"The Park Centraal Hotel
As we walked into our junior suit on the second floor something didn’t seem right. Drab with no outside lighting, a TV and sofa bed occupied one entire room. The main room didn’t resemble the photos on the website. In place of a desk, it had another sofa bed and TV as if we needed them! With no suitcase holders we had no option but to put them on the floor.
We didn’t really mind the clanging of the tram bells just outside our window, you would expect something like that in Amsterdam but we did mind the tiny single sink bathroom unlike the double portrayed on the website. At about $700 a night we thought that the room would provide at least comfort and maybe a little luxury.
So, we went to reception and calmly stated to the young woman that the room we had paid for didn’t resemble the advertising, was there some mistake?. She didn’t seem surprised and went into a spiel about the building being old and not all the rooms were the same. We stood our ground and demanded a room change. “We are full today "she said “but I have a room tomorrow” “What time I replied” somewhere between 10am and 3 pm” (Yes that’s right)
Next day we partly packed, and confirmed our movements with reception. she said," you go out and we will email you when your new room is ready” “OK” we agreed.
So, We went out to explore expecting to get a call and we would return, finish packing so the room could be serviced and restart out stay.
No email had arrived when we returned to the hotel at 3pm, “Hi is our new room ready” I asked the same receptionist. Gazing into the computer she looked up and smilingly said “Yes it is” . “You didn’t email us” I said “ Yes we did ! came her too quick reply. I replied “ no email was received “ reaching for my phone. She figured out there would be a trail so she gave up and just said “O sorry about that” unconcerned she moved on “but don’t worry we have packed your bags and moved them in for you” she smiled looking pleased with herself.
Rose and I looked at each other in disbelief. “So, let’s get this right, your staff went into our room and, without our permission, proceeded to go through all our private belongings, not just clothes but personal items” Her face fell, “You gave permission” she lied. “No, we didn’t “I retorted. “If you had emailed us as arranged, we would have hurried back and finished the packing, that was always our intention” Her face fell further “Sorry about that” she murmured.
“I think it’s time to see the manager” I stated.
“You want to see the manager?” she repeated
“Wouldn’t you?” I replied
“Without another word she hurried off not to return.
After about 10 minutes a small smart woman appeared with a look of “here we go again”.
I had decided not to be belligerent but to mildly state the facts.
Firstly, she tried to defend the situation saying that we had given permission. We both shook our heads and I could see she lacked confidence in this argument. So, she tried the “it’s an unfortunate misunderstanding” Which hinted that we didn’t communicate clearly and were part of the problem. Uncompromisingly we shook our heads even faster. I Asked her how she would feel if some strangers had been through her bathroom and bedroom and handled all her personal effects. She fell back on defending the integrity of her staff and their trustworthiness, which we had never questioned so that line went nowhere. The conversation stalled there.
She was very keen to show us our new room which turned out to be what we originally purchased with a desk and lovely bathroom, still nowhere to place your suitcase but by now we were over it.
The manager was very professional and I could tell that she believed us and wanted to make up for things. She later knocked on the door and gave us a drink voucher and a 20% discount which was appreciated. When she saw that we were happy she admitted that the staff had made a mistake, they had learned from that and it will never happen again. The 20% refund just paid the city taxes! They give with one hand and take away with the other!"
