Top Tip: Stay anywhere else!
I'm not normally one to complain about poor quality service, often put it down to the staff just having a bad day. But I have never in my life witnessed the likes of this. I booked this accommodation through a booking site online, but for personal reasons had to cancel it. So I rang the accommodation directly to do so. I was told by the lady on the phone that she would cancel it for me and that there would be no charge. I rang the next day to confirm this and was told again that there would be no charge. The hotel have since charged my card for a no show fee. I rang them to query this, and they said I should have cancelled through the booking agent, when I told them that I cancelled with themselves, they denied this and said any one of their staff would have told me to cancel with the agent.
In the two times I spoke to them prior to this nobody mentioned this to me. They said they would investigate this and if they could find out who said they would cancel it then they would refund me. Having heard nothing back from them, I rang and neither of them would speak to me, they told me to email their manager. His response was this ;
"Dear Mr Griffin,
Thank you for contacting Hyde Park Executive Apartments regarding your recent reservation with us.
I have spoken with the two front office agents that were working here on Tuesday 1st July , and I am afraid none of them recalls speaking with you on that date. Do you recall by any chance who did you speak with?
Your booking was made through the online agent, so as my colleague correctly mentioned to you, all modifications or cancellations can only be done directly through them, and we would have been unable to cancel that booking for you in any case.
I completely understand that you might have been unaware of that fact, but let me be very clear regarding this matter Mr Griffin. It is your sole responsibility to be aware of the relevant cancellation policy and procedure when making a reservation, and not my receptionist's one. These terms and conditions are clearly visible in the booking agent, both on their website, and in the confirmation letter that you received from them when you made the reservation, so saying that you were charged because nobody informed you about the fact that the booking needed to be cancelled through them is simply not accurate at all.
Furthermore, if as you mentioned, someone at our property would have told you that they were able to cancel the reservation free of charge for you at that time, the booking would be cancelled on our system, but after I checked the booking history, I could not find such cancellation, and you were in fact charged as for not showing up to the property, as the booking remained active the whole time.
Based on all the above, I am afraid we are unable to refund that amount to you as requested.
If you have more specific information about the person that you spoke with, or if they gave you any sort of cancellation number please let me know and I will of course be happy to investigate this matter further."
The staff here are the most unprofessional I have ever dealt with (and I deal with a lot working in the tourism industry). They have no integrity and are obviously lying to weasel their way out of taking responsibility for their mistake.
The Independent reports that Edward Gamson only realised his mistake once the flight was in the air and he and his partner glanced at the map they have at the front of the plane which shows you which way you’re headed.
And they were not headed in the right direction.
“How did this happen?” we hear you exclaim.
Well, Mr Gamson allegedly booked his flight tickets through a BA agent in Florida, and the electronic confirmation they received stated the destination as ‘Grenada’, but didn’t show the country or flight time.
The couple showed up at the airport, got on the plane looking forward to their Moorish getaway, dreaming of the Alhambra, but they never got there.
Despite an apology from British Airways and despite being told that they would be put on a plane to Granada (that’s GRANada), they never got there.
They’re now suing BA for damages, as the airline is refusing to reimburse him.
Incredibly, the same mistake had been made the week before too. The Daily Mail reportsthat a 62-year-old woman found herself on a flight from Gatwick to Grenada, when she really wanted to go to Granada.
