Disappointed with Shelburne Murray Hill -- Concierge --UPDATED (see page 2)

keenercam

Loves Mickey!
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We checked into the Shelburne Murray Hill on Saturday. We arrived around 10:30 a.m. and left our luggage there, headed toward Times Square (NOT a short walk by any stretch of the imagination!) where we did lunch at Carmine's (delicious!), then saw matinee of Beauty & the Beast (gorgeous!). Trekked back to the hotel and saw the suite for the first time - beautiful one room suite with large living and dining area, small kitchenette and bedroom with 2 queen beds and small bath. 9th floor non-smoking. Very nice.

Ordered room service from the on-site restaurant "RARE". Food was okay, not great. They sent only 2 sets of cutlery -- knife and fork only. Cold, limp fries, hot wings that seemed to be left over and then drenched in fresh "sauce", etc., etc.

Dirty dishes, etc. were left on the entry hall table to be picked up. Took a cab back to Times Square for evening show of Lion King (absolutely BLEW us away!).

Walked back to the hotel, arrived around 11:15. Keys didn't work. DH went to front desk where they destroyed those keys and gave him new ones. Said if those didnt' work, might be dead battery in the door. New keys didn't work either -- DD16 and DS11 were crashed out on the hallway floor as we are now beyond 20 minutes waiting to get into the suite. I went to the house phone near elevators, called front desk again and they sent security. He used a key to let us in and said he'd try the electronic keys. When we entered the suite, it smelled like the food service tray which had never been picked up. The beds were not turned down either, which I expected, for some reason.

Security guy never knocked on the door to let us know what happened when he tried the keys and never gave us the keys back. I called the front desk and was told she'd check with security and call me right back. I told her we needed keys in case we wanted to head out for an early breakfast, etc. We never heard another word about the keys. As we were washing up for bed, I realized there were only two sets of towels, called down for two more -- the suite could sleep 6, but definitely they knew there were four of us. Someone brings up more towels.

DD is washed up and pulls out sofa bed. Let me back up for a minute - -I had called on Friday to confirm non-smoking and that there were two beds in BR and a sleeper sofa in LR. The very nice woman told me the sofa bed would be made up but closed when we arrived. Back to story. DD opens couch to find no sheets and absolutely disgusting, stained mattress. DH put blankets from the closet on top of the mattress to cover whatever those stains were, and I called down for sheets. Someone brought up sheets, sleeper sofa got made up and all off to bed. By now, we were grumpy and tired and it was about 12:15 or 12:30.

I was the first one up the next morning. When I opened the shower curtain to run the shower, I was surprised to see the tub had not been washed after the last occupant. I rinsed it really well with really hot water, but didn't want to call for someone to come clean it because my family was all still asleep.

When we checked out, I mentioned the door lock, dirty mattress, no sheets, not enough towels, and disgusting shower to the guy at the check out desk who handed me my room receipt and said "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Have a nice day."

I am not joking.

I called MS today to ask if they were interested in hearing about our experiences and they asked me to write a letter. I will do that next.
 
What a bummer Cam!!! :sad2:

On the bright side, you got to see 2 cool plays, right? Doesn't seem fair to happen when you could really use a break, though. Thanks for the warning!
 
I'm really sorry you had such a bad experience. I think the dirty tub and mattress would have sent me over the top!!!

We've thought many times of taking a "mini" getaway and head to the Shelburne. We live in NY and sometimes, we just need a little down time. DS who's 15 stays with a friend and that gives DH and I a little alone time. We have stayed at the Plaza, and we weren't that impressed with the accomodations at all. Personally the room we had a few years ago was dark, dull and definately not what we expected from "The Plaza Hotel". Now, with that being closed and renovated, in NYC I think all that's available is the Shelburne unless something else has been added to the collection.

Well I do hope MS contacts the Management of the Shelburne and they evaluate the condition of the rooms they're renting out. You can overlook a problem with a key now and then. But there's no excuse for dirty conditions.
 
Thanks for understanding. Carrie -- the shows were just absolutely beyond my expectations. And I bought a pair of mini binoculars because I thought our seats were so far from the stage, but they really weren't bad at all -- row V for B&B and row S for LK. Awesome! When DS and I go to see "WICKED" in July, we are in row N, I think! :)

Linda, the funny thing is our reservation was originally at the Plaza and we got "moved" to the SMH because of the Plaza closing. Our friends who stayed at the Plaza at Thanksgiving said the same thing about the rooms -- not impressive, but the lobby, etc., was gorgeous they said. Well, the SMH didn't even have a lobby or anything like that, just a hallway type area with the reception desk on the right hand side. The area where it is located seems very residential and not really near anything. Also, there wasn't anyplace to eat near it, or at least not that we saw. Just very different from what we expected location-wise and service-wise.

I kept joking that the Plaza only closed because we had a reservation. And then, when we heard about the train bridge fire Thursday, we were convinced we were bad luck!
 

