Beware: Serious Lack of Service Here
- February 29, 2008
- Rated 1 of 5 by
adnarim from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
I recently spent 2 nights at the Hotel Bayahibe while my parents were here on a visit.
Having stayed at the hotel once before, several months earlier, I suggested it to my parents without hesitation for the reasonable rooms and decent breakfast included in the price. Unfortunately I was not aware that rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor vary so drastically from rooms on the 1st floor- despite being the same price.
When we arrived, having made a reservation, we were told that there was only 1 room left in the hotel. It was nothing like the rooms on the upper floors that enjoy balconies, ample space and lots of sunlight thru big windows. This room had no window and felt more like a basement that was hastily remodeled. Matters only worsened at night when we discovered we would have to contend with our placement next the hotel laundry room, a noisy water pump, and many mosquitos.
We requested to change rooms more than once but were told it was not possible. The day we checked out, by coincidence I ran into a friend in the hotel restaurant who told me she had just called and made a reservation late the previous day and was given a room on the 2nd floor.
When I called the manager to explain my dissatisfaction with our room, explaining that it was not the same value as the other rooms, I was treated with surprising animosity and abruptly told that I should have called the day before because now there was nothing he could do. I inquired into receiving a lower price or a discount for future visits and again he was unwilling to make an efforts to this end. He half-heartedly said it was too bad but again implied that I was to blame for not calling sooner so that he could have moved us (despite the fact that we were told there were no rooms available).
When I asked if it mattered to him that I had colleagues and friends in and out of the country that I would not recommend the hotel to due to the lack of customer concern on his part, he said no, it did not matter. I then asked how I might communicate with the owner and he refused to give me his contact information.
It is a shame, because I did enjoy my initial visit to the hotel. But this proved to me that if anyone goes wrong and when it comes to dealing with things that come up for hotel patrons, this hotel cannot be relied upon to take care of customers and there is no recourse for a paying customer who is unsatisfied. I have lived in the DR for over 3 years and am aware of cultural differences that affect these matters, but the way I was treated was above and beyond any cultural differences or misunderstandings. For that reason, I would never recommend it to anyone I know.