Disappointment at HIFS

[ttbells]

Just returned from 7 nights at HIFS and I have to admit, I was sadly disappointed. I was reserved for a pool view and instead was given a RT 536 view. When I first got into my room, we needed the exterminator ( ants all over the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom), maintenance ( no cables to connect the N64 to the tv, no plugs for the stereo in the kids room, no remotes for any tv) and security (in room safe did not work) to come up .
There was also a problem between my travel agent and the hotel and somehow, my 4 day Disney parkhopper tickets I had prepaid for and had a voucher for, had been cancelled. No one could tell me who caused the error and why I had no tickets waiting for me. The disappointment came with the way the hotel handled the situation. When I got my travel agent on the phone and they agreed to give the hotel a voucher or Credit card number so the on site ticket agent could give me the tickets -Tim would not speak to them at all-"Not my problem" was his exact answer. Now maybe it was not his problem, but I had 2 rooms at $115/night for 7 nights-- he could have at least been polite, especially since no one could tell me who messed up! When the tickets finally arrived by ups 3 days later ( I had to buy new tickets at the park) the front desk clerks insisted they had no mail for me. I asked repeatedly for them to check again ( I knew they were there and who had signed for them thru ups tracking) they were quite rude. Finally, 25 minutes later, someone found them in the safe...
We had another party meeting us at the hotel, we had paid for their room and wanted them to be able to show ID, get a key and get in their room. The front desk managed to mess that up too. It required us to come down to the font desk at 10:30 at night to go over the arrangements with them again....

The walls were very thin between rooms and we were awoken daily by the crying baby next door- the front desk again told us there were no rooms we could switch with. We only went to the pool at night, and every night it was quite messy, towels all over, garbage on the tables, etc. The children's check in was only available between 4:00 - 5:30pm.

Sorry this is long, but I was very dissapointed and wanted others to know another side of the HIFS-- There was no Disney Magic for me there and I can not reccomend it.

 

[lmmmdtmlem]

Sorry you had such a bad experience with hifs. We just returned and loved it! We had pretty good luck with the front desk with a girl named "Melissa." I do remember dealing with another man one time who was quite rude and impolite but I can't remember his name. We had a huge mixup with our reservations - somehow we had three different ones - but it was handled very well and we ended up paying only $89 and $64 per night for our nine nights there.

You'd certainly think they could have given you another room as soon as you found the ant problem. They told us that there were plenty of rooms available! It must just depend upon who you talk to at the front desk. Did you try asking for a manager? Again, sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

[ttbells]

The person who told me it was not his problem was a Front Desk Manager (Tim).
I'm glad that you had a great time but after looking forward to a vacation for so long, it was so disappointing to have so much go wrong, and have no one in management care.

 

[Planogirl]

I would write a letter of complaint if it were me. There is never a good excuse for rudeness IMO and I would let Holiday Inn know about this. The Holiday Inn management has been good about paying attention to letters of complaint from what I understand so it's worth a try.

 

[jdm]

When we stayed there almost 2 years ago the management was terrible. We did enjoy the pool and the breakfast but found the rooms to be cramped. Worse than that though we had a problem with our smoke alarms going off several times a day and night for no reason. They went off at one point at 3am and after calling maintence twice and waiting 20 minutes while my family was huddled outside my husband had to rip it out. Our toilet constantly backed up and the wires from the speaker to the TV were all over the top bunk (kid suite). We were on the buy one, get one free and we were overcharged and had extremely rude mangagement when we tried to straighen it out. We ended up only paying about $70 a night but I would have been upset if we had paid what you did. I know a lot of people do have good experiences but I'm with you....
Jenn

 

[preb]

I find it so strange that different people have such a different experience at the same hotel. We were there 11/16-20, so our dates overlapped. We had no problems at all with our room and found it to be quite clean and everything was in working order. We had an end room in bldg 8, so noise wasn't a factor. We didn't visit the pool in the evening, but in the morning the pool area was very clean...they were even power washing the walkways one morning. The only problem we encountered was with the front desk staff during both check in and check out. I agree that they all could use a little customer service training! Perhaps we all should write and copy some of these messages! This was our second stay there. The first was in March and I did notice some minor changes in the quality of service (no suckers during the train rides, no balloons in the lobby each evening, limited kid's check in times, $20.00 charge for pool view, quality of dinner buffet went down). We certainly still enjoyed our stay and I would recommend it to anyone with children looking for affordable, convient accommodations.