I'm so sorry to hear of your disappointing experience. Just today, I was considering planning a visit there this summer. Maybe I'll reconsider :confused3 . I certainly hope that MS looks into this matter. I'm glad that you were able to enjoy some great shows!
 
In general, I think DVC should rethink their NYC options, as most of the reviews on this board and on separate travel boards have largely been unflattering in regards to the accomodations in the city. I have a SIL who lives in NYC, and we've stayed at some decently-priced (for NYC) hotels that we'd stay at again. Nonetheless, the basic civility that you find in most large cities comes nowhere near what you expect from a human being, never mind WDW CMs. Sorry you had such a rotten experience.
 
Wow, Carrie......sounded pretty far from concierge level treatment ! Sorry the room and the service turned out to be a bust. Unfortunately this doesn't sound like a worthy resort of DVC points. Let us know if you ever get a response back from your letter.
On the flip side, glad to hear you got to see Beauty & the Beast and The Lion King :flower: The shows probably saved the week from total disappointment ! Thanks for the report.
 
We did not stay concierge at the Shelburne Murray Hill, but we had the exact opposite experience. Everything was clean and tidy and the service was great. I would be so upset, too. I would definitely write a letter!
 
We were there for NYE (12-31-03) and thought the room lacked a current remodel. However, it was clean and we enjoyed our stay. The one problem we did have was that the room was not ready when we checked in at 530pm. This caused us to get a late start for Times Square, preventing us from seeing the ball drop. It was to crowded to get there. Shelborne and DVC were disinterested but appologetic that we could not get in our room until 630 when check in starts at 4pm.
 
Thanks for the heads up, I was also thinking about a NYC trip. I will definitely not waste my points staying here. I am glad to hear that you saw some great shows and that this experience did not ruin your trip.
 
You should definitely email a copy of the letter to Carli D'Agostino who is the DVC Member Satisfaction Manager.
 
Just wanted to mention that, instead of taking another chance using points for my July 1 night trip to NYC, went on priceline and got the Milford Plaza Hotel (in the heart of the theatre district) for $100 + tax. Can't beat that. The Shelburn Murray Hill was 50 points, I believe.

Also, completed the very very detailed guest satisfaction survey for SMH and dropped in there at every opportunity the fact that I expected a certain level of quality and cleanliness and professionalism because of this being part of the DVC concierge collection. Will be curious to see if we hear from the hotel. I also got the contact information for Carli D'Agostino and will send a letter before the end of this week.
 
Sorry your stay was not magical Cam. :(

Come visit Chicago! I guarantee you will have a great time, and the accomodations can't be beat! ;)
 
Would love to, Carol. But with all that has happened around here, and now DH's search for a new job, I think we will have to stay put for a while. And just when we could have used a lapu lapu fix with dear friends the most!
 
Just FYI. I used to work for M hotels(I won't use their full chain name). If you want a response from the hotel, you need to put on you comment card that you would NEVER stay there again. At least this was true for M hotels.When we received a comment card stating that, it was policy for the general manager to call and apologize. I don't know if that is tru for every hotel chain but it might get some attention.

I can tolerate a lot of things from a hotel since I used to work for one. I know things happen. But there is NO excuse for rooms to not be cleaned!!!!
 
Thanks, Andria -- I wrote the letter to go to MS, and am going to call the Shelburne to find out who to cc on the letter.
 
I had a call from Carli D'Agostino on Wednesday, thanking me for the letter and the feedback. She was appropriately concerned and we talked quite a bit about the concierge options or lack thereof in NY right now. She was an absolute sweetheart and she didn't seem to find my enthusiasm "freaky" or anything.

Yesterday, I received a letter from the Shelburne Murray Hill responding to all of my complaints, point by point, and describing what had already been done in response to my letter, and what the long-term plans are for dealing with those issues. I was truly impressed with the thoroughness of the response. The letter went on to say that they'd like to win back my loyalty and would appreciate the opportunity to do so -- they offered a complimentary night at their hotel (subject to availability) and gave me a specific phone number to call to make the reservation.

I am quite pleased with the follow up and the responsiveness of both DVC and SMH on this. As I have said from the beginning, the location and spaciousness of the SMH 1 BR suite was great -- I am looking forward to giving it another try.
 
It is so very good to hear that you problem was addressed and that you are being taken care of. Thanks for keeping us all posted.
 
Sorry to hear of your experience. We travel to NYC a few times a year, and I have thought about using my points for either The Plaza (but I can't now!) or the Shelburne....but just haven't done it becasue I ususlly get such good deals on hotels in NYC.
I am glad that they responded to your e-mail.....hopefully, if you give them another try....it will be to (or above!) your expectations. Dirty linens and tub is just unacceptable in my book!

So, you got to see two fabulous plays....I have loved them both,too. Wicked is absolutely AMAZING also....It is phenomenol!!!

Bobbi
 











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