Kathy F.
Yelp
I recently booked a room here for one night. I wanted a river view room, but I couldn't find a way to request it online, so I called them. The automated phone system indicated that I should press "1" for Reservations, which I did. The recording then asked for my MyChoice Rewards number, but I didn't have one so I just waited. I was finally connected to a human, and I explained to her what I needed. She listened to the entire thing before telling me she'd need to connect me with Reservations. Shouldn't pressing "1" for Reservations have already done that to begin with? Who was she, and why was I connected to her in the first place? And why let me tell the whole long story if I was talking to the wrong person? I have so many questions!
In Reservations, the person I spoke to was barely understandable. Her voice was extremely garbled, as if she was speaking to me through a pillow. I repeated the whole story. She asked me to hold. I think. I held for a few seconds before the original recording came on offering me the same menu as before. I listened to it 3 or 4 times before I decided that the original girl might not be coming back (the automated system kept saying "Let me try that extension for you" or something like that, when I hadn't made any selection because I thought I was on hold).
Once again selecting "1" for Reservations did NOT take me to Reservations, so I had to be transferred again. I then got a different woman who I also couldn't understand. I'd pick up a word here or there, but not enough to tell much, because it was so garbled. She literally sounded like the teacher on Charlie Brown ("Wah wah wah wah wah") or like she was underwater. I would have tried calling back again, but since it happened the first time too, I didn't see much point.
Eventually, I was able to make out that she couldn't guarantee a river view room (after all of that rigamorole), so I said in that case, I would just book it online since I couldn't understand much of what she was trying to say anyway, and the only reason I tried to do it over the phone was because I didn't see a way to request a river view room online. Since she couldn't guarantee a river view room anyway, I didn't really need her.
Unfortuately, when I tried to book online, I received an error message saying that the MyChoice Rewards number I entered was incorrect. I hadn't even entered one. Are people not allowed to stay at this hotel without a Rewards number? And what's wrong with their entire phone system? Selecting "1" for Reservations does NOT result in being transferred to Reservations, and any extension leading to Reservations results in garbled, completely indecipherable communication. I tried to apply for a MyChoice account online, since they seemed so intent on insisting that I have one, but it turns out that you have to apply at the casino in person. So how was I supposed to get this room booked?
At this point, I was so stressed out I was literally shaking, so I suggested to my husband that we just try another casino/hotel, but we'd never been to River City Casino Hotel, and he really wanted to try it out. He went to the website and after a lot of confusion and misdirection, he was finally able to book a room online without a Rewards number, but it certainly wasn't immediately obvious how to do that.
So far, the experience had been so bad just trying to book the room, that I submitted a complaint to the company. Their online complaint form didn't allow me enough space to tell the whole story, so I gave them a general idea of my complaint and asked them to contact me for more details. I have yet to hear a word from them.
This is just so unfortunate, because when we finally got there we had a great time, hence the three stars instead of one. Our room was gorgeous and clean, and we slept very comfortably. The casino was attractive, just the right level of gaudiness, and the floor employees were courteous and helpful.
Given the ordeal we had encountered just trying to book a room, I decided I needed to apply for a MyChoice card while we were there, to avoid any confusion in the future. Once my card was issued, I was told I could go to any slot machine and activate it. This ended up being surprisingly complicated, but the floor employees were wonderful. A woman named Netha, in particular, was very helpful. I tried to tip her, but she told me they aren't allowed to accept tips.
By signing up for the card, I received $25 worth of free slot play, which was a nice thing that I hadn't expected. For an hour I played slot machines with free money. You can't beat that!
Overall, our actual stay was pleasant and fun, so this would have been a five-star review if it hadn't been for the nightmare of booking the room. They definitely have room for improvement in that regard.