Michael F.
Yelp
Pros:
The room rate for this hotel was low, in comparison to other hotels. And from the photos, it looked very nice, so we took it. We paid a modest fee to get a higher floor room, and thanks to Jaime at the front desk, we were put on the top floor! Both front desk employees were very helpful at check-in, and I looked at three rooms before taking one.
Cons:
Many of the rooms do not have nice views, but we were put in one with what I imagine was one of the best views. Still, the windows and glass were very dirty. I was really shocked. I asked for a rag and some window cleaner, and was willing to clean the windows myself, because I didn't want to be labeled as the kind of difficult guest who needs everything to be perfect at the expense of others. They brought the window cleaner and some rags to my room and I went to work on the sliding glass doors and glass panes of the balcony. While I was outside on the balcony, I closed the door in order to clean the entire pane of glass, and at the moment I closed the door, the door lock kind of fell into the locked position, leaving me stranded on my 44th floor balcony. I am not the kind of person who usually panics, and I knew that my friend would be there within 2 or 3 hours, but this really made me angry. I tried to yell down to guests at the pool below, but they couldn't hear me. Every minute or so, I shouted out, "Hello! Can anyone hear me?!" hoping that a neighboring resident would be on their balcony and be able to call for help. After about 30 minutes, a neighboring resident popped her head out and heard my cry for help. She then was able to call down and security was sent up to enter my room, unlock the sliding glass door and let me back in. While on the balcony, I imagined what it would have been had I not had the reassurance of knowing that my roommate would be checking in to find me locked out on the balcony, or if a neighboring resident were not there. I would have probably been forced to break the glass with one of the chairs. It was really a terrible experience. What shocked me was the nonchalant attitude of Michael at the front desk and then of hotel management, who sent me a brief but unconvincing letter of apology.
Summary:
I was on vacation with my friend who was recently diagnosed with a fatal disease called ALS, and so we were traveling while he can still walk, trying to get the most out of his time left. You can find a video of this experience, by searching for "trapped balcony island colony" on YouTube. They really need to change all the locks. Also, the casual response from management left much to be desired.
