This must Solstice The Commie and I elected to escape to the Virginia Peninsula. At first we had just planned to visit Williamsburg, stay three nights in "Choice" Hotel and that was it. BUT I am so glad that we changed for minds and prefixed our Williamsburg stay with a night at the Duke of York on Water Street in Yorktown:
http://www.dukeofyorkmotel.com/
One never knows what to expect of a "Mom and Pop" operation, but we were more than pleasantly surprised. The hotel, the room, the grounds and pool were all immaculate. The staff was friendly and helpful. The river view one gets from nearly every room is spellbinding. A photo of that view is posted with this article. There are microwaves, refrigerators and safes in every room. Price wise, it was a bargain too. We would have liked to have changed our reservations and stayed there the whole time, but "Choice" will charge you a night without 24 hours notice. In retrospect.... we should have just taken the hit.
So, on to the Comfort Inn at 2007 Richmond Road, Williamsburg. First of all no early check in was permitted. When we did get into our room we were sorely disappointed. It was a first floor room. Apparently. although you pay the same price as everyone else, all smoking rooms are first floor, smaller rooms. The room smelled,.... and not like smoke. The wallpaper was peeling, there were stains on the sheets and comforter, the tub was dirty and I have reason to believe that I got a bed bug bite. I invite you to look at the photos of these things on my myspace.com page:
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=209696042&albumId=547475
When we complained we were told, "Sorry that is all we can do for you and if you check out you will still be charged a day." As I wrote earlier, we should have taken the hit and gone back to The Duke of York.
I thought that I would have my grievances fully redressed when I responded to a customer satisfaction survey with regard to these things and got an email to respond to. I emailed them the pictures in the above link and got an email back:
" Thank you for taking the time to respond to our recent customer satisfaction survey and for providing us with the additional comments about your stay at the Comfort Inn Central in Williamsburg, VA. We do apologize for the incident that occurred at this hotel. We have forwarded the information and issues you have raised to our field staff that will be addressing them directly with the hotel. Choice Hotels is committed to helping facilitate corrective action and ensuring that appropriate changes are made with the hotel directly. Your comments have assisted us in identifying areas in need of attention, and we greatly appreciate your feedback. Should you need further assistance please contact us at 800.300.8800.
We are looking forward to providing quality accommodations and service to you in the future. Thank you for your continued patronage."
Yea, well that is really nice, but (and I hate to sound selfish) what about our expensive, sub-standard vacation? I called their "800 Number" and was on hold for 45 minutes before I hung up.
I suppose that (sigh) this is my only compensation for a filthy hotel and an inadequate administrative response. Please pass this article and the pictures around to anyone you know who is planning to stay in a "Choice Hotel.
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