My wife and I stayed the night of January 19.
The front desk staff was terse and unresponsive to requests for information, help, etc. Probably due to the fact that every customer I saw step up to the counter was complaining about something.
Lighting in room unacceptable. Sole source of light was one low wattage bulb out of four in the ceiling fan. Doorman said that someone would be sent up to replace the burnt out bulbs, but it never happened.
The door was far enough from the jamb that you could easily see into the room. When the single bulb was turned off, light from the hallway and the window that looked into the hallway spilled into the room.
Room was barely large enough to accommodate the bed. There was a nightstand that blocked the swing of the bathroom door. I banged my thigh into the corner of the nightstand trying to get into the bathroom and got a decent sized bruise.
The walls were so thin that I could hear people talking in normal voices in the room next door. The elevator next to the room clanged and banged constantly.
After we checked into the room, I went down to the front desk to complain and the person on duty told me to go back to the room to wait for the manager on property. We waited a little over two hours and nobody ever came.
Upon returning from a night of fine dining and entertainment, we returned to the room to get some sleep. The noise from the elevator and people walking past the room and light from the hallway kept us up most of the night. At about 5 am, the heat came on full blast. There was no thermostat in the room, but the temperature quickly rose to unbearable heights. I don't know exactly what the temperature, but the only comparable experience I have had was stepping out of a taxi in Vegas into a hot wind. I doubt it was the 130 degree heat index of that experience, but it was close. When we called the front desk we were told that the thermostat was in the hallway, but a search proved fruitless.
We showered quickly and then left. We found another room at the Omni Royal Orleans down the street and went back to the Historic French Market "room" to gather our belongings and check out.
While doing that the flange in the toilet disintegrated and I had to jam a washcloth into it to stop it from overflowing anymore.
We requested that the room be comped when we checked out, but were told that they were only able to give a certain percentage discount. We asked to speak to a manager and were told that there wasn't one on property and that we would have to wait for a phone call.
After a lengthy wait I spoke to an area manager who informed me that the hotel was unable to comp a room and that we would need to talk to HQ.
When we contacted HQ after returning home, we were told that it would have to be handled by the individual hotel. They forwarded our complaint to them and said that if we didn't have a response in 10 days that they would do something.
After 10 days and no response, HQ sent us $40 in gift certificates to use at another Best Western and old us that the file was closed and not to bother them.
I know that this hotel has such a prime location that they will not respond to anything but legal action since their hotel probably is booked solid most of the time despite constant complaints. I am currently in the process of finding out what steps I need to take to get a full refund of my money, but I hope that perhaps this complaint will warn off any unsuspecting travelers. STAY IN THE OMNI ROYAL ORLEANS!!!
Michael
Houston, Texas
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