Although this was an extremely upsetting experience I was not going to post if my very simple request was honored by both PBH and Kids Nite OUt that runs Campo Portofino. But since neither obviously much cares about their guests/clients, I feel compelled to tell my story.
On June 25, 2005, my husband and I signed our 3 children, ages 9,6,and 4 into Campo Portofino along with our friends and their children ages 6 and 5, so we could enjoy an adults only evening at Emerils (booked months in advance). We signed in the kids, choose their meals for the evening and headed to the boat dock to get the boat to City Walk.
While waiting for the boat, mu husband gets a call on his cell phone from Josh at the club stating my 4 year old was only 3 and we would have to pick her up immediately. I tell him that I will go back and straighten it out.
When I arrive there, Josh the only employee at the camp who had checked all of the kids in for us informs me that he asked my daughter how old she was and she said "3, I mean 4". I said to him that may be because her b-day was on Monday June 21 and this was Friday June25 and sometimes kids (geez even we adults!!) can make that error when for the past 365 days she has been 3 and now has to change the "new age". I call my 4year old over and say how old are you and she says 4.
He said that even though she repeatedly told him after that that she was four he had to go with her first answer and thus she would have to leave. I asked him to go in the other room and ask my 9 year old daughter when her sister was born and he told me a lot of parents tell their kids to lie. I told him I was not one of them and called out my older daughter who proceeded to tell him her sister was born on June 21, 2000. He proceeded to tell me that my youngest child "WAS 3".
Now I AM getting upset and he tells me he is calling security and I tell him to call a manager while he is at it. So security comes and we wait for a manager who arrives, listens to the story and says to Josh he doesn't see any reason why my daughter, who even looks 4 shouldn't be able to stay. Josh proceeds to tell the manager that he can not keep her for insurance reasons. The manager says to him how can you take information from a 4 yr old to be more accurate than that from an adult. Josh replies "she is 3 --people lie and tell their kids to lie."
At this point I am making 2 other couples late for a reservation and I am not leaving any of my children with this person calling me and my daughter liars to our faces. So we take the kids and the manager tell me he will call his boss to find out what his jurisdiction is, since Campo Portofino is run by KIds Nite Out an outside company. I tell him I have no time to wait and givehim my cell phone number.
Lucky for us a couple we were with had their 12 yr old and 3 yr old in their room (because the 3 yr old was not old enough for the kids club!!) and offered for us to leave all 5 kids (our3 and friends2) in the room with them--which we did.
Got a call a t Emerils from PBH manager saying he should have overrid Josh's call and allowed my daughter to stay and that he was sorry he didn't know that at the time. Itold him I wouldn't have left my kids with him anyway.
HERE"S WHERE THE STORY GETS EVEN BETTER........
After returning to the hotel, I asked my 9 yr old what had happened after we dropped them off at the kids club.
She said they were all in a room and Josh told my youngest to come with him into the area behind the check in desk (basically another room) to tell her something. She said he did not close the door. However he sat her on a stool and started to ask her how old she was. MY 6 yr old son who is very protective of his sister told me he was sitting right next to the door and keep asking her over and over how old she was. then he asked her if she just had a birthday. So basically he took my daughter into another room to INTERROGATE her--when I had dropped her off to a recreation center for painting, computers,etc. There is no reason why this could not have been done while we parents were still there. And what still haunts me is as I left I said to the 3 of them "make sure you listen to Josh". Never could I have imagined that he would remove her from the security of her older brother and sister and friends to interrogate her about her age and them use that info against her. What if her first response had been "I am 8" Would he have taken that as the truth too?
The bottom line is when I told the manager again about this interrogation and then the director of the Kids Nite OUt, I told them both that I am not someone who wants something for free, all I want is a written apology to me and my daughter for calling us liars when we were telling the truth. So now it is almost 2 weeks later and we arrive home from vacation and in the mail is NOTHING!!! from either one--both of whom promised me an apology.
So today they both received the copy of my daughter's birth certificate along with my feelings on the lack of respect shown to us that could have easily been rectified with a simple apology.
