HRH - the good and the bad

[Flyin2MCO]

Just returned from a visit to UO/WDW and a stay at the HRH. This is a difficult post for me since it will primarily be negative and I hate to come across as a whiner (I never expect perfection when traveling and I can deal with things that go wrong). Also, HRH was my first on site experience five years ago and it got me hooked on Universal. However, I encountered a few things that should be no brainers in any service environment, especially within a high end, expensive one such as a Lowe's property.

The Good
* Location, location, location!! I consider this the primary appeal of HRH...perfectly placed next to US and less than a 10 minute walk to the gate. This is a huge time saver.
* Cool vibe. The music and hip atmosphere are a nice alternative to the refinement of PBH. I only wish they would turn up the volume (does the dial go to 11?).
* Staff friendliness. Everyone I encountered was nice enough and polite.
* The Kitchen. Great setting and good food.

The Bad
* Staff competence. Several examples here of poor service and lack of follow through. Upon check in I inquired about availability of an upgrade or larger room. The front desk rep said he would look, but he proceeded to process my check in documents and never responded in the affirmative or negative if an upgrade was available (I wasn't expecting a freebie, I would have paid). The same front desk rep noticed that I'm Lowe's Platinum and asked which amenity I would prefer. I told him red wine and nuts (which by the way is in my profile) and he said it would be delivered to my room. We never received it, and I didn't bother calling Star Service or the front desk. Primary staff issue was with housekeeping. One day we had a dirty towel left in the middle of our bed...at first we thought it was one of those shaped "towel animals", but it was one we had used to clean up a spilled soda. There was also trash left on several of the counter tops and a few pillows left on the floor. Now I generally leave a few bucks each day for the housekeeper....the money was gladly accepted, but the job was shabby and unacceptable for the price you pay at HRH. Again, no call from me to complain, but I will include comments in the online survey. A few other minor issues: I needed to drop an item in the safety deposit boxes behind the front desk and it took 10 minutes and three staff members to open up the door; apparently it's a known problem which could be easily fixed. Right before departing I went to the business center to print out boarding passes for the flight home...the attendant said the only printer was being used and I should come back in 10 minutes. I would have expected a more creative solution, perhaps taking me back to an office PC and printer and helping me immediately. I wrap all of these issues up to attitude and training. I suspect the right tone is not being set from the top, and it's filtering down through the ranks. I just don't get the sense that all of the HRH staff are concerned about delivering a "job well done".
* Room condition. Stayed on the sixth floor and noticed the carpet seemed very worn and torn up in some places. Our room was OK in appearance, but a few issues: the bed was not very comfortable, the shower had a bit of wear and tear, and the TV had poor reception. We don't spend a lot of time in the room during a UO vacation, but the issues were noticeable enough to be annoying.

I honestly don't know if I'll return to the HRH, which is distressing because of all the elements I find appealing about the HR experience and the location. I think if the staff pays more attention to quality service and upkeep of the property a lot of the problems I mentioned would be minimized or eliminated.

 

[AlexandNessa]

I'm sorry to hear that. We had somewhat similar issues. Our last stay at HRH in May was perfect, but this one was off the mark, and I said as much in our survey too.

We were on the 6th floor too (6040) this trip. We didn't notice the carpet in the hallways, but you could've been in a different wing.

Can you help me understand something though? You're platinum, but didn't get a room upgrade at the time of reservation? Is that why you were asking for a larger room at check in? Can you tell me why you didn't receive an upgrade? (I'm just curious if the LF program didn't work for you.)

 

[Have*a*magical*day]

We were there 2 years ago and had very bad cleaning service. We had 2 beds and we sleep in one ( just me and my husband) .Well, we get into bed and there was sand in the bed from the previous people. We got up and looked and it was very visable. I then took a pencil and marked the corners of the fitted sheet and the flat sheet. The next day we left the bed messed like we slept in it. We came back and the beds were made and darn if they didn't change the sheets again. The manager said that it is not required to change them if you plan on staying. How many beds don't get changed between visitors? Maybe they think that they are staying. Pretty bad.
I hate to say it but we are giving them another try Nov 6-10. All I can say is LOCATION! And I am bringing my own sheets, thank you.

 

[Flyin2MCO]

Can you help me understand something though? You're platinum, but didn't get a room upgrade at the time of reservation? Is that why you were asking for a larger room at check in? Can you tell me why you didn't receive an upgrade? (I'm just curious if the LF program didn't work for you.)

I assume it's because I booked via AP rate, so technically it's not a "qualifying stay"...I was asking for an upgrade since we had a garden view/two queens, and I was interested in a king. No problem if I can't get the upgrade, but at least communicate with me!!

