Ashbourne House Hotel - Failure to Homour Deal Voucher

wyndham · 15-09-2012 1:17pm

Did the hotel go into liquidation or receivership before being sold? Perhaps you should contact the receiver or liquidator if that is the case and let them know that the water was cold in your room one night 6 months ago and there may be a claim pending. They may want to set aside funds to compensate you in case your lawsuit is successful.

17-09-2012 10:38am

wyndham wrote: »

Did the hotel go into liquidation or receivership before being sold? Perhaps you should contact the receiver or liquidator if that is the case and let them know that the water was cold in your room one night 6 months ago and there may be a claim pending. They may want to set aside funds to compensate you in case your lawsuit is successful.

Receivership I believe... Good idea I'll get them to put a couple of k aside!

Frynge · 17-09-2012 11:16am

OP do you not think you're being a little bit unreasonably with your attitude to the matter.

Did you make reception aware by shouting the odds or did you ask pleasantly for it to be sorted. You make no mention of if it was just your room or the whole hotel that was out of water.

On a side note: i work in a small hotel (15rooms) and if 35 ppl are taking a showers in around the same time the water will probably run out and not be quite as hot. when a stag group came back to the hotel after paint balling one time there was one guy who was in a room furthest from the boiler who had cold water in his room and wasn't able to have a shower (apparently). the man then complained about it 3 hrs later by informing me that he wasn't going to be paying for his nights stay. now had he picked up the phone and dialled zero he would have received an apology and told that the water would be hot again in 10-15min. that is what a reasonable person would do.
When he informed me that he wouldn't be paying, he was promptly informed that he wouldn't staying. he tried to insist that he would be staying but when i talked to the person who organized the trip he said he would make sure that he paid. i left it at that then went into the bar to witness 34 other people completely taking the piss out of him.

hardCopy · 17-09-2012 12:23pm

OP was right to leave IMO.

No hot water is completely unacceptable and he should have been moved to a room with hot water if one was available or offered some other compensation, free dinner or a refund etc.

Duckjob · 17-09-2012 2:43pm

07438991 wrote: »

Also, I wasted €70 going for dinner and having drinks waiting for it to be fixed... This just adds to my fury as they refuse to le me rebook a night or have a complimentary meal instead... The rooms & breakfast is crap, I prefer an evening meal..

Did the hotel "force" you to treat yourself to a nice €70 meal ? And how was it a waste? Do you not normally need to eat evening meals ? Did you not enjoy it? And the few pints or whatever? Did you not enjoy those? Did the hotel force you to buy them ? Ah come on. You're just being silly now.

coylemj · 17-09-2012 4:28pm

07438991 wrote: »

Receivership I believe... Good idea I'll get them to put a couple of k aside!

The delusion goes on....

ShatterProof · 17-09-2012 5:08pm

coylemj wrote: »

The delusion goes on....

i think that post went way over your head

sandin · 17-09-2012 7:07pm

Even if the hotel was not in receivership, you would have no comeback as you left of your own accord. There obviously was an issue with hot water for a few hours, but the chances it was corrected the following morning.

As the requirement to have a wash in the evening is not a requirment of any pub/restaurant that I know of, then it is only your own feeling of resentment that has you on your high horses.

In a cases like this, you do the flannell wash, give your self a spray and continue on your merry way. Then have decent shower the next morning. Jaysu, up to a few years ago, an ensuite room in a hotel was a luxury. (The stories by sales reps about the club house hotel in kilkenny are legendary)

As for scc - the original hotel is in receivership and as your claim did not come in prior to receivership it either won;t be enterained or will be last on the list. And even if it was not, I doubt if it would be entertained.

So best advice as per above - forget it and move on. Getting annoyed over such a trivial matter is not good for the blood pressure.

Magenta · 17-09-2012 9:29pm

OP, why did you name the thread "Failure to Homour Deal Voucher"?
It says in your first post that you bought a "2 night’s bed and breakfast deal with a meal for two people on one night for €99 from Groupon.ie".
Bit misleading don't you think? Or was "hot water and pandering to dramatics" on the voucher too?

rainbowdash · 17-09-2012 9:42pm

If the whole hotel was without hot water then you could be sure they were on the case and a plumber would be at it all night to get it sorted.

Booking out was your own choice, expecting some sort of free weekend as compensation is just nuts. A free pint maybe but that's about it.

20-09-2012 4:09pm

hardCopy wrote: »

OP was right to leave IMO.

No hot water is completely unacceptable and he should have been moved to a room with hot water if one was available or offered some other compensation, free dinner or a refund etc.

Exactly.., ALL OF THE ROOMS IN THE HOTEL HAD NO HOT WATER AND THERE IS NO LEISURE FACILITY so I do not think that I had plenty of options. (some people don't seem to be able to read/understand this and keep asking why didn't I change room!!!)

Also, I kindly informed them that we were without hot water at 6.30/7pm (before dinner) and again at 9.45pm (after dinner) and decided to check out before 11pm. I did not think that waiting over 4hrs was unreasonable or asking if I can rebook my 2nd night was unreasonable either?

Then, I asked for a complementary meal instead (as the rooms & breakfast are terrible so I'd prefer dinner) but I was just told that I am not entitled to either as the voucher was redeemed once I checked in and then I've been ignored ever since.

20-09-2012 4:16pm

Frynge wrote: »

OP do you not think you're being a little bit unreasonably with your attitude to the matter.

Did you make reception aware by shouting the odds or did you ask pleasantly for it to be sorted. You make no mention of if it was just your room or the whole hotel that was out of water.

No I do not think I acted unreasonable in wanting to rebook my 2nd night again or asking for a meal instead!

I kindly informed the receptionist twice.

And please read ALL OF MY POSTS before responding as some of your intriguing questions may have been previously asked by other people and also already responded to... Just a (reasonable) suggestion as that's the kind of guy I am

20-09-2012 4:24pm

Magenta wrote: »

OP, why did you name the thread "Failure to Homour Deal Voucher"?
It says in your first post that you bought a "2 night’s bed and breakfast deal with a meal for two people on one night for €99 from Groupon.ie".
Bit misleading don't you think? Or was "hot water and pandering to dramatics" on the voucher too?

I guess they were complimentary.., kind of like a hotel room not being fit for its purpose, the facilities not being as described and the heating system not being to a decent quality... In addition, the voucher didn't state that you would receive unacceptable customer service, be totally screwed and then ignored, and receive a totally incompetent after sales service... As for the title, it's what Groupon categorised my complaint as so I just used it...

Yamanoto · 20-09-2012 4:47pm

07438991 wrote: »

Just a (reasonable) suggestion as that's the