Sorry for the length--but please if your children are 4---DO NOT leave them in Campo Portofino at least when Josh is working--unless you prepare your child for INTERROGATION 101!!!
On June 25, 2005, my husband and I signed our 3 children, ages 9,6,and 4 into Campo Portofino along with our friends and their children ages 6 and 5, so we could enjoy an adults only evening at Emerils (booked months in advance). We signed in the kids, choose their meals for the evening and headed to the boat dock to get the boat to City Walk.
While waiting for the boat, mu husband gets a call on his cell phone from Josh at the club stating my 4 year old was only 3 and we would have to pick her up immediately. I tell him that I will go back and straighten it out.
When I arrive there, Josh the only employee at the camp who had checked all of the kids in for us informs me that he asked my daughter how old she was and she said "3, I mean 4". I said to him that may be because her b-day was on Monday June 21 and this was Friday June25 and sometimes kids (geez even we adults!!) can make that error when for the past 365 days she has been 3 and now has to change the "new age". I call my 4year old over and say how old are you and she says 4.
He said that even though she repeatedly told him after that that she was four he had to go with her first answer and thus she would have to leave. I asked him to go in the other room and ask my 9 year old daughter when her sister was born and he told me a lot of parents tell their kids to lie. I told him I was not one of them and called out my older daughter who proceeded to tell him her sister was born on June 21, 2000. He proceeded to tell me that my youngest child "WAS 3".
Now I AM getting upset and he tells me he is calling security and I tell him to call a manager while he is at it. So security comes and we wait for a manager who arrives, listens to the story and says to Josh he doesn't see any reason why my daughter, who even looks 4 shouldn't be able to stay. Josh proceeds to tell the manager that he can not keep her for insurance reasons. The manager says to him how can you take information from a 4 yr old to be more accurate than that from an adult. Josh replies "she is 3 --people lie and tell their kids to lie."
At this point I am making 2 other couples late for a reservation and I am not leaving any of my children with this person calling me and my daughter liars to our faces. So we take the kids and the manager tell me he will call his boss to find out what his jurisdiction is, since Campo Portofino is run by KIds Nite Out an outside company. I tell him I have no time to wait and givehim my cell phone number.
Lucky for us a couple we were with had their 12 yr old and 3 yr old in their room (because the 3 yr old was not old enough for the kids club!!) and offered for us to leave all 5 kids (our3 and friends2) in the room with them--which we did.
Got a call a t Emerils from PBH manager saying he should have overrid Josh's call and allowed my daughter to stay and that he was sorry he didn't know that at the time. Itold him I wouldn't have left my kids with him anyway.
HERE"S WHERE THE STORY GETS EVEN BETTER........
After returning to the hotel, I asked my 9 yr old what had happened after we dropped them off at the kids club.
She said they were all in a room and Josh told my youngest to come with him into the area behind the check in desk (basically another room) to tell her something. She said he did not close the door. However he sat her on a stool and started to ask her how old she was. MY 6 yr old son who is very protective of his sister told me he was sitting right next to the door and keep asking her over and over how old she was. then he asked her if she just had a birthday. So basically he took my daughter into another room to INTERROGATE her--when I had dropped her off to a recreation center for painting, computers,etc. There is no reason why this could not have been done while we parents were still there. And what still haunts me is as I left I said to the 3 of them "make sure you listen to Josh". Never could I have imagined that he would remove her from the security of her older brother and sister and friends to interrogate her about her age and them use that info against her. What if her first response had been "I am 8" Would he have taken that as the truth too?
The bottom line is when I told the manager again about this interrogation and then the director of the Kids Nite OUt, I told them both that I am not someone who wants something for free, all I want is a written apology to me and my daughter for calling us liars when we were telling the truth. So now it is almost 2 weeks later and we arrive home from vacation and in the mail is NOTHING!!! from either one--both of whom promised me an apology.
So today they both received the copy of my daughter's birth certificate along with my feelings on the lack of respect shown to us that could have easily been rectified with a simple apology.
Sorry for the length--but please if your children are 4---DO NOT leave them in Campo Portofino at least when Josh is working--unless you prepare your child for INTERROGATION 101!!!
