Ramada by Wyndham Portland — Hotel in Portland

I sent the below email to the Ramada manager. She offered a generic apology and a 20% discount on standard-priced future reservations within the next couple months. Very disappointed in the customer service and lack of concern for a formal complaint.

"To whom it may concern,

I placed a reservation on your website and included all of my credit card information. The hotel was for my elderly grandparents after my younger sister's wedding, because I did not want my grandparents to have to drive all the way back to The Dalles at night as their eyesight is not what it used to be.

When my grandparents arrived at your hotel, they approached the desk and patiently waited as your front desk attendant continued her prolonged phone call without even providing as much as a glance in their direction. She made absolutely no effort to give them an apologetic smile, a "one moment finger", nothing. They were standing a mere 2 feet from her on the other side of the desk and she acted as though they were invisible. Then, after her 5-10 minute phone call ended (and still no apology for the wait was extended), my grandfather provided the confirmation number that was emailed to me, and your employee snapped that there was no card on file and that she needed me to drive there to provide the payment method given online in order to check in, but when my grandfather told her I was still at a wedding (and would then be cleaning up after) and was unable to provide the physical card to swipe, she said there's nothing more she can do. My grandfather then pulled out his own credit card -- completely ruining my gift to them -- she rejected it and wouldn't even swipe it. She said that was not the card on file so she couldn't use it. I even put a note IN my reservation saying I wanted to be billed for their room as I didn't want them to worry about that aspect at all. If that's against your policy, then I should have been contacted ahead of time.

Totally embarrassed and disappointed at the way the situation was handled, and that their little getaway was so rudely cancelled, they drove all the way home. My grandparents are the most considerate people in the world, so they did not tell me about the situation until late that night when they were already home because they didn't want to inconvenience me and cause extra work for me -- of course, I wish they had.

Before making a public review and sharing my experience with my friends, I wanted to first give you the opportunity to make this right, and hopefully, provide additional training to your staff, as this girl was obviously not ready to handle simple encounters with customers. And quite honestly, I am not the scathing review type, but this really hit me hard considering the outright disregard for people I love.

My grandparents are they most incredible people I know and honestly, to think someone treated them as anything less than valuable really just makes me mad.

I am truly hoping you hear and consider these comments to avoid a similar situation in the future with other customers.

Kind...

I checked in two days ago, tired and like 99% of people checking in just signed whatever they put in front of me just so I get into a room. I saw the sign on the room saying "no smoking." Odd, no one asked me whether I wanted a no-smoking room. I smoke and left the butts, figuring they probably move me if they don't want smoking in the room.

Tonight I am awaken 10:30 pm by the ringing telephone. Front desk person named "Jenelle" asks me if I smoked in my room. I responded with the truth not realizing who I was dealing with. She says there's going to be a $250 fine on my bill.

"You mean if I smoke again, right," I asked being sure that I misheard her. She says no, there is going to be a $250 charge because I admitted to her I smoked.

I couldn't believe my ears, waking me up, not to warn, but simply to slam me with a fine out of the blue.

I get upset and try to explain to her this is not right, to wake a guest up and then to fine them without warning. She would not listen. "I am not going to be yelled at," and hung up. I called her again and she hung up on me again.

This gotta be a prank, I tell myself. Someone is playing a game or is out of their mind. I put on my clothes and go to the front desk. I ask to speak to the manager. She refuses to call the manager but she threatens to call the police.

She also shows me the fine print on my check-in form warning about $250 fine. Turns out the hotel is completely smoke-free. It was no mistake they put me in a smoke-free room. They just don't have smoking rooms but never bothered to tell me that.

I go back to room and find the number the Holiday Inn Guest Services. They were closed. I call her back the front desk twice more trying to reason with her.

As calm as I could possibly speak, I told her to quit interrupting me as I spoke, because that was her tactic. She would not let me speak, then burst out with another "I am not going to be yelled at," and hangup.

This time instead of hanging up she just put the phone down as I spoke. Not hangup but just put the receiver down to show her contempt for me. Eventually she hung up again.

However, she did change her tune by this time, claiming that she originally told me that "there might be a fine."

I found this experience amazing. To have a zero-tolerance rule inserted into the check-in slip, not to offer any verbal warning to guests, then wake them up in middle of the night to slam them with a fine.

But more interesting is the attitude of the person Holiday Inn puts in charge of this place. At every turn she sought to escalate the situation, even threatening a guest with police, when all I wanted was to speak to the manager.

Why someone so childish with personal skills of a prison guard be in the business of caring for hotel guests?

"You are in the business of hospitality. This is your hospitality? Don't you give a hoot about that?" I asked her at one point before getting hung-up on again.

It's midnight now and can't go to sleep. I am so upset my arms are shaking...

If it could be a ZERO Star it would be! What started out as what we thought was an act of kindness, quickly turned into a feeling of being bamboozled. The front desk staff at check-in were kind, accommodating and allowed us to check in early. They accommodated our accessibility needs due to traveling with our complex daughters in wheelchair’s due to outpatient procedures at a Portland Childrens hospital, but the property was unsafe, run down and surrounded by drug use. We left at 5:00 pm after literally being there for 4 hours because transients were roaming the hallways (not patron’s of the establishment). There were people doing drugs outside our window. We felt very unsafe! Furthermore, there was a huge water leak in the window of the ADA room that we notified them about immediately and no one came. As we were leaving the young woman at the front desk was completely uncaring/rude, as I imagine they get paid for rooms that people don’t end up staying in quite frequently due to the unsavory, unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Don’t let the website pics mislead you. To top all things off, as we went to leave someone was parked in the no parking lines next to our wheelchair van and we had to pull out to load our child blocking traffic. That was the final straw! We had to drive home to central Oregon.

This is the response I received upon request of a refund. “Thank you for your feedback. We’re truly sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations, especially given the circumstances surrounding your travel.

Please know that we did our very best to accommodate your family, including offering an early check-in and ensuring your accessibility needs were met upon arrival. Once a guest has checked in and used the room, especially for several hours, we are unfortunately unable to resell that room for the night, and as such, we are not in a position to issue a refund.

While we do understand your concerns, it’s important to note that we do not have control over activity in the surrounding area. We take safety and cleanliness seriously, and we’re continuously working with local resources and on-site staff to maintain a secure and welcoming environment.

We do regret that your visit fell short of expectations and will continue to use your feedback to improve where we can. However, at this time, we will not be issuing a refund Thank you”

I have since contacted their corporate office and filed a formal complaint. This property is unsafe and people need to be aware. They are responsible for what happens on their property.

These hotels are privately owned franchises. Therefore they carry the Wyndham name and that’s it. Each hotel creates its own atmosphere and policies. Stayer beware! Neither corporate or the individual chains care about their customers. The reviews are all over the internet about how awful they treat people. I will never stay at a Wyndham Hotel. They are just...