Complaint about the Sheraton Kaui
Oct 29th, 2000 | 09:30 AM
#1
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Complaint about the Sheraton Kaui
The following is a letter written to Sheaton about the horrible conditions at the Sheraton Kaui in Poipu:August 21, 2000
Mr. Barry Sternlicht
Chairman and CEO Starwood Hotels
777 Westchester Ave.
White Plains, NY 10604
Dear Mr. Sternlicht,
My husband and I have always been extremely satisfied whenever we have stayed at one of your hotels. In fact, it has always been a comfort to know that your properties always met very high standards. For just this reason, when planning a trip to Kauai, Hawaii, my husband and I made a reservation at the Sheraton Resort in Poipu for three nights from 7/23-7/26. What a mistake that was! Upon checking in, we were informed that we could not upgrade our room, but were assigned a room in the Garden Wing of the hotel. Unfortunately we were soon to find out WHAT A DUMP THAT WAS!
As far as the room was concerned, the toilet seat and the screen door were broken, the air conditioner was not functioning properly, the bathtub was badly chipped, the tiles around the tub were discolored and in desperate need of new grout, the shower curtain was like a cheap dry cleaner bag that clung to you when you showered, and the room stank from mustiness like your grandma’s basement. In addition, the bathroom was so tiny that there was not even enough room to dry yourself after showering. Granted we were in the lesser section of the hotel, but shouldn’t ALL rooms at a deluxe resort meet a higher level of standards? When we brought our disappointment to the attention of the Front Desk Manager, he told us that those rooms were slated for remodeling next year. Therefore, were we supposed to suffer the indignities of staying there while they we being left to fall apart? This room would have shamed any budget motel chain that you would pull into off an interstate highway. This is certainly not what you would envision at a “luxury Sheraton Resort” in Hawaii.
Likewise, the fact that we were charged an additional “resort fee” to stay at the hotel was a sham. Why are guests not informed of this fee when reservations are made? I was never apprised of this when I made my reservations directly through your 800-phone number. The evenings’ “Mai Tai Parties” consisted of approximately 100 people standing on an enormous line while ONE man poured watered down fruit punch and your “light continental breakfast” was more than forgettable. Certainly a vacationer’s time can be much better spent. The ocean pool certainly left much to be desired. It was much too small to accommodate the guests and it never went above four feet in depth. Surrounding the pool was: discarded candy wrappers, dry cereal, pieces of fruit, etc. all of which had to be stepped on or over before getting to the water. While all the pool attendants were very busy lifting the backs of all lounge chairs, not one stopped to pick up the array of discarded food and garbage left on the ground, creating a most disgusting sight. Your gardeners did not even take the time to plant the flowers in the ground. They were left in those unsightly disposable black plastic containers that you get when you buy the plants at the nursery. Someone should tell your landscapers that those boxes were supposed to be thrown out not put on display.
Needless to say this unfortunate experience not only spoiled our stay on Kauai, it has made us reevaluate whether we will ever stay at a Sheraton Hotel again.
I certainly look forward to hearing from you at your earliest possible convenience regarding this disaster.
A Former Loyal Sheraton Customer,
Melody Glassberg
27 Lombardi Place
Plainview, NY 11803 516-935-0917
c- Editor, Frommer’s Travel Guide & Editor, Fodor’s Travel Guide
Mr. Barry Sternlicht
Chairman and CEO Starwood Hotels
777 Westchester Ave.
White Plains, NY 10604
Dear Mr. Sternlicht,
My husband and I have always been extremely satisfied whenever we have stayed at one of your hotels. In fact, it has always been a comfort to know that your properties always met very high standards. For just this reason, when planning a trip to Kauai, Hawaii, my husband and I made a reservation at the Sheraton Resort in Poipu for three nights from 7/23-7/26. What a mistake that was! Upon checking in, we were informed that we could not upgrade our room, but were assigned a room in the Garden Wing of the hotel. Unfortunately we were soon to find out WHAT A DUMP THAT WAS!
As far as the room was concerned, the toilet seat and the screen door were broken, the air conditioner was not functioning properly, the bathtub was badly chipped, the tiles around the tub were discolored and in desperate need of new grout, the shower curtain was like a cheap dry cleaner bag that clung to you when you showered, and the room stank from mustiness like your grandma’s basement. In addition, the bathroom was so tiny that there was not even enough room to dry yourself after showering. Granted we were in the lesser section of the hotel, but shouldn’t ALL rooms at a deluxe resort meet a higher level of standards? When we brought our disappointment to the attention of the Front Desk Manager, he told us that those rooms were slated for remodeling next year. Therefore, were we supposed to suffer the indignities of staying there while they we being left to fall apart? This room would have shamed any budget motel chain that you would pull into off an interstate highway. This is certainly not what you would envision at a “luxury Sheraton Resort” in Hawaii.