 

[AlexandNessa]

I assume it's because I booked via AP rate, so technically it's not a "qualifying stay"...I was asking for an upgrade since we had a garden view/two queens, and I was interested in a king. No problem if I can't get the upgrade, but at least communicate with me!!

Wow, they really didn't know what they were doing then, huh?! Technically, the AP rate wouldn't even qualify you for a welcome gift so he shouldn't have even asked what you wanted, platinum or not. Seems like the front desk person was in some serious need of training. Hope you remember that person's name and give that feedback on your survey. Nothing worse to me than getting checked in by someone who doesn't know what he's doing. Sets the wrong tone for the whole stay, IMHO. Hope your next stay is better!

 

[Claymax]

We were there 2 years ago and had very bad cleaning service. We had 2 beds and we sleep in one ( just me and my husband) .Well, we get into bed and there was sand in the bed from the previous people. We got up and looked and it was very visable. I then took a pencil and marked the corners of the fitted sheet and the flat sheet. The next day we left the bed messed like we slept in it. We came back and the beds were made and darn if they didn't change the sheets again. The manager said that it is not required to change them if you plan on staying. How many beds don't get changed between visitors? Maybe they think that they are staying. Pretty bad.
I hate to say it but we are giving them another try Nov 6-10. All I can say is LOCATION! And I am bringing my own sheets, thank you.

Sad to say I've experienced similar in other nice hotels. Here's what I do if they won't change sheets on a regular basis. I take off the sheets and soak them in water, leaving them in the bathroom. They can decide whatever they want; we had an accident, a spill or a plumbing problem. Bottom line is, those sheets won't be going back on my bed.

 

[tatersalad]

We are Platinum members and stayed at HRH October 5 - 8. We booked about a month in advance which may have been one of the issues. They didn't have a suite available when I booked so I had a reservation for a garden room and I could inquire when I checked in if any were available.

Of course, when I checked in no suites were available and no upgrades were available either as they were totally booked. There were deluxe and pool views available when I made the reservation but they won't give those to Platinum members when they book, only suites. So, it's suites or nothing! I called the second night for our welcome gift. I had stayed at RPR the week before and called on the 3rd of our 5 night stay to inquire about our welcome gift and they replied that it wasn't necessarily supposed to be delivered at the beginning of our stay, just some time before we checked out. It did arrive on night 3. However, at least we were able to get a suite at RPR.

Things are hit and miss at both of those properties. If it wasn't so convenient (and didn't have FOL access) I might think of going elsewhere. But, I will probably continue to stay as long as FOL is a perk.

 

[Henna's_Mom]

DH and I just got back from HRH on the 21st and we were saying the exact same things regarding the housekeeping in the hotel. We have been staying at the HRH for the last 5 years and this has never been an issue before. I hope that this is a one time thing and next year it will be all good again.

 

[GreyStr0ke]

I just got back from the HRH and we had no problems whatsoever. We recieved our check in gift 10 minutes after we got to the room.

 

[micksterlee]

We were there in June and never received our welcome gift and I forgot all about it untill we got home.We didn't have any housekeeping problems.

 

[pauldents]

Sorry to hear of your disappointing stay at the HRH.

The most common complaints I read about the HRH seem to be the condition of the carpets, the condition of the hallway walls, the noise around the public areas and the incompetence of the front desk.

We are just back after an 8 night night stay and I can honestly say all of these traditional complaints had been or were being addressed.

For instance. We were also on the 6th floor and on the first day of our stay I noticed slight wear in a small section of the hallway carpet. On the second day I saw engineering taking care of the problem by replacing the carpeted tile Also, the walls were in great shape and had no marks from housekeeping trolleys etc.

Overall, I thought the hotel was in excellent shape and they had even turned down the volume around the pool and other areas during the week.

On the day of our arrival the express check-in worked a treat and our room cards were handed to us in sub-two minutes. Within around 2 hours we received our welcome gift and I even went down to the front desk on the second day and made three requests (car out of valet, shorten the stay by one day and theme park ticket vouchers) all of which were completed with about 3 minutes.

Re: Room upgrades. It is always difficult to secure a room upgrade in October due to HHN and the desk clerk probably knew all suites were booked and he couldn't do anything anyway because it was a non-qualifying rate. Still no excuse for them not to acknowledge your request though.

Re: Housekeeping and sheet changing. In the room it tells you that your sheets will be changed every three days unless you request them to be done daily. According to the hotel, they are just doing their bit for the environment by cutting down on detergents etc. It also explains that you should leave the towels on the floor in the bathroom or bath/shower if you want them replaced otherwise they will be reused. This worked very well for us as we would occasionally find no need for the towels to be replaced. The only time I had to ask housekeeping for something was for more coffee pods. On our return to our room they left about a weeks supply! The turn down service (during the week) was also very good.

