Our Compensation Clinic makes a stop at the Sheraton Samui Resort this week where I had a less than satisfactory stay back in April which I escalated to Marriott Customer Care.
Remember that you can always email us, send a message via Facebook or use Twitter and include photos too. We’ll try to cover a Compensation Clinic case here regularly.
When I pieced together my Koh Samui trip last month I wanted to take advantage of the Marriott promotion for double nights and double points which ended on April 27th so I decided to give the two hotels on Chaweng Beach – Vana Belle and Sheraton – a try.
Both properties had a relatively good package deal they sold at local travel shows that was eligible for points and stay credit so I booked two nights at each of these hotels.
The Sheraton charged 5,750 Baht (~ $92 per night) for two nights including the short transfer from the Airport (I only needed one way since the Vana Belle was right next door) and a dinner at the restaurant.
Arriving at the property was relatively quick aside from the driver not being in the waiting area when the flight arrived as he had to disappear to the toilet for 10 minutes. Great timing.
Despite a pre-arranged hotel transfer the check-in procedure at the hotel took over half an hour and registration forms weren’t prepared either. After 30+ minutes I was asked to sign a blank form, no idea what they were doing all this time and considering the guests is a Bonvoy member (irrespective of status) that’s totally unacceptable.
The property itself consists of an array of old building structures and while visually not in terrible shape you definitely have the feel of it having fallen out of time. I dropped my belongings in the room and went for a walk along the beach to enjoy the last few hours of sunshine. Upon returning I noticed that after a like half an hour the room temperature wouldn’t go down.
The hotel sent technicians to poke around on the A/C after which they claimed it was fixed. Needless to say it wasn’t.
The next day a set of other mechanics noticed the A/C compressor was defective and the coolant leaked out, it would take half a day to fix it.
It wouldn’t get much better, the second night the lowest temperature was ~ 28 degrees. I decided to cancel the third night which I had booked on my free night certificate and instead added another paid night at the Vana Belle.
Another issue was the in room dining. First I ordered Club Sandwich and condiments which were promptly forgotten. The Sandwich itself wasn’t even toasted so I promptly returned it. The alternative – a cheeseburger – arrived very fittingly without any cheese on top. Incredible. Even more incredible that it actually made it’s way to the final bill after calling in to complain about it.
Breakfast on the first morning was actually quite good and plentiful, the second day it was moved to the small poolside restaurant and only a few a la carte items were available. Basically the selection shrank by 80%.
Oh yeah I forgot about the “dinner” that was included in the package. Well… it consisted of a piece of dry sliced chicken breast, gravy, mushy vegetables and potato puree. Less appetizing than hospital food. The dessert saved the meal.
I left at 10am the next morning to go to Vana Belle. Management was not on site at that time either which was a Monday morning, not sure what these guys are doing.
Following this experience I sent an email to Marriott Customer Care and left a low rated review on the after stay survey and public channels.
Eventually someone from the hotel got back to me and agreed to refund one of the two nights to my Bonvoy Amex:
They also asked me to delete my published review, a request I didn’t even respond to and which I forwarded to Marriott’s Area Vice President for South East Asia. He wasn’t impressed by the hotels approach to conduct business either.
The refund of one night is the bare minimum I expected. This was a complete waste of time and $92/night isn’t exactly a cheap price to stay at a badly run hotel when you can spend just a little more and for $150 you have the Vana Belle Luxury Collection or the Ritz Carlton. I rather spend the higher price and have a good experience. Both my stays in the same week at the aforementioned hotels were excellent.
This is a prime example why a brand name isn’t always a guarantee for quality if the property decides not to follow brand standards set by the company that provides the franchise.
Conclusion
Sometimes hotels have left their brand standards so far behind they they think any type of cutback and behavior is acceptable. Sometimes I wonder why some owners don’t just close the resort and invest a little into urgently needed renovations rather than staying open at all cost, trying to run a shoestring operation.
Many hotels are currently selling packages, most of them prepaid, for domestic trips in Thailand and other countries as well. Booking prepaid reservations always comes with a risk when things go wrong and the quality isn’t as expected. In this case I was able to at least cut my losses and cancel the connecting night award free of charge and recoup one night of my expenses.
While I agree in the harsh critic you please provide a bit of focus in the hotel, / country tourist context? I do :
From June to December 2020, local guests generated only 1.3 billion baht per month for the province, a stark contrast to the 32.7 billion earned from the mostly foreign market in the pre-pandemic period. BANGKOK TIMES 9 APR
Nonetheless the queeny blogger expects the same treatment while probably the staff was reduced in a bigger percentage and their wages in an ever bigger one…. I see a point of nice attitude with the quick delivery of AC technicians in Koh Samui while most might have died of hunger
Sebastián, next critic please from India, you can claim points for the dead fire smoke!!!!
