WATERMARK Baton Rouge, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Baton Rouge

To whom it may concern:

My husband and I chose the Watermark because we felt as though it would be the perfect spot to have brunch after my wedding ceremony on Saturday, May 18, 2024. We reserved table with the restaurant, and we were excited about spending such a once in a lifetime, momentous occasion here. If I had to do it over again, the Watermark would be last on my list to share my special day with friends and family. Here are the reasons why:

We were early for our reservation and arrived as a group. NONE of us were greeted upon our entrance. We stood around in the lobby, looking for staff or someone to greet us. Finally, my Husband went to the bar and asked who we could see about checking in/seating us. The bar attendant mumbled that someone would be available to help us, and she continued entertaining those at the bar. We continued to wait. My husband asked another server for help, and we were told to just have a seat out in the hotel lobby, and that someone would be there to help us. We were waiting for a while (past our reservation time) but we were still chatting and passing the time. My God-son who is also a photographer suggested that we get a few pictures while we waited. As he took out his camera, he was rudely informed that cameras/pictures were not allowed. He told them that as a professional photographer, he had taken loads of pictures at the Watermark before and inquired about when the policy changed. He then suggested to us that we go outside of the hotel and take the pictures. So, we did. A member of the staff followed us out of the door, loudly saying, "You all can't do that, No Ma'am, you all can't do that." I informed her that we would be spending hundreds in food/drinks for our brunch, but she was not interested in any of that, stating that we should have made reservations to take pictures. Since we were not informed of any of that and were not directed to any of that on the website, we protested slightly. I also commented that I did not want to get into any arguments on my wedding day, and gave up.

The time was now after 11am, and we were still not seated. The dining area was not crowded or busy, we were simply not being seated. Finally, we heard-- yall can come on. Not knowing who or where this voice was coming from and assuming that The Gregory would have better customer service training than to yell at guests to be seated, we did not budge. Then a very friendly server by the name of Angela came over, apologized for the way we were being treated, and told us that we were free to take whatever pictures we wanted. She said that she had a talk with someone and that she saw no reason why we could not take pictures. Therefore, we tried again, only to be stopped by another extremely rude staff member, rebuking us for blocking the guests. I commented, WE ARE GUEST TOO. She persisted that we were in the way, blocking traffic (there were not a lot of people in the lobby at all), and those that were in the lobby were complimenting us on how nice we looked and congratulating us. Again, I said, "Thank you," after she forbade us to take pictures, saying that her manager told her to reprimand us again, and I gave up. Thankfully, we did get a few shots...but I really don't want to remember The Watermark as a part of my day because the experience was embarrassing and insensitive! I was treated like an intruder, not a guest. We STILL spent hundreds in food, drinks and tips...ONLY because our family was present and had gone through a great effort to share that day with us. However, I will NOT...

Don't know where to begin about this place so i will start at the check-in. First of all, calling it "this place" is inappropriate since every single person in the staff made it feel like home. After travelling twenty hours straight from New York by car with my wife, daughter, and son (for LSU dropoff ) we arrived at 10am exhausted. Knowing that many families would be there for the same reason we assumed we would not be able to check in early...we were wrong. Greeted with warm smiles and friendly faces we were given a room right away. This was a lifesaver since everyone just wanted to shower and rest before doing everything that needed to be done for the move-in. When we went to elevators to head up our key cards didn't work. This brings me to the mvp, all star, golden glove, heisman trophy winner of the watermark hotel..."Mr. Bill" the bell captain. As he was coming out of the elevator helping other guests with their bags he noticed our dilemma and immediately offered to take a ride up with us using his key. With Mr Bill leading the way, telling us the history of the hotel, we arrived at our room, but our key cards didn't work there as well. In a flash, Mr Bill sprinted down the hall to get us new keys and was back just as fast. After getting a well needed rest we did all the shopping needed for dorm life and piled it into car for next day 10am move-in. Which, we were told, was a very strict window with the covid restrictions. Unfortunately, when we were ready to leave the car wouldn't start. Before I could even get the hood open, there he was...Mr Bill with a battery pack. He assisted us with getting the car started but we didn't get far. (Turned out to be alternator not battery) Keep in mind, we have a car full of stuff and a small move in window and its 95 degrees out. As we were trying to figure out what to do, there he is again running down the block. He might as well have been wearing a cape. We explained our situation to him and he immediately solved our problem by bringing the hotel courtesy car and helped us transfer everything from one car to the other. As he drove us to the campus he effortlessly changed our mood from stressed to relieved by telling funny stories and giving my son solid school and life advice. When we arrived at campus we had to get on line of cars and wait for the process to play out before we were actually able to drive to dorm, but the time passed quickly as my family listened attentively to everything Mr Bill had to say. When we finally got to dorm he helped us unload everything to sidewalk and insisted that we take his number so he can pick us up and drive us back to hotel. Mr Bill literally saved the day. He is an asset to the watermark hotel and to the guests that stay there. Thank you Mr Bill and thank you Watermark for an unforgettable stay. (Staff and food at bar and restaurant, and cleaning staff...

We checked in and were immediately looked at a treated rudely I’m guessing because we were young? I am 29 and my husband is 32 and we are very luxury when it comes to our hotel stay. Anyway, we get checked in and head up to our room as fast as we can to get out of the NOT so socially distanced lobby. We get to our room and it looks great and nice. There was only one thing off.. it smelled of like something sour. My husband and I were both very sleepy from our 8 our drive so we decided to just ignore it and get some rest. We wake up the next morning and I decide to take part (or try) in the “amazing room service amenity” only IT NEVER SHOWS up. We order TWO BAGELS AND EGGS. We wait and wait and nothing. Finally my husband calls and they just pick up and say “hold on” then transfer him around aimlessly until he has to hang up. I wait about 20 minutes more (about 55 minutes all together) and decide to call again but this time to cancel because we have places to go. My husband goes downstairs and just grabs us two bagels in all of ten minutes. While this is happening at 9:00am HOUSE KEEPING COMES?! Why would house keeping come at 9:00 in the morning ? Do they know people are trying to get breakfast and get out of their rooms? So of course I am changing trying to get OUT of my room so I say no thank you not right now. But I did need them because the next thing I know I’m smelling the sour smell again. We leave and go spend our day out and about and come back and our room is smelling pretty bad now. I KNOW THAT SMELL.... it is HUMAN VOMIT. Someone has puked behind the bedside lamp. So now it’s 11:00 pm and I don’t know what to do but call and ask for a room change. The rude lady answers the phone and says “Uh not now.. I cant do anything we are booked up... I’ll send house keeping up for you” . Of course this was all a dream , hanging up that phone I knew they were never going to come up here. After the room service charade we had no doubt in our mind that no one was going to do literally anything and no one was coming up here. DONT WORRY!!! They will be here at 9:00am sharp knocking on your door because apparently that’s the best time to clean your room. If they don’t wake you up, you can trust that the lady talking loudly on her phone right in front of your door, slamming the ancient ice machine door sure will because the walls are so thin. IF YOU STILL ARE NOT AWAKE BY THEN.. the man screaming into a microphone at 7:00am hosting a 5k 8 stories...