Sans

Hi:<BR>I had used this website for getting suggestion for hotels for staying in Andalucia. Needless to say that all of my hotel stays were superb except for the bitter experience in Hotel Simon. When we arrived at the hotel, the front desk person didn't even bother to look at us, forget smiling or greeting. We showed them the fax that we had received from them regarding our confirmation for a room with "one double bed". They took the fax from us and after the initial paerwork, one guy took our luggage to our room. I was a little dismayed to see the room becasue it was shabby with paint chipping off from the wall. For us our trip was more important than a night stay at hotel and thus we decided not to be bothered by it. But, than I saw that they have given us 2 twin beds instead of "one double bed' that we had requested. We went to the front desk and told the person that we had requested for one double bed, but it seems there has been mistake becasue i have 2 twin beds in our room. The person on the counter said "you said over the phone that you didn't care if the room had double or twin beds". I was surprised and told him that I never said that. I also told him that this is our 7th hotel in Spain and no where else I faced this problem. He was adament on prooving me wrong. At last, I showed him the fax confirmation that I had received from the hotel which clearly mentioned the confirmation of double bed that I had requested. On seeing that he bluntly said that they had to make lot of changes in reservations and thus they don't have any more rooms with double bed. By this time, we were frustrated by the lying game that he was playing with us. I told him that I am disappointed and I would like to speak to his superior. He went inside and came back giving me another set of keys saying "we are giving you another more expensive room with double bed for the same price." Believe me, there was nothing but contempt in his voice. He did not even bother to show us or guide us to our room. The room was little tricky to find and we were fumbling around with our luggage, but he did not offer any help in guiding us to the right direction.<BR><BR>My purpose for writing this experience is not to discourage people from going to this hotel, but to be careful while making reservations. I had superb experince in all other hotels. Hotel San Gabriel in Ronda deserves a special mention that exceeded all my expectations--nothing prepared me for the personal service that I received there.<BR><BR>good luck to other travellers

justcurious

OK..I don't for a moment think the hotel's attitude towards you was right. And I am not trashing you BUT I am curious. If this had happened to my husband and me, we would have just taken the two beds. It would not have warranted us even going to complain. I mention this just to see if other people feel it is justified to pursue something like this or like us, just go with the flow? (If you're on your honeymoon, forget all of above message! )

joe

I would not have wasted any valuable touring time trying to argue this one. There are issues that would cause me to fight,( lack of promised view, no water or heat etc).I would have been out the door and down the street checking out a market or a church on the twin bed problem.

Dina

Several times in our 7-week trip across Europe, we ended up with twin beds instead of a double. We never thought it was worth stressing over. (Never mind chipped paint, that we wouldn't even notice.)<BR>In some cases, the beds could be pushed together, although naturally the crack in the middle is less than comfortable. In one case the beds couldn't be pushed together because there was a nightstand between them bolted down. <BR>We stayed in mostly 2 star hotels, (not to mention ferry bunks!) and we were so happy if the room was clean, quiet, and had a decent bathroom, it didn't much matter. Everything's relative.

No Name

As joe, I probably wouldn't have argued the twin bed problem either, as other factors are more important to me. However, this was obviously important to Sans, and I bet that Sans would not have complained if other things were OK with the hotel - friendly management, fresh coat of paint, etc.<BR><BR>Inspired by this story, I wonder how prevalent it is to reserve a certain type of room, only to find out when you get to the hotel that the room doesn't have the bed, view, bathtub, etc., promised?

John G

Im with Sans on this one. He PURPOSELY requested a double bed, and received confirmation that he would get one. I would be furious if I requested something in advanced, was promised it, and it failed to materialize. Some people can't sleep in a single bed--and Im one of them. A good night's sleep is very important when one is traveling. The rudeness thing I would let go. If someone is very rude to me I just become their worst nightmare. But, on the bed I would stick to my guns. Hooooorray for you, Sans!

