Hotel Royal Plaza Problem at Check-in

[LargoLori]

Hubby and I stayed for one night 2-11-06. I had booked on line using the link thru mousesavers.com. The link takes you right to the HRP online reservatios. I had booked an executive suite because they were out of tower rooms. I wanted to make sure we had a king bed and the roman tub. We checked in at 4:00 pm. At check-in we were told they had no more suites left but could put us in a kng room that did not have the roman tub. Of course I let them know that was not what we booked nor what we wanted. Then they said they sould put us in a room with the roman tub but with 2 double beds. We were told that booking on line did not guarantee you a specific room. We told them that we expected what was booked even if it meant they had to put us in another hotel. After that they managed to find an executive suite that they checked us into. While we were having this problem another couple who booked thru expedia was having the same difficulty. They had booked a tower room king bed with roman tub. They were told they were all out. Has anyone had a similar problem. I don't have a lot of experiencing with online bookings. I don't know if this is common practice or just a problem with this hotel.


Lori

 

[kilee]

Looks more like an overbooking issue than an online booking issue. I wouldn't be discouraged from booking online because of this. It is to be expected that if you booked a specific style room, that would be the type of room you'd get.

 

[chrisann]

when making your reservation, your requests are just that requests. So many things could happen between when you make the reservation and when you show up at the front desk, it's impossible to guarantee a specific rm type. That's the way it is at most hotels anyway.

 

[DianeV]

Thats not always true because many times when searching for hotels you get selections of 2 beds, 1 king etc. and that is the room you pick and book..

 

[LargoLori]

Thats not always true because many times when searching for hotels you get selections of 2 beds, 1 king etc. and that is the room you pick and book..

Thats what I was thinking. I had other choices but opted for the suite because it had what we wanted. I do think they over-booked but I also think they should have a back-up plan in that case.

Lori

 

[jayv1]

wow???

 

[mickey7861]

Actually that's how I tried out HRP. I had booked Sheraton Safari online and when I arrived they said they had over booked but had a room for us at HRP for no additional cost. That was through expedia and while I know alot of people use them all the time I have never used them again. I book what I want to avoid surprises. HRP was very nice though and we never have tried Sheraton Safari again.

 

[WaltD4Me]

We were told that booking on line did not guarantee you a specific room.

What does booking on-line have to do with it? If I book on-line, especially at the hotel's own website, I expect the room TYPE I booked and paid for. I can understand, if, say I booked a suite and requested it be room # 1421 and did not get it, but if you book a room, on-line or otherwise, and pay for a certain room type, to me it is more than a request. If you book and pay for a suite with a roman tub that is what you should get. If you book a suite and ask for it to be by the pool, the pool part is the request and I would understand that I might not get that.

Other than the booking problem, how did you like the Royal Plaza? It looks very nice on their website and I was thinking of trying it out on a future trip.

 

[LargoLori]

We actually loved the room. The decor was beautiful and the bed was very comfy. I didn't see the rooms before so I can't compare but we were pleased. I just didn't understand the whole booking on line situation. The staff member even said "well when you book through expedia". I then informed her that we booked through their web site using a mousesavers discount code. Thank goodness I had the print out.

Lori

 

[chrisann]

If you actually pay for the room, them yes, you should get that exact rm type, I was referring to just making a reservation.

 

[La2kw]

when making your reservation, your requests are just that requests. So many things could happen between when you make the reservation and when you show up at the front desk, it's impossible to guarantee a specific rm type. That's the way it is at most hotels anyway.

Reserving a specific room type is not a request. A view room or a nonsmoking room is often a request, though even those can be reserved at some hotels.