Pros: good price, not far from downtown Napa
Cons: water smelled and tasted of bleach, chunks of something in the jacuzzi, and terrible customer service.
The water in the room from all sources tasted like chlorine, bleach, or some other cleaning agent. When we tried to use the jacuzzi, orange chunks expelled from the jets, lessening the appeal quite a bit. Honestly, neither of these things would have prompted me to leave a negative review (the room and hotel probably warrant 3 stars - not remarkable, but functional), but the response I received from the staff was unacceptable.
We checked in on Saturday and checked out on Sunday morning, having tried to use the jacuzzi in the morning. Check out was really our first opportunity to bring this to anyone's attention, and I was seeking at the bare minimum an acknowledgement of the issue, and possibly a modest discount on the price of the room. The receptionist replied we should have told them sooner. I asked to speak with a manager and was told it was his day off. I requested he be called (on site staff should have the authority to deal with issues that arise), and was denied. Oddly, I was given his phone number. Annoyed, I left without calling and subsequently emailed the hotel 3 times on 3 different nights with no reply. Finally I called back during the week and spoke with the manager.
His response to the water tasting of cleaning products varied during a long and meandering call:
- The water comes from Napa itself, and all the water in town is bad so there is nothing he can do about it (water from restaurants and elsewhere in Napa was fine)
- Most people go out more, and don't mention it
- It didn't smell or taste oddly at all. He knew this 'as a hotel manager' (seemingly a prerequisite for being able to smell strong chemicals)
- I kept changing my story about what the issue was
His responses re the jacuzzi:
- Some people wear sun lotion or oil, and it gets in the vents. There is nothing that can be done (others also sleep in the bed and use the toilet - like those features, the jacuzzi should be ready for the next customer to use)
- Other people don't mention it
His response to no email response:
- No emails were received (no apology)
Throughout, he was defensive, evasive, and unwilling to compromise, especially odd given that I explicitly clarified I was not looking for a refund, just acknowledgement and perhaps a discount. The hotel is ok - nothing special - and without good customer service (which is just not optional in the hotel industry), you're just renting a storage container with a mattress in it. read more