Likewise, the fact that we were charged an additional “resort fee” to stay at the hotel was a sham. Why are guests not informed of this fee when reservations are made? I was never apprised of this when I made my reservations directly through your 800-phone number. The evenings’ “Mai Tai Parties” consisted of approximately 100 people standing on an enormous line while ONE man poured watered down fruit punch and your “light continental breakfast” was more than forgettable. Certainly a vacationer’s time can be much better spent. The ocean pool certainly left much to be desired. It was much too small to accommodate the guests and it never went above four feet in depth. Surrounding the pool was: discarded candy wrappers, dry cereal, pieces of fruit, etc. all of which had to be stepped on or over before getting to the water. While all the pool attendants were very busy lifting the backs of all lounge chairs, not one stopped to pick up the array of discarded food and garbage left on the ground, creating a most disgusting sight. Your gardeners did not even take the time to plant the flowers in the ground. They were left in those unsightly disposable black plastic containers that you get when you buy the plants at the nursery. Someone should tell your landscapers that those boxes were supposed to be thrown out not put on display.
Needless to say this unfortunate experience not only spoiled our stay on Kauai, it has made us reevaluate whether we will ever stay at a Sheraton Hotel again.
I certainly look forward to hearing from you at your earliest possible convenience regarding this disaster.
A Former Loyal Sheraton Customer,
Melody Glassberg
27 Lombardi Place
Plainview, NY 11803 516-935-0917
c- Editor, Frommer’s Travel Guide & Editor, Fodor’s Travel Guide
Oct 29th, 2000 | 12:03 PM
#3
Guest
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Why is that Sally, because you will be unable to book your clients into that Sheraton after they read that letter online here? No one needs a lecture from a travel agent about voicing consumer discontent.
Thanks for sharing and alerting everyone about this hotel, Melody. As you can certainly attest, corporations are often unwilling to do anything about customer dissatisfaction until their actions are exposed and it creates some bad PR. You should have received a resolution at the hotel itself when you complained instead of having to spend your time composing a letter to the executives.
Hawaii is certainly geared toward mass tourism though, so the fruit punch line and the overcrowded pool are not surprising. The goal is to process as many tourists as quickly as possible at maximum profit, so what else can you expect?
Thanks for sharing and alerting everyone about this hotel, Melody. As you can certainly attest, corporations are often unwilling to do anything about customer dissatisfaction until their actions are exposed and it creates some bad PR. You should have received a resolution at the hotel itself when you complained instead of having to spend your time composing a letter to the executives.
Hawaii is certainly geared toward mass tourism though, so the fruit punch line and the overcrowded pool are not surprising. The goal is to process as many tourists as quickly as possible at maximum profit, so what else can you expect?
Oct 31st, 2000 | 05:18 PM
#6
Guest
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At best, you'll probably receive an apology and a few free nights somewhere. The Sheraton could have elected to address your concerns on the spot (something tells me if they reduced your room rate by at least 50% or even comped the room you would not be inclined to write this letter to them)...they COULD have made it right with you when you were there! How many of us spend months planning and looking forward to time at a resort advertised as "luxury" and are then somewhat disappointed...happens all the time. But the condition of your room as you've described it IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE and the management EARNED the negative publicity!
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Nov 1st, 2000 | 07:35 AM
#9
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No, it is absolutely on-topic.
Now, I will share excerpts of a letter I wrote to the CEO of an online auction business regarding a lemon computer which I suffered a long and tedious ideal with and had gotten nowhere through the conventional cust. svce. routes. I share these excerpts with you because the general form and style of the letter can be applied to other letters involving customer service issues.
I wrote this letter according to strategic principles I learned in Dale Carnegie's 'How To Win Friends and Influence People' and things I had learned from actual life experience.
Both I and other people were highly skeptical that I would be successful but to my pleasant surprise, I was and they even refunded the shipping cost and picked-up the tab for the return shipping.
--------------------------------------
Dear Mr. ______,
I believe that you have a reputable business and that your customer's satisfaction is of the utmost importance to you. I therefore believe that my experience will be of extreme concern to you.
[detailed accounting of ordeal deleted]
I just do not have any more patience to deal with this computer and all the red-tape around it. The experience which I described in this letter would be very difficult for anyone to deal with. In my case it was even more difficult. I am not in good health and under a great deal of stress to begin with and the ordeal I described in this letter has taken a great toll on my physical and emotional health.
I believe that the only truly fair thing for you to do at this point is to allow me to return the computer to you and refund my purchase price. I understand that it is not your policy to do this but I am sure that you will appreciate that this is an exceptional case.
Now, I will share excerpts of a letter I wrote to the CEO of an online auction business regarding a lemon computer which I suffered a long and tedious ideal with and had gotten nowhere through the conventional cust. svce. routes. I share these excerpts with you because the general form and style of the letter can be applied to other letters involving customer service issues.
I wrote this letter according to strategic principles I learned in Dale Carnegie's 'How To Win Friends and Influence People' and things I had learned from actual life experience.
Both I and other people were highly skeptical that I would be successful but to my pleasant surprise, I was and they even refunded the shipping cost and picked-up the tab for the return shipping.
