THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 9, 1996 TAG: 9608080177
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 48 lines
The article on ``Hotel Horror Stories'' by Dave Addis in the July 28 Daily Break section of The Virginian-Pilot brought out some of the interesting challenges that hotel operators face, but let's remember that there are other views to be considered.
This past Friday, my wife and I finished up a conference in beautiful Williamsburg and decided to visit Virginia Beach for an overnight before beginning the drive to our home near Toronto, Ontario. Our hotel horror story began when we stopped at the visitors center on the way in and inquired about a room for the night. We were told that most hotels would not rent a room for a single night as it was high season and they didn't need to release rooms for any less than the full weekend. Welcome to Virginia Beach!
Pressing on, we called a reservation service that ``found'' us a hotel on the beach strip that would rent a room for a single night. Perhaps it's not best to mention the name of the hotel but its name in old English is synonymous with the upper class, and the photo in the brochure led us to believe that it was quite a nice, modestly upscale hotel. And given the price of $110 ($148 Canadian) our expectations were heightened.
The first warning bell should have been heard when the lady that made the reservation told us, once she had our credit card number, that it was ``too late to cancel the reservation.'' On arrival, we realized that the hotel must have paid a very talented photographer to find the only good angle for the brochure picture. We were greeted by a pleasant enough lady who, possibly distracted by the crying baby she held at her hip, could not find the reservation. We stood about until the manager arrived and checked us in. The room, for $110 per night turned out to be a small, box-like affair on the second of two floors with painted cinder-block walls, two dilapidated chairs that wouldn't support anyone who cared to sit in them, and two of the most ridiculous beds imaginable.
Given that Canadians come with patience and a sense of humor we accepted our fate for the evening and spent as much time as we could outdoors on the beach and in the parks - both of which were wonderful attractions. We met some very pleasant local people, had a nice meal, saw a portion of an outdoor version of ``Forever Plaid,'' and made certain that we were good and tired before we returned to the room. We also left bright and early the next morning.
I'm sorry that hotel operators experience people that lie and steal as depicted in the article, but I can't help feeling that this particular hotel did much the same to my wife and me.
Bruce J. Richards
Oakville, Ontario by CNB