While I’m your side when it comes to the tone of critic Sebastian sometimes finds, I do agree that a cheeseburger should have cheese on it. And if advertised with condiments, the condiments should be there. And the AC should work, too. But ‘only a la carte breakfast’ and a dry chicken breast? I guess that’s what one should swallow in times of a global crisis. And it doesn’t sound too bad.
Usd150 for vana belle or RC in samui?!! Omg that price is insane! I was paying like usd500 per night back to 2013! Really envious those able to access the island / country.
A 92 dollar per night beachfront hotel that includes airport transfers and a free dinner and you’re still bitching. What do you expect at that price point? If the beach was nice and drinks cheap it’s already a win
Dude you sound whiney. The hotel lost money before you walked in the door.
If not for the AC your point would be very justifiable but when he says that the temperature would only go down to 28 and then gets the runaround, the guy has pretty viable grounds to complain.
It isn’t that the owners of the property lost money before a buyer if their promotion was found. Their operating costs are going to be roughly the same with or without the voucher holding guest.
Couple this with the known fact that it was the property operators who decided on the price and the offering.
When a product is purchased at the full offered price and fails to be provided it is common practice to request fulfillment.
It is not incumbent on the customer to go through their p&l before deciding to complain.
I trust you are able to grasp this commercial fact and this assists you.
No need to thank me, I could see you were in need of assistance.
You’re better than me. I never return food. Don’t want no extra foreign sauce in mine😃
@monegasqueaumonde:disqus Bro I missed your comments. You should come back and post more lol Mr Florida
You did not say whether you requested a change of room after discovering the AC issue. Perhaps the package you purchased at the local travel show only specifies a particular type of room to be used? Anyway, other than the AC problem, everything else sounds trivial, especially considering you only paid 92 bucks per night, which even includes airport transfer and dinner. What else do you want? Spa, Michelin Star feast and some other royal treatments?
I think he wants a working AC. Housekeeping and maintenance should be doing routine checks in rooms to make sure the unit is working properly. Preparing for guests is an important part of hotel work. He would also like the kitchen to deliver the condiments that he requested with his food. Nothing worse than having an incomplete order and your food is getting cold while you wait. Guests prefer warm/hot food.
With no AC I would have been gone in 12 minutes.
Got to agree about aircon – it’s a must here of course and I’m sure they would have moved you to a better suite if you had requested it.
Hope you didn’t pay the charged no cheese cheeseburger or they will continue to get away with it.
We’re at Chaweng Beach now and Saturday night we ordered from McD. Chaweng Garden – Cheeseburger Set (with cheese!) only Bht190 with 52% delivery discount via FoodPanda. But order well before the 21hrs curfew
This way you’ll avoid the disappointment of a cheeseless cheeseburger which would annoy the most patient of diners.
Silly.
Did your drugs lose their affect……?
All of the critics below have completely missed the point of the critique.
At these highly attended Bkk.travel shows they are not promoting poor service at a low price they are promoting their product as always marketed but at a special price.
Allow me to make that clearer for everyone:-
This means show attendees get a chance to experience a stay in say, a 5 star property at a promotional price.
Let me make it even clearer for you:-
They are not promoting a cut price for a low level of service or accommodation.
Now, here’s the next bit:-
Buyers purchase the 5-star promotion at a reduced show-rate and therefore have every right to expect what was promoted.
If Western food is shown on the menu of a high quality property at the equivalent price relative to the property’s star rating the customer has every right to expect a high quality product in return for the high charge; together with an equal right to reject a low quality article.
I’m even wondering if this explanation is clear enough for you all……as it is clear your mindset is to critique the critic
I’m interested to know that so many seasoned travellers clearly never make a complaint – yet paradoxically they all jump (in complete unison) like scolded cats over a relatively inconsequential and factual article intended to be informative to the travelling community. It’s an interesting apparent inconsistency by the howling hoard of self-proclaimed ‘experts’ and a conundrum one finds highly dubious.
I invite you to continue howling… it’s highly amusing and I’m enjoying your little tantrums and immensely.
Agree totally with you.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/pr/2081279/marriott-international-hosts-travel-fair
I’m always so surprised when something is not up to Sebastian’s standards.
I also stayed here in February for 2 nights and was far from impressed.
As a Bonvoy Titanium member I was told there were “no room upgrades available”, despite their occupancy rate being “less than 10%” and suite rooms being clearly advertised as available on their website for paid reservation at the time of check-in for the duration of my stay. When I questioned this with the duty manager, I was told the advertised rooms were “not available”. Clearly they were just scamming my entitlements and looking for paid stays in their suite rooms.
I also relocated next door to Vana Belle which was absolute perfection.