 

[Elle]

I would never ever go back to HIFS it was the worst "hotel" experience of my life, (and I have stayed in come pits!! you should try some east european hotels)
Elle

 

[Kay1]

We stayed there at the same time as my husband's family. We were fine, but they had the same fire alarm experience and also were kept awake by a crying baby in the next room - they were pretty exhausted by it all. I will stay there again, but I think they may have gone overboard when they raised their rates so high - I certainly wouldn't pay more than $100.

 

[ttbells]

Today I learned one more thing that adds to the list of disasters during my recent stay at HIFS. We were meeting my sister & brother-in-law at the HIFS (they had just been married that day in another state). A friend of theirs had arranged for a champagne basket to be in their room when they arrived along with some presents for their son. They arranged this directly thru the hotel (Sixto Rodrigues - guest services) Everyything was arranged by phone, then confirmed by fax. He was given their names and approximate time of check in, along with the credit card information and a healthy tip. Alas, it was not to be. When their friend inquired about the basket when they got home, it had never been delivered. When they called the hotel to get a credit on the account, again, no apology was given, and it was a hassle to get the credit. If this hotel had any class, they would have turned around and sent a basket to their home just for screwing up..Couldn't recommend this place to an enemy.

 

[Elle]

Totally agree

 

[cdrn1]

I stayed a few nights last December, and while it wasn't awful, it wasn't great either. There were a lot of problems in the customer service arena. For example, I reserved a nonsmoking room, and on the day of checkin I called ahead to reiterate the fact that I needed a nonsmoking room. When I checked in, all they had left were smoking rooms and I was told that I never let them know that I wanted a NS room. I wrote them a letter just to let them know of some very simple things they could do to increase customer satisfaction, but never even received acknowledgement for my effort. Also, the breakfast buffet was largely icky. But the room was nice, and the pool was nice. And the price (BOGO) was very nice.

 

[Rohu13]

I have to disagree. We just got back from our stay 11/27-12/03, and were very happy with HIFS. We arrived at 11am and were told we could check-in. Melissa took care of us with prompt, courteous service. She asked me if the children would like to come check-in at their desk. They loved the special attention. Melissa, told them all about the hotel just as she had done for me(but in kid terms). We were in rm#739 (circus theme), it was very clean, and we had no problem with noise. Our family loved the pool and used it many times during our stay. The breakfast buffet was always hot, fresh and clean. We ate aprox 730am each morning. We spoke with many employees while staying and always received great customer service. Just so you know I am a very picky person about hotels and will complain about bad service and unclean conditions. I am sorry for the bad experiences some of you have had, but we will return.

 

[debyc]

wow, my family and I also enjoyed our stay at the HIFS. We were there nov. 17-28. We were in building 10--and I had reserved the standard view but they gave me the pool view for no extra change because they said I am a priority club member. Our room was clean and the service was good. We didn't go to the pool at night either but it was clean in the morning. We didn't notice any noise from other rooms but maybe we lucked out and just had quiet people next to us. I am surprised they said there were no other rooms for you after finding the ants (I don't know what I would have done in your situation), I saw alot of empty rooms when we were there(after thanksgiving the hotel really emptied out) If I was you, I would write a letter of complaint and see what response you get.

 

[DisOrBust]

Are you guys sure your talking all about the SAME HIFS? Are there 2 now, an older Holiday INN that was converted to a suite hotel and the brand new HIFS???

 

[Dansmom]

Add me to the list of happy HIFS customers!

We just returned from 6 nights (11/27-12/3) and thought the place was terrific! We had a corner room on the first floor, so it was incredibly convenient for getting in and out easily; the pool was a BIG hit with the kids (we went both mid-day and late night...always clean, tons of fresh towels); we had no complaints about housekeeping at all; thought the refillable mugs were a great deal; weren't exactly "impressed" with the quality of the breakfast buffet, but it wasn't bad. We thought the holiday decorations were fun--the kids really got a kick out of Santa scaling the wall! DH was very impressed with convenience of getting to/from parks, both WDW and others.

The only problem we had was that our toilet backed up once, but when we called, someone arrived in 7 minutes (yes, I timed it).

All in all, we had a very good experience and wouldn't hesitate to go back.

