company may not have a clue about what has happen to you.

 

[sha_lyn]

I'll look for my copies of the letters my sis received. I think it did go all the way to the top. She also talked to several on the phone as well.

Well now we have a billing problem with WDW too. We were triple charged for uor stay at the CR. We checked out of 1 of uor 3 rooms on the 3rd day. The other 2 were booked for 8 nights total. The 2 nighs room and 1 8 night room were paid for in cash by my sis. The 3rd on DH and my credit card. On the day her fiancee checked out of the 3rd room they accidently closed out DH and my room instead. Now on our credit card we ahve the origional charge for 8 days on our room plus 2 charges for 6 nights each starting on the day her fiancee checked out.

 

[FrozenPiglet]

Lynn46356,

I am originally from NW IN also. Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. I just read from another article about RPH opening this persons name: "Michael Sansbury, regional vice president for Loews, which also operates Universal's Portofino Bay and Hard Rock hotels." Maybe he is someone you can try to get in touch with. Hope you can get someone who understands customer service!

 

[lynn46356]

Thanks EVERYONE for your stories and encouraging words, whether it be positive or negative. I've been reading these boards for over a year but it has taken up until now to do any posting. I'm not the computer literate one in our family. I'm sorry to read all the other stories that also didn't end up with a happy ending. I know mine could have been worse but I'm glad it wasn't. I guess I've learned that I'd better complain louder the next time. I've sent my letter off to New York but as I've read previously, I better not hold my breath for a reply. I'll be sending out another letter to Orlando too. Frozen Piglet, where is the gentlemen you mentioned in your post located? Interesting to hear that you also are from the same area as I. Well, thanks everyone. I really do appreciate all of your posts. I have to laugh, on a previous post I wrote about my problems at HRH as someone wanted opinions on the Universal Resorts compared to the Disney resorts. I got skinned alive with my negative comments of the HRH. Not that Disney is perfect, as I know it isn't. Just what happened to us. It's almost made me scared to make another post! Not really. Opinions are important and everyone needs to know the good and bad if they want to. Happy Vacationing to Everyone and I'll let the Boards know if anything does happen but don't hold your breath.

 

[FrozenPiglet]

I found the name in the article about RPH that appeared in the Orlando Sentinel, see post by karin037 (on 6/17). I quickly checked the Loews website and couldn't find his name. Good luck and sorry I don't have more information.

 

[karin037]

lynn46356, I did a search and here's the info I found:

Michael W Sansbury
Loews Hotels at Universal Orlando
6800 Lakewood Plaza Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
407-503-9001
Fax-407-503-9003
msansbury@loews.com

 

[treasuredude]

We spent one night there during our vacation so that we could get two days of the FOTL. FOTL was definitely worth it but next time, I'll try another hotel. We had no problems with check in but the carpet in our room was filthy. The toilet kept running until you jiggled the handle to get it to stop. Paper was peeling of wall around the mirror. That wouldn't bother me if it was a Motel 6 or something like that, but when paying $200 bucks a night, you expect a bit more.