--------------------------------------
Dear Mr. ______,
I believe that you have a reputable business and that your customer's satisfaction is of the utmost importance to you. I therefore believe that my experience will be of extreme concern to you.
[detailed accounting of ordeal deleted]
I just do not have any more patience to deal with this computer and all the red-tape around it. The experience which I described in this letter would be very difficult for anyone to deal with. In my case it was even more difficult. I am not in good health and under a great deal of stress to begin with and the ordeal I described in this letter has taken a great toll on my physical and emotional health.
I believe that the only truly fair thing for you to do at this point is to allow me to return the computer to you and refund my purchase price. I understand that it is not your policy to do this but I am sure that you will appreciate that this is an exceptional case.
Nov 1st, 2000 | 09:22 AM
#10
Guest
Posts: n/a
I stayed at that Sheraton in Kaui in December of 1999. We too booked the garden room becaues it was A LOT less expensive BUT upon our arrival we were allowed to upgrade. I was a grad student at the time, on my honeymoon with NO MONEY and I talked to the head person at the desk and explained my situation. She was amazing and gave us a TREMENDOUS upgrade 3rd floor overlooking the ocean for $50 extra per night!!! It should have been $200 a night extra. My experience was MOST enjoyable and found the hotel and staff to be great. I am sorry to the person who had the bad experience but my advice from now on would be that if you want the upgrade or the ocean view book it at the time you make your reservations and don't count on being able to change it once you get there, it is a very popular hotel and is full a lot of the time, espically the ocean view rooms.
Nov 1st, 2000 | 01:30 PM
#11
Guest
Posts: n/a
There, you see Melody, if you had just spent MORE money you wouldn't have had a problem (according to PR person Jennifer). Think you would have been given a pass to get to front of the fruit punch line too? Maybe if you had just paid more, they could have employed gardeners and groundspeople too!
This property is obviously getting by on its name without having to spend money delivering what it promises, a resort experience. Jennifer sounds like a person who is employed in some capacity to offer damage control. She's a little too quick with her glowing testimonial and suggestion that spending more money would have alleviated a problem.
This property is obviously getting by on its name without having to spend money delivering what it promises, a resort experience. Jennifer sounds like a person who is employed in some capacity to offer damage control. She's a little too quick with her glowing testimonial and suggestion that spending more money would have alleviated a problem.
Nov 1st, 2000 | 07:00 PM
#12
Guest
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I'll never stay at a Sheraton property in Hawaii again. I wasn't pleased with
the Sheraton Maui that much either.
However, although my experience wasn't as bad as the author's, it lacked a lot.
I can't stand people like that last lady who had a "wonderful" time, because each person's experience is different, depending on the time of year, the room, et cet. Why can't people just accept that not all peoples' vacations are as stellar as thiers was. It's almost as if the lady if refuting the fact that the original author of this Sheraton story is making it all up. I very much believe that the person had a terrible experience, and henceforth, I'll never stay at THAT sheraton, unless I hear better reviews in the future.
the Sheraton Maui that much either.
However, although my experience wasn't as bad as the author's, it lacked a lot.
I can't stand people like that last lady who had a "wonderful" time, because each person's experience is different, depending on the time of year, the room, et cet. Why can't people just accept that not all peoples' vacations are as stellar as thiers was. It's almost as if the lady if refuting the fact that the original author of this Sheraton story is making it all up. I very much believe that the person had a terrible experience, and henceforth, I'll never stay at THAT sheraton, unless I hear better reviews in the future.
Nov 2nd, 2000 | 04:17 AM
#13
Guest
Posts: n/a
I think some people can indeed have wonderful experiences at a property while someone down the hall is having a very bad time. In fact, it happens all the time. Two points here: (1) people's expectations are very different and (2) unfortunately it only takes one thing going wrong to start a snowball effect. I managed luxury hotels for several years and always found it amazing that we could get five or six fantastic ("best hotel anywhere") comment cards and one "I'll never stay in this dump again" comment card...all in the same day!
It sounds like Melody did get a pretty icky room at the Sheraton. I hope Mr. Sternlicht can compensate her or will at least respond favorably.
It sounds like Melody did get a pretty icky room at the Sheraton. I hope Mr. Sternlicht can compensate her or will at least respond favorably.
Nov 6th, 2000 | 09:22 AM
#14
Guest
Posts: n/a
Just returned from the Sheraton yesterday. Stayed in the Garden Wing and though was not pleased with the look of the room, we had the best service during the entire two weeks in Hawaii. Yes, I think the wing needs to be updated. Would I stay there again yes, but only in ocean front.
Nov 6th, 2000 | 01:27 PM
#15
Guest
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My husband and I stayed at the Sheraton Kauai for our honeymoon last September and had a great experience. We would definitely go back. We booked a deluxe oceanfront room - when we arrived, the room had twin beds in it. We complained several times to the front desk. The second time, the manager came out and upgraded us to a wonderful suite.
