Madelon Heering
Google
A true nightmare!
I recommend never ever to book this hotel or to rely on written confirmations or oral guarantees given by them.
Hotel des Prelats Nancy managed to ruin my parents last holiday together (in life!!). My mistake is not rerere-confirming (for the third time!) my arrival before undertaking a six hour drive to Nancy. Their mistake: they messed up our booking and never solved the problem. It is the latter that I hold against them, because of course everyone can make a mistake.
It’s all about what you do to minimise the damage!
This is what happened:
My parents are both over 85 years old and due to a cerebral stroke, my mother is severely handicapped, both mentally and physically. She has vascular dementia, meaning that she has several major behavioural issues. Her short term memory is gone, she has no patience, temper fits and no understanding of her situation. My father is her caretaker and has no time of his own as she is incredibly demanding. My husband and I decided to take them on a trip to Nancy to give him some rest and to give them both a break from their locked at home lives, which they hadn’t been able to leave for years.
Of course, this was quite some expedition which needed thourough preparation. I searched for a hotel with special accessibility for the impaired. It wasn’t easy as most hotels were booked, and it took me quite some time to find what I was looking for. When I stumbled upon Les Prelats, I called them TWICE to check, confirm and ask for a written (email) confirmation of my booking. Lucas and Ludivine were very friendly on the phone, and after the second phone call I received the email confirmation I had asked for.
After a six hour drive (quite exhausting for an impaired 85+ year old and extremely stressful for those accompanying her!) it turned out that insipite our written confirmation, they had made a mistake and given our rooms away. Ludivine at the desk told us not to worry and that she’d find us another hotel.
She made a few calls but none had a room for handicapped available. I was not surprised. It was Ascension Day, many hotels were fully booked.
While I was waiting at the reception desk, about 8 (!!!) other couples and groups entered to check into the hotel. To my astonishment, she helped them first. I mentioned understanding that they had bookings of their own, like us, and that we all had confirmations so I didn’t understand why she didn’t give their rooms to us. I suggested that, it being first come, first serve, she should help us first. I also told her it would be a lot easier to relocate 2x2 guests (to two different hotels), instead of finding us another hotel (as we were a party of 4). Finally, most of us are raised with the notion of courtesy towards the elderly and the handicapped, which made me understand her prioritization even less.
She answered these were her bosses orders. I asked to speak to her boss, which she refused. I insisted, but no assistance was to be expected from her.
I spent 1,5-2 hours waiting at the desk, all the time not being served or helped as there were others checking in all the time. In my total despair, I hit the bell on the desk so hard it broke. The poor girl was shaking but unable/incapable/unwilling to find us proper solution.
So after hours, as the day went by and our fear grew of not finding any place at all, we found ourselves an available hotel far from the city center. Les Prelats told us they’d compensate the price difference, which is a cheap solution considering we moved to a cheaper and less attractive hotel.
The next day we drove back home. Due to her condition, I don’t think my mother will be able to join us on a next trip.
This all was a week ago, we haven’t heard from Les Prelats ever since. No apologies, nothing.
Thank you Les Prelats, for ruining my parents last holiday in life and not solving the problem you caused!!
