They charged me twice
by TripAdvisor Member EpEp
The front desk at this hotel is terrible. They don't know what they are doing. I booked thru Orbitz and my reservation was fully paid for before I arrived. I even brought the receipts with me. When I went to check out, they said that they didn't receive my payment from Orbitz yet. I showed them my receipt and told them to call orbitz. They insisted on taking my credit card. I was very reluctant to give it to them and finally when a manager assured me that a hotel like the Intercontinental would not double charge, I finally gave in. Well I checked my bill today, and they charged me for the reservation. I am so annoyed. I spent my entire evening trying to straighten this out. It is a complete waste of time. I hate this hotel right now. Do Not Stay Here.
Avoid, bad experience
by TripAdvisor Member Lochardil
I was on a 2 week business trip to India and was looking forward to my stay here as all the other hotels I have stayed in here have been excellent. However, this place has some major problems. All sorts of issues that add up to an irritating and unsatisfactory experience. First, I booked a non smoking room. When I went to check in there were no non smoking rooms available and they told me that I could have a smoking room and change tomorrow. When I book something normally it's booked - right? I didn't expect to book something and find it was not really booked. I got the impression there was a big conference that had block booked some rooms, and my one person stay was not too important to them. The room they put me in is above an intersection of 3 streets and as anyone knows who has been to India, on the streets they honk their car horns constantly. This would not have been a problem if the windows closed properly in the room, but they seem to be screwed in place, with some of the screws coming loose, with the effect that some of the windows don't open or close properly and the effect is that the car horn noise comes into the room constantly. The room is OK but pretty shabby. The front control panel is missing from the television. The bathroom does not look particularly clean. Wireless internet is advertised but the wireless does not connect. I was under the impression that having put me in a smoking room I didn't want when I arrived, that someone was going to call me the day after I arrived, to let me know when I was switching rooms - nothing happened. It is the service here that is really lacking. I was knocked out by the service standards of the first hotel I stayed in (the ITC Sheraton & Towers in Chennai), but the service here is poor by the normally high Indian standards. They have this system where you dial "9" for any requests, this links you their "Instant Help Center". This is a good idea in principle, but the people who answer the phone have such a very poor grasp of English that it can be an irritating experience. I called "9" to ask they why I had not been contacted about changing rooms. They answered the phone with the words "can I help you sir?", I explained the situation, long pause on the other end of the line, the person then said "can I help you sir?", I explained again, long pause at the other end of the line, the person then said "can I help you sir?". You get the picture, you might as well talk to the cat. Instant, but not exactly help. I finally said, "you can't understand anything I'm saying - can you?", they then said "one moment sir", pause for 2 minutes of "hold music". The receptionist was then out on the phone and gave me the impression that they had no intentions of contacting me about my room change, it was kind of up to me to remind them. Not impressive. I also asked them why it was 2pm and my room had not been cleaned. They said there must have been a "DND" notice on the room when the cleaner was there. Why do people in a customer care role use meaningless jargon when dealing with the public? I finally figured out that DND meant "do not disturb". True - there was a "Do not disturb" notice on my room at 8am, but I'd kinda hoped that between 8am and 2pm a cleaner might have returned. The concierge service was a similarly disappointing experience. I went down there this morning and got some information about a trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The guy gave me some information and I said I'd think about it and come back later. About 4 hours later I went back to the concierge desk and it was unmanned. I waited, and waited and waited. Around 10 minutes went by, with receptionist staff at my side (sometimes not even serving customers) simply ignoring me. I finally got hold of one of the receptionists to try to see where the concierge was and they got hold of somebody. I thought this guy was also a concierge, but it turned out it was just someone they got hold of, he didn't have much of a clue how to help me, but said the concierge would call me by four. Four came and went and I called the ever useful "9" number and asked to be put through to the concierge, long pause again, the receptionist answered and stated that the concierge still was not around, but he would call me in 10 minutes. Thirty minutes later I gave upon getting a phone call and went down to the concierge desk and found him myself. The electricity here also seems to drop out for around 5 seconds, I was sitting in the bath last night and the lights went out. Each time the lights have gone out they have come back on again, but I fear they may not one time. Also a note for all us Americans and Western Europeans who are used to smoking being banned in enclosed public spaces. Word of warning - it is not here, and worse, there is little or no sign-posting to indicate where you can smoke and where you cant. I was having a coffee and a pastry in the coffee area just off reception (where the service was very unresponsive and slow) when I was engulfed in tobacco fumes. This is a pretty horrible experience when you are not used to it. I would not recommend this place, they seem complacent and don't seem to care about their customers. The ITC Sheraton's I have stayed in here have much cleaner rooms and their service standard are excellent.
Fabulous hotel with outstanding service
by TripAdvisor Member MzLiberty
This hotel was fantastic! From the moment I arrived, I was treated like royalty. The staff even knew my name. Anything I wanted, they were more than happy to help with. The room was large and comfortable. The bed and bedding were luxurious, and they provided a pillow menu if you wanted a different type of pillow. The room had all of the essentials you would need if you did not have your luggage—the desk had an adapter plug, tape, stapler, staples, ruler, etc., they gave me a clean robe and slippers every day, there was even an emergency flashlight, a daily tray of apples, complimentary bottled water, toothbrush and toothpaste, razor…and more. It was a wonderful experience.
The towels were so soft, and if you have been in India a while you will really appreciate the hot water, great shower, and actual bathtub. My room was cleaned quite well. I was given a smoking room because I arrived close to midnight, but when they called the next morning to see when I wanted to change rooms, I said I would just stay because the room was fine and did not even smell like smoke.
I left my camera n the lobby and the staff found it and brought it to me. I purchased a sari, but mentioned to one of the girls in the lobby that I did not know how to put it on, so she came up to my room with me and showed me how to wrap a sari!
They were all so warm and welcoming. For a woman traveling alone, that is important. The food from the “coffee shop” was also outstanding. I ate almost all Indian food and it was great, plus the service was excellent. I will definitely want to stay at this hotel again.
more problems than solutions
by TripAdvisor Member salvibr
i stay there only one night, but to use wireless in the hotel not possible, when i did the check out they forget to charge me some phone calls, so i advise than about it, we lost about 20minutes to find the phone calls, and they charge me some calls not completed.
I advise about the problem but the guy don't do nothing. i hope next time stay in other place more thurst.
Sign in with Facebook