Mariarosa

hmmm, I would also be interested in knowing how often hotels don't honor specific requests (whether it's bed type or something else). I have never asked for a specific bed-type in a reservation though (only at check-in).

Sans

Hi:<BR><BR>I am sorry, but it seems some readers missed the point that I was trying to make. I had already mentioned that I decided not to be bothered by the shabby room or anything else. But, if only the receptionist would have been kind enough to politely explain the situation and not try to make lier out of me. I n the same trip, I had requested Balcony for one of the rooms and they failed to give ther requested room when I arrived. But, they were extremely polite about it and expressed genuine regret about their failure to do so. I had gladly accepted whatever they offered me and had no complain whatsoever

Elaine E

I'm with you. Bed type is important. But pleasant welcome just as important. Put both negatives together and your stay is not good. Asking for your requested and confirmed accomodations is not being difficult. I have often found that hotels can find appropriate accomodations when the guest is persistent.

Jose

Hi, everybody:<BR><BR>As I am a son of a former hotel manager, I must agree with Sans.<BR><BR>Probably, it is not the most important fact in your trip the kind of bed you get. But it is unaceptable that a customer makes a request and they return an impolite response.<BR>The customer can bed wrong, but NEVER a recepcionist can show him how wrong he is.<BR><BR>There are several ways for telling a customer they cannot give him the required elements, allways in a polite way.<BR><BR>And of course, they can tell the customer in the confirmation fax that there is no double bed room available for the days of your trip, and then the customer says if he still wants to go.<BR><BR>

Melodie

Boy, can I relate to Sans' experience on so many levels! I'm a travel agent AND a traveller, and believe me, this happens more times than I care to remember. I can't tell you the number of times I've requested cribs, flowers or champagne in the rooms for honeymooners, double beds, etc. only to either have a client call me from the hotel (in really bad situations such as they "overbooked") or call the client upon their return only to find out that whatever I requested was not provided. The fact that I have faxes and emails confirming the requests doesn't really enter into it...the bottom line is they've screwed up and they are trying to cover their ________. On the other side of the coin, when I've travelled myself, you can only imagine the scenario when I'm standing in front of the desk with a clerk telling me that it's the travel agent's fault, and I tell them I AM the travel agent! The bottom line is there are certain hotels that I scratch off the list and others I give the benefit of the doubt, depending on how they handle the problem once confronted with it. Everyone makes mistakes, but how the property deals with it goes a long way as to whether or not I'll ever put a client there again (or myself).<BR><BR>Melodie

linda

Sans, I believe that you were perfectly justified to persist in the situation you encountered at this hotel. There is nothing more annoying than indifference and nothing more insulting than to be made to feel that you are lying. I hope that the visit to this hotel improved prior to your departure.<BR><BR>linda<BR><BR>p.s. Did you visit the parador in Ronda? I am trying to arrange a visit to Spain and debate between the parador and some of the small hotels such as Hotel San Gabriel which you mention.<BR><BR>thanks

GGinSF

I'm sorry to hear of your trouble there, and I would have brought it to their attention as you did. I stayed at the Simon myself and the staff was very friendly. They booked me a ticket for the Royal Riding School show in Jerez and did other favors. I agree that they made a bad situation worse by giving you a hard time when you brought up their error.<BR><BR>As for the rooms, mine wasn't the nicest looking inside but it was clean, and I enjoyed sitting in the central atrium area to read during siesta. For the price I thought the hotel was nice, but I wouldn't feel that way if I was treated as you were.

Carolyn

I am sorry you had that experience. I perhaps wonder if that person may have been having a bad day. My husband just returned from Spain were we stayed at the Hotel Simon for 5 days. We had a wonderful time and the staff was very kind and helpful. Yes the rooms are not fancy, they are clean and simple. But we loved the atrium area and the little sitting areas which were wonderfully decorated where we could sit and read during siesta.