 

[kellymonaghan]

They do pay attention to the feedback sheets. So always fill one out if you have any negative or positive comments!

Also, HRH has proven to be extremely popular with families with kids and that seems to have added up to a lot of wear and tear -- on staff as well as on carpets!

 

[jtdl]

Sad to say I've experienced similar in other nice hotels. Here's what I do if they won't change sheets on a regular basis. I take off the sheets and soak them in water, leaving them in the bathroom. They can decide whatever they want; we had an accident, a spill or a plumbing problem. Bottom line is, those sheets won't be going back on my bed.

If I arrived in a hotel and I had even a slight concern that the sheets had not been changed from the previous guests, I would call housekeeping and have them come and put on new sheets. I really don't think that would be a problem. I wouldn't expect them to change the sheets I have used on a daily basis - I don't changes my bedsheets at home on a daily basis - I think every three days is more than sufficient unless they were dirty and then I would remove them from the bed, bunch them on the washroom floor and I'm sure they'd get the hint.

 

[Aptor]

Are there a zillion kids at this hotel We stayed at Portofino and loved it loved it, but, we thought this hotel also looked really nice, but not if there are zillions of kids

 

[kellymonaghan]

I've noticed far fewer kids when I've stayed at Portofino. They are there, of course, just not as many as you'll see at HRH and RPR.

One reason is that PBH does a pretty big convention and business trade. I've been there at times when the place looked deserted. It turned out it was pretty full but most guests were in meetings!

 

[damo]

Just returned from a visit to UO/WDW and a stay at the HRH. This is a difficult post for me since it will primarily be negative and I hate to come across as a whiner (I never expect perfection when traveling and I can deal with things that go wrong). Also, HRH was my first on site experience five years ago and it got me hooked on Universal. However, I encountered a few things that should be no brainers in any service environment, especially within a high end, expensive one such as a Lowe's property.

The Good
* Location, location, location!! I consider this the primary appeal of HRH...perfectly placed next to US and less than a 10 minute walk to the gate. This is a huge time saver.
* Cool vibe. The music and hip atmosphere are a nice alternative to the refinement of PBH. I only wish they would turn up the volume (does the dial go to 11?).
* Staff friendliness. Everyone I encountered was nice enough and polite.
* The Kitchen. Great setting and good food.

The Bad
* Staff competence. Several examples here of poor service and lack of follow through. Upon check in I inquired about availability of an upgrade or larger room. The front desk rep said he would look, but he proceeded to process my check in documents and never responded in the affirmative or negative if an upgrade was available (I wasn't expecting a freebie, I would have paid). The same front desk rep noticed that I'm Lowe's Platinum and asked which amenity I would prefer. I told him red wine and nuts (which by the way is in my profile) and he said it would be delivered to my room. We never received it, and I didn't bother calling Star Service or the front desk. Primary staff issue was with housekeeping. One day we had a dirty towel left in the middle of our bed...at first we thought it was one of those shaped "towel animals", but it was one we had used to clean up a spilled soda. There was also trash left on several of the counter tops and a few pillows left on the floor. Now I generally leave a few bucks each day for the housekeeper....the money was gladly accepted, but the job was shabby and unacceptable for the price you pay at HRH. Again, no call from me to complain, but I will include comments in the online survey. A few other minor issues: I needed to drop an item in the safety deposit boxes behind the front desk and it took 10 minutes and three staff members to open up the door; apparently it's a known problem which could be easily fixed. Right before departing I went to the business center to print out boarding passes for the flight home...the attendant said the only printer was being used and I should come back in 10 minutes. I would have expected a more creative solution, perhaps taking me back to an office PC and printer and helping me immediately. I wrap all of these issues up to attitude and training. I suspect the right tone is not being set from the top, and it's filtering down through the ranks. I just don't get the sense that all of the HRH staff are concerned about delivering a "job well done".
* Room condition. Stayed on the sixth floor and noticed the carpet seemed very worn and torn up in some places. Our room was OK in appearance, but a few issues: the bed was not very comfortable, the shower had a bit of wear and tear, and the TV had poor reception. We don't spend a lot of time in the room during a UO vacation, but the issues were noticeable enough to be annoying.

I honestly don't know if I'll return to the HRH, which is distressing because of all the elements I find appealing about the HR experience and the location. I think if the staff pays more attention to quality service and upkeep of the property a lot of the problems I mentioned would be minimized or eliminated.

Did you discuss these issues with management?