Ken R.
Yelp
We just spent our last of (at least) seven years at the Hacienda, where the little things always mattered in the past. We were always sure we would have an attentive, friendly staff keeping the small beautifully maintained courtyard hotel where breakfast and lunch were served daily. We take (at least) two trips to the desert in the fourth quarter - we spend our Thanksgiving at the small and sedate Hacienda and Christmas at the larger and more active Santiago.
Our cost for 6 days at the Hacienda was roughly $730 per night (a little more) and as this stay started to fall apart, we realized how much we were paying for a guest experience that we felt was no longer worth it. We always consider ourselves lucky for our financial situation; we are neither demanding nor unaware of the luck we have had in achieving a certain level of financial security. We're nice guys who like to take a nice vacation.
This year, there were less than half the people than the small hotel accommodates. There were no more than seven guests throughout our five days (not counting one permanent tenant whose female guest was not mentioned to us in advance at a clothing optional hotel - I was clothed when I saw her- had I not been I would not have been at all happy.) Times are tough and the hotel is not warning those who are paying an extravagant amount about the little changes until they arrive and are signing in.
We booked six days and nights. For the previous years we had been able to pre-order a lunch to have after our mid-morning drive from LA; when I asked for a menu this year, I received an unprecedented e-mail saying that to order lunch (which is not awful, it's good, but it's not as good as the lunch provided by Aspen Mills at the Santiago), it would cost 58 dollars extra, and I later read there would also be an additional charge on the daily lunch for extra protein (I assume many guests are on a protein regime) of 12 dollars. Charging a hotel guest 28 bucks for a sandwich is incredibly churlish on a total bill of 4400 bucks; I booked 6 days and 6 nights. The day we drove out, we ate cheaper (and better) at Sherman's Deli, which cost a lot less.
We were told at check-in that breakfast - which was a buffet consisting mostly of the kinds of baked breakfast goods found at Costco - muffins, mini-quiche, etc along fresh fruit, cereals, eggs, croissants etc, presented nicely in chafing dishes and handsome cannisters alongside pitchers of juices and urns of coffee - would now be ordered via menu. For this kind of money, I would compensate for the absent buffet with some kind of upped menu. Nope. It was the Costco assortment with no ability to, say, toast your bread when you got it (you had to give them a time to serve you, meaning, regardless of your vacation needs, your food was coming at a pre-determined time), meander for something more you-shouldn't-have-but-did, because - holiday, and most importantly to me, have beverage as you chose. There are K-cup brewers in the room. A K-cup is not fresh brewed coffee, it's processed coffee. This is an assortment I can get at a Day's- Holiday- or Comfort- Inn buffet, even if it is brought to a nicely kept table under a cloche - it's not at all as had been served in the foyer the past available at your leisure. As a very early riser I walk at 4am and I particularly disliked replacing the fresh coffee which kept me going while waiting for my late-rising partner to join me. Now, after finishing the small pot, I got to go back to my K-cup while my pre-ordered croissant got cold.
Lastly, I live with someone who brings too many clothes. This is small liability compared to the assets he brings to the table. When we asked for hangers, they were obliging, but when we asked for more, we were sneered at in a way that colored our entire sense of the change that has come over the Hacienda. It's a lovely place, and outside of the sneering manager who was not the least concerned when I remarked on the charge for a lunch; you can't charge luxury prices, than skimp on the execution. This very expensive hotel seemed to be at less than 50% occupancy for Thanksgiving, and at least 2/7 of this years' guests won't be returning. We have been and are the most loyal customers more because we appreciate people who treat us with kindness born of familiarity. We were treated with brisk efficiency and a whiff of disdain, in which the manager seems to possess a doctorate. A hotel/resort experience is made or unmade of micro-moments.
We have already reserved elsewhere for next year, at a lovely place that offers a suite, lunch on our arrival date, a buffet, and a 24 hour commissary that serves fresh coffee when you want it.
Here's the kicker: We're paying LESS THAN HALF of what the Hacienda charges next Thanksgiving.
I do hope they get their act together - we used to feel so welcome, but if you're selling luxury and comfort; that's what you should provide.
