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Courtyard by Marriott Complaint - Not Fully Informed - Dishonest Employees

Dishonest Employees - Complaint
Review by murdog on 2009-04-18
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND -- My family and I recently stayed at the courtyard by Marriot in Baltimore hunt valley... We were heading back to ny from myrtle beach and at 11:30pm, with a 6year old and a 3month old, we needed to stop somewhere... We promised our 6 year old we would find a place with a pool... I went in and told the man at the front desk that we did not have a reservation and wanted to know if they had an indoor pool... He said yes, told me the rate and I agreed... He asked how many nights we were staying and I said "one night, checking out tomorrow"... I asked him when check out was and he said noon... I then got into a little conversation with him about how excited my son would be when he got to go "swimming in the morning"... The man smiled and gave me my key... I then asked if there was a "complementary breakfast"... He said yes...

Well we get to our room, and it was very nice... Clean, large, and more than we expected for the 89$ rate we were paying... We felt we had finally gained a bit of luck for the day, since we had been in so much traffic all day long and did not get as far as we wanted until midnight...

2Am rolls around and I went for a walk to loosen the cramps in my legs... I found myself at the pool only to discover that the pool is only open from 4:30pm-10pm... So I went to the front desk... The woman there said it is actually open from 5pm-10pm...

Needless to say, I was pissed, and in turn did not sleep too well after that...
After sleeping I headed down to the lobby for some breakfast, only to discover that breakfast is not complimentary and that to feed my family I would have had to fork over another 30$ plus tax...

At that point I went to the room, told my son that he was not going to get to go swimming and packed up to leave...

I then went down to the front desk to check out and told the woman there that I was very disappointed in our stay... She asked why and I explained... All she said was, "oh, I'm sorry".

I guess I can't really expect anything like a discount or a free nights stay, but I felt like I was duped... People work hard for their money, and to pay $101.46 For a room to sleep in for 12 hours is a waste in my mind... We are frugal people, we try not to spend unnecessarily and when we do splurge, it is usually for a good reason... Our 6 year old, who was so patient in the hellish car ride was not only going to have to get back in the car for another day, but was not going to get the much needed exercise and freedom that he was looking forward to...

This hotel was a nice, quiet place to relax in, but all that was crushed... It was not a value at all in my mind and I am just incredibly disappointed... This was the first hotel we had stopped at, but we would have kept looking to find one with a pool, had the front desk clerk been upfront and honest with us... I feel frauded and ripped off... And all they could say to that was, "oh, I'm sorry".

What a waste...
Comments:
Posted by spiderman2 on 2009-04-18:
Not that they should have misinformed you, but at 11:30 PM with two young children in tow you would have driven around looking for hotel with a pool?
Posted by BokiBean on 2009-04-18:
spidey, sure! He was a good boy all day in the car, he deserved a treat!
Posted by littleyaya on 2009-04-18:
You lost sleep cause your son wasn't able to swim in a hotel pool? Community pools are gross. They aren't cleaned or maintained very well
Posted by Principissa on 2009-04-18:
They should have told this person up front what the hours for the pool were. Coming from someone who's driven 17 hours one way with 2 kids, I totally understand your frustration and him needed to release some steam!
Posted by Ponie on 2009-04-18:
Hmmmm--On the way back from Myrtle Beach ($$$) and complaining because $101.46 doesn't include free breakfast for three people and a pool prior to checkout time. Since you make these promises to your 6-year old, perhaps you should have stayed an extra night to satisfy him.
Posted by Nohandle on 2009-04-18:
I personally don't think a guest should be expected to ask every question there is to ask before checking in. Upon registration the desk clerk should tell you when asked: Yes, we have an outdoor pool open during the hours of whatever, Yes, we have an indoor pool available during the hours of whatever as well. I don't think it was a dishonest employee but one who just answered your question and no more. Complimentary breakfast should be just what was stated unless you showed up after the serving hours.
Posted by goatelite on 2009-04-19:
I do agree that correct information should be given out when asked. but all Courtyard Hotels do not have Complimentary breakfast unless it's on a promo that the hotel is running or included in the rate(which will be the Stay For Breakfast rate). I know most hotels have signs in the lobby saying pool hours.

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