Samantha R.
Yelp
Bed Bugs!
I stayed at this hotel as part of a bridal party. When we arrived we were told the reservation confirmed the day before was not available as secured. The woman who assisted us was as gracious as she could be, however not being a manager was unable to do more than offer us a second room to accommodate our party at a non-discounted price. Myself and another bridesmaid indicated that we found this to be unacceptable and wished to speak to a manager as soon as possible.
We later received a call indicating that we'd received a discount on all of our rooms, bringing the total costs slightly below what we would have been paying for our initial reservation. It wasn't the arrangement the bride had envisioned, but I appreciated the staff's proactive and timely response to our situation. I only wish that behavior had extended in regard to a much more serious issue.
Leaving the hotel and returning home it became immediately apparent that I had suffered an extensive bed bug attack while staying in the hotel, (room 312 I believe), I had over 30 bed bug bites covering the extent of my body, including my face; a number of which, due to an allergic reaction swelled painfully. I spoke with my friend, who had shared the room with me, and confirmed she too had a number of bed bug bites. I called the hotel to speak with the manager Howard Spellman, to inform him of the situation. Everything that happened from that point on has been disappointing and frustrating. In first speaking with Howard he was dismissive to both myself and my friend, as we called separately to report the problem. He offered no apology, implied that it was something we probably brought with us, but did say the room would be inspected. A week went by with no response. On contacting him to follow up, we were informed the room had been checked and indeed bed bug activity had been confirmed. Still no apology. We were told that the cost of the room would be refunded and we were offered 10,000 Marriott points, not beneficial to us as neither myself or my friend are Marriott rewards members, and after minimal research we discovered would be equal to about a one night stay at their lower category hotels. Or about $100 as a fiscal equivalent; which, if it could be exchanged for dollars, wouldn't even cover the cost of having to have my home serviced by bed bug exterminators once I returned. Furthermore, as my friend lived in Chicago and I live in Maryland were we supposed to split the points, making them even less effective since she too had to have her home serviced by bed bug professionals?
As an alternative we asked to be given a weekend stay at a higher category hotel, and was told by Howard Spellman that in order to do that he would have to contact general managers at other hotels to see what was possible. Again, no apology, no expression of sincere regret for us having to go through this truly unsettling experience. The amount of paranoia that follows you after having endured such a severe attack is immense, for both my friend who travels quite frequently for work spending a high percentage of her time in hotels, and for myself, who as a home care provider, remained concerned for some time that by simply returning from what should have been a pleasurable weekend, I was endangering the woman I care for who was confined to her bed.
So therein lies my confusion and disappointment when up until this point, nothing else has been done. Throughout this whole process nothing has been handled with a sense of urgency and a desire to compensate us for a truly horrible experience. There has been no proactive demonstration on behalf of hotel management to express sympathy for our experience and do whatever is in their power to right this situation. Phone calls went easily a week without being returned. My last 2 calls have not been returned at all. Stagnation in getting this resolved has been explained away with the excuse that things have been 'busy'. One hold up mentioned, again after I called to inquire on the status of the situation, (not in response to them reaching out to me), is that nothing had been done because we needed to provide a list of hotels we wished to stay at; because, and I quote, the manager, "wasn't going to just call a bunch of different hotels". Really? I worked in hospitality for the better part of my career and if a guest was this severely inconvenienced then we did whatever was necessary to restore our reputation in their eyes, because every guest counts. Be careful if you stay here, check your mattress and ask when your room was last exterminated.