 

[kasey710]

I, too can't believe we're all talking about the same hotel! We stayed 11/23 - 12/1 and it was fabulous!! Our friends were next door with the kids' bunk beds next to each other with the wall between and they were screaming at each other and still couldn't hear through the walls (these are 8 year olds - they can be LOUD!). We had room 1402 ground floor right by the family pool. One night we arrived home tired from the parks and the pool area was really noisy - I was afraid we would be able to hear it inside our room but as soon as the door shut, there wasn't a sound. Everything was clean, neat and tidy and the breakfast buffet was more than adequate (although our second day we had a character meal at 1900 PF and after that breakfast wondered how we would ever eat HIFS again :lol - but hey, 1900 PF was over $75 for my family and HIFS was free!!

I called and requested a blanket and extra coffee on 2 separate occasions and both arrived within 10 minutes of my call even though it was after 10 p.m.

I'm sorry for those who had bad experiences

I will never stay anywhere else!!

 

[Tracie Wallace]

I just got back from a stay at the HIFS (12/3-12/8) and I doubt that I will ever go back. The only reason we stayed there was because we were being joined by my MIL and thought this was the best way to give each person some privacy (including my 5 year old DD) at a reasonable price (I actually canceled by ressies at 2-bedroom OKW to stay at HIFS). We came from the AKL and I really felt that I had downgraded.

We went to the Holiday Inn under the second night free program. Be warned, we were charged the higher rack rate of $139 for nights 1 and 3 and were to be charged $111 for the 5th night. When we got our final bill, they charged us $139 for the last night. They said this was their policy and helps them recoup some of the money from the "free" nights. At my insistance, they researched the reservation and finally gave me the $28 credit for the last night.

Also, I "upgraded" to a pool view for an additional $20 per night. Please be aware that this is separate line item on the bill from the room rate and is charged to you even on the "free" nights. So, my upgrade cost me $100 plus 11% tax.

For those who have never stayed at the HIFS, all rooms look out onto a common walkway. If you want to enjoy the "view" you have to keep the shutters open, which means anyone walking by can look in. If you are on the upper floors, there is also the railing on the one side of the walkway. To me, the view was pretty worthless. I wish I would have saved the $100 (plus tax) and not had a pool view.

I thought the room we had was looking a little worn for only being a few years old. The walls in the kids room had some red smears on them, and there were small gouges throughout the place. The furniture was bargain basement cheap - but there are the 3 tvs, Nintendo and VCR! While the pool was nice and warm, a lot of the pool equipment was in need of repair.

Breakfast was o.k. but I don't think they could find cheaper (paper/styrofoam) plates/utencils if they tried. My bowl broke when I put oatmeal in it. It was, however, hot and plentiful and there were no lines for the buffet.

I would say that my stay was adequate. I didn't come away feeling that I was staying in a wonderful resort with lots of pixie dust. And with my room "upgrade" I actually paid more for this room than I did for the Hard Rock Hotel (a MUCH nicer hotel!!!).

 

[preb]

I think it all comes down to having realistic expectations. You can't compare an on site hotel for $269 a night to an off site for $69.50 and expect them to be equal. HIFS is a nice Holiday Inn, in a good location, with a fun pool area, a free breakfast (think Big Boys, Shoneys, or Elias Brothers, but with much more variety), and a small suite with Nintendo 64, 3 tvs, a VCR, and kitchenette. Throw in the themed rooms, the bunk beds, the train running around the hotel, the kids check-in, the kids eat free, the ducks and swans, the evening activities, and the putt-putt as little bonuses. If you are going to spend "family time" with the kids, this is a great place to do it. We knew what we were getting and enjoyed both of our stays there!

 

[N'vergone]

a room in working order, curteous staff, paid for extras that don't show or are not worth the extra $ to be unrealistic. Just because the stay was booked w/ a promotional price you should expect less service. The hotel itself creates these specials to fill beds during down times. This is not a $69.00 a night hotel(rack during this time was $148.00) and most posters on this thread paid $115+ for the room. From the HIFS web site............. Holiday Inn Family SuitesSM Resorts are designed to suit "your family"whether traveling for business or leisure. We deliver the good value, good service and good times guests need........ If they are claiming good value & good service it should be for all customers not just a few. I'm self employed and have a very service oriented(as hotels are)business i don't give my customer less service nor do I believe they expect less service b/c they bought on a promotional price. Word of mouth is everything in business, the old addage a happy customer will tell one person, a unhappy customer will tell 10 is true. I cancelled my ressie and am going elsewhere!

 

[Elle]

I think it is all down to what you are used to, some people posting on this board have no idea how nice it is to stay in a quality home off site so they cannot compare.
If anyone reading this thread decides not to stay at HIFS and are at a loss as to where to stay e-mail me and I will throw a few suggestions your way.