Our stay (my husband, I, our son [9 months old] and my parents) at your facility was completely unsatisfactory and fraught with disappointment from the beginning. We had booked our reservation more than two months in advance and when we did so we specifically requested a crib and highchair for our child. We were informed that there would be no problem with that request and that they would be available upon check in. My father who is seventy and has special dietary needs inquired if a blender would be available as we were staying in a three bedroom villa at the Marina with a full kitchen. He was informed that one would be available. Therefore, he did not bring his small travel blender.
When we arrived on 5/30/08 at two oclock in the afternoon we were informed that the crib and high chair were being delivered to the room as we were checking in. We did not think to also inquire as to the blender as we assumed (incorrectly) that it was part of the full kitchen facilities.
When we arrived at our first accommodation I noticed that the kitchen tile was cracked in two very prominent locations. One crack was a large divot in the tile in the middle of the kitchen. The other crack was under the dishwasher. Part of the tile was missing and there was a piece of paper inserted between the bottom of the dishwasher and the under flooring of where the tile should have been. As I determined that this was not a safe condition for a baby who was crawling or anyone who was walking on the tiles I contacted the front desk and requested another accommodation without any cracked tiles. I also advised the hotel associate that the highchair, crib and blender would need to be delivered to the new accommodation as they had not yet been delivered.
Another accommodation was then provided immediately. It was in the same facility and on the same floor as the first. This accommodation did not have any cracked tiles. As such we started to unpack our trip belongings and kitchen supplies. After about a half hour the crib, highchair and blender had not arrived, so I called the front desk and spoke to Jessie, the front desk supervisor. He advised me that the crib, highchair and blender were still on the way. He could not provide any reason why they had not been provided. He assured me that he spoke to housekeeping and that they would be provided in fifteen minutes. The crib, highchair and blender did not arrive in fifteen, thirty or sixty minutes.
During that time I again spoke to Jessie who informed me that it takes time for housekeeping to bring the furnishing from the other side of the facility property. As the highchair and crib had been requested when we made the reservation I do not understand why it was not already available when we first checked in. All other beds and chairs were there then we checked in why not the childs bed and chair. A resort would never advise a guest that their accommodation was ready but that the guest bed and dining chair would be provided at a later time.
After about two hours, during which my son was not able to nap (and we had timed our arrival around his schedule as any parent with a small child is want to do) and several telephone calls to Jessie, then the housekeeping supervisor, Julio, and finally a very irate phone call to Ruth Thomas, the director of the executive office we received a broken highchair, but no crib or blended. The highchair was designed to be equipped with a tray, but no tray was provided. The hotel housekeeping person who brought it did not understand that it was required to have a tray to be used. Nor did he know anything about a crib to be delivered or a blender. At some point after these two hours my husband received a telephone call from Julio who advised my husband that a pack and play could be provided faster than a crib and if we wanted our son to be able to nap at anytime or even be able to sleep that night my husband accepted the pack and play until such time that a crib could be provided. A blender was also delivered about two and a half hours later, but it also did not work. It was obvious that I should have specifically requested an operating blender and a usable highchair as your facility seemed to believe that an unusable highchair and a broken blender were acceptable.
At this time my husband suggested that we try to find a new resort to stay at for our vacation, but as it was now Friday evening I was hesitant as I felt that we would not be successful on so short a notice.
We eventually received a visit from Denise, the PM manager of housekeeping. But right before she arrived at around five oclock I went to the upstairs master bathroom. After using the toilet I discovered that there was no toilet paper because there was absolutely no toilet paper holder anywhere in the bathroom. When I then went back down stairs and turned on the dining room light one of the bulbs blew out. At this time I made an extremely irritated phone call to Ruth Thomas again.
When Denise arrived she apologized profusely and advised me that the crib, highchair and blender were going to be provided. She had the crib installed right away and stated that a new highchair was being put together at that time.
My husband informed her of the missing toilet paper holder in the upstairs master bathroom. She immediately used the telephone in the kitchen to call service and noticed that the telephone was broken and requested that it be repaired at the same time the toilet paper holder was installed.
At around six thirty that evening Denise arrived with a new blender and highchair.By this time our first day on vacation was completely ruined as we had been unable to enjoy any of the amenities at the resort. We thanked her profusely. I called Ruth Thomas again and left a message about Denises positive attitude, her professionalism and ability to provide the items that the facility had assured us would be available when we booked our stay. Denise was so apologetic that she provided us with a receipt for a free breakfast at the Harbor Side restaurant in the resort.
Unfortunately, that is not the end of the saga. The very next morning when my father woke up and tried to shower in the downstairs bathroom the towel holder fell off the wall. I again had to place another call to the facility to have this repaired.
We then decided to try to enjoy the rest of our stay, my father went to the Dunes golf course to play golf and I went with my mother, husband and son to the main pool area. We showed our resort key and received identification bracelets, some towels, picked out lounge chairs and had our sons float blown up. We then went into the children's pool. Before entering the pool my husband placed his camera which was in a camera bag under the towels.
We had been in the pool for a less than half an hour when we noticed that my husbands camera was missing. I immediately went to the manager of the pool area and informed him of what occurred. He contacted security. When security arrived a report was taken. However, I found out later that the theft was never reported to the police.
When I saw the security personal again I asked him if he had any luck in finding who stole the camera, but he said he didnt. I asked him to contact me the next day to provide me with an update.
We then had lunch and in the mid-afternoon and then went back to the room. We mentioned to my father what had occurred and he went to the front desk to make a complaint. It appears that he made a very loud complaint about the theft.
During this time I noticed that there was a telephone message from Ruth Thomas advising me that we would receive a half credit for the night based on the facilities inability to provide the basic necessities of a crib and highchair for my son. When I called Ruth back John Hogan, the chief of security advised me that my father was going to be arrested for disorderly conduct if someone did not come and get him. I advised Mr. Hogan that my father had every right to be enraged about the theft, but that my husband, who is an attorney (as am I) would go to the front desk and speak to him, as it appeared that your facility was upset that my seventy year old father was loud enough for other guests to hear about what had occurred. I also inquired if the police had been informed of the theft and was advised that they do not inform the police unless specifically requested to. I demanded that the police be informed of the crime.
I advised Mr. Hogan, if he was willing to call the police about an incensed seventy year old guest who had a crime committed against his family he should at least call the police to report the crime, which had occurred several hours earlier. It appears that Mr. Hogan did call the police to report my father but never told the police about the theft. I had to call the police to report the crime. The case number is 08-229798. Although I repeatedly requested that a formal police report be made that has not occurred as of yet. It seems that there must be a report by your facility to have the crime recorded officially. Hence, I request that you make sure an official police report is made and forwarded on to me for my file.
Deputy Paul Howard arrived that evening accompanied by Jessie, not to take a police report but to have us vacate the resort and to give my husband a warning for trespass. My husband did not trespass as I booked the stay on my credit card and had already paid for the first night. Moreover, no one ever requested that we leave. The resort wanted to have my husband, who had a crime committed against him and reported it to your facility security and never made any complaint threatened with a written ticket. It appeared that the resort was more interested in quieting my father down about the crime than ascertaining who the thief was and recovering the stolen property
The actions of the facilities employees were untenable and indefensible based on all that my family endured during the extremely short time we were at your resort. We were still billed for half of our night at the facility, still do not have an official police report and were required at first to pack and leave within the hour. We were eventually able to be provided with an additional hour to pack and locate another resort to stay for the remainder of our vacation.
We ended up at the Sanibel Harbor Resort. Although we booked our stay there at the very last minute they were able to provide a highchair and crib within fifteen minutes of our arrival. The service we were provided at the Sanibel Harbor Resort was the service that we had expected to receive at your facility.
I await your reply to this correspondence.
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