Wingate by Wyndham Edmonton West — Hotel in Edmonton

• THIS WAS THE EMAIL THAT I SENT TO THE GM SEVERAL DAYS AGO & ZERO RESPONSE **

This morning at approx. From 08:15 to 08:30 hours, my children were in the swimming pool enjoying a bit of leisure before checking out for the day when a staff member approached me with a clear container in his hand and a white powder within the container (no labels were present on the container at all). The gentleman informed me that he was going to be placing something in the pool (I believe Chlorine or something else, not quite sure, as it was deafening in the common area where I was sitting), and he informed me that it would be okay and not to worry about it.

Naturally, I took the man at his word, thinking nothing. I assumed that this man knew what he was doing and that there wouldn’t be an issue regarding what he was doing. Shortly after, the man started pouring this chemical powder (white in colour) into the pool (I would like it noted the container he was pouring from had zero labels on it, and the employee was not wearing gloves or a mask). Within several minutes of the man pouring gross amounts of this chemical into the pool, the air became very strong with a distinct odour similar to Chlorine or something else. Additionally, my eyes started to water, and a short period later both my children, ages 8 & 11, started to cough profusely and indicate that their throats hurt, their eyes were burning, and my son stated that he was having trouble breathing. At first, I asked if they were okay and wished to continue swimming, and they said yes, but then, a short period later, I indicated that it was time to leave immediately.

Within minutes of leaving the pool and getting out of the immediate area, the symptoms abated for my daughter and me; however, my son indicated that his throat was very raw and sore and that he still had a challenge breathing (please understand that my son is not asthmatic nor has he had any respiratory issues prior). I took it upon myself to mention this to the sales manager while my children were going back to the room to leave, and while I appreciated the empathy displayed, at that moment, my only concern was for the wellbeing of my children and other people within the pool area.

I would like to address the following issues with you in the hopes that you could provide some clarity;

Why was the employee dumping chemicals into an area with a generous amount of people present?

Why was the container that was holding the chemicals not appropriately labelled? According to COHS guidelines, “As a worker, what should I do when using a hazardous product? (Government of Canada, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2023) Always check to see if there is a label on the product before you use it. Read, understand and follow the instructions on the label and SDS. Follow any additional education, instructions, and training provided by your employer. Ask your supervisor if you are unsure how to use or store the product. Ask for a new label when the old one cannot be seen or read properly. Do not use a product that is not labelled or if the label is unreadable. Ask your supervisor for help (e.g., to replace the label). When I spoke with the Sales Manager, why wasn’t he aware of what was occurring? Versus indicating, “Why would he be doing that with people in the pool?” I understand that he is not the maintenance manager, but does your organization not have protocols and procedures to prevent things like this from occurring? IF NOT, THEN WHY NOT??

After some review and speaking with a health care professional (811 Health Link), it appears that the condition my children were exposed to is what is known as Chloring Cough. Symptoms include Coughing, Wheezing, Chest Tightness, and Burning Sensation in your throat. This condition occurs when there are high chlorine levels in the air around an indoor pool, and it can “Increase your risk of breathing issues.” (Cleveland...

I seen some reviews knocking this hotel for having an indigenous theme and I just want to remind people reading that you live in Canada. You walk, eat, sleep and breathe on indigenous land. If that fact hurts the inner colonist in you, absolutely no one is forcing you to stay here. You wouldn’t go to a hotel in somewhere like Japan and complain about the Japanese decor. Indigenous culture belongs here whether you like it or not.

Thank you to this hotel for representing this beautiful culture, these complaints are only proof that the First Nations need more representation in the communities across Canada. I hope your hotel never changes in this regard.

My family and I came down to Edmonton from cold lake this weekend and I was really impressed with this place. We had a large group, I booked three rooms. They were very accommodating and even made sure our rooms were next to eachother. The rooms were very clean and my children loved how easy it was to grab breakfast. Checking in and out was simple and the staff were very helpful. My kids enjoyed the water slide and playing in the mushroom water feature, we spent the majority of the time in the pool. I want to note that the pool is shallow which makes it great for the younger ones and my older kids loved the slide however, I was a little worried about it being too shallow in the deepest part of the pool but it didn’t seem to be much of an issue for my kids. I also want to ask the hotel to please clean the pool more often and to pay more attention to detail while cleaning it. Our family noticed it was pretty dirty when we arrived. My daughter had an eyelash floating towards her and there was quite a bit of hair and dirt floating around in the water. We notified the staff and hoped for the best the next day, it seemed cleaner but as we were playing my brother had to evacuate everyone from the pool due to a piece of skin with blood on it floating in the water. I’m not sure what happened there but, that was pretty gross. This really was my only grievance, we didn’t return to the pool after this but still I give the hotel 4 stars. It was still a very enjoyable stay, just please make sure the pool is clean before hopping in. I definitely will be returning as I do believe with the state of the hotel in general the pools cleanliness is easily fixable and it’s very obvious staff maintains the property very well. See...

Absolutely awful customer service. From the start we were supposed to have a king room and when we got there it wasn’t available, instead of an upgrade, we got a down grade. Once we got to the room it was a decent room, decent bed etc. We got all settled into our room and ready to watch a movie before our son went to bed. The tv didn’t work (was some sort of issue with a three way switch) we tried to call the front office but the room phone didn’t work either. We didn’t want to get up as we were in our ‘night time clothes’ and didn’t want to wake our son up. So we tried calling the front desk off our own phone, they never ended up ever answering. My wife went down to speak with someone about fixing the tv and phone. Of course when the gentleman came up, he switched on the light (the three way switch) and easily turned on the tv and didn’t inform us the reason it wasn’t working was because the light switch had to be on. I eventually figured out this was the reason. The phone never ended up getting fixed. Lastly, we were cleaning up our room and we found toe nails (massive ones!) on the carpet beside the bed. I thought during Covid the cleaning process was supposed to be a lot more intense. Clearly not.

I know this is a hard time for everyone, including hotels. So I was completely prepared to let the whole experience be forgotten. When I informed the manager at the front desk, yes the actual manager, he did not have one apology and just told us that it was unfortunate. I wasn’t looking for any money off or any type or reimbursement, but merely an apology would suffice. Even during the checkout the front desk lady said nothing apologetic either. I am so frustrated with the customer service.

There were some great and friendly staff and the pool area was a saving grace (even though they originally told us only one family would be allowed and when we were in there another family joined), but the overall experience was terrible.

Would never recommend...

Ps, the manager did briefly speak with my wife over the phone, but again, just made excuses and said it was unfortunate and asked if we would like our room to be cleaned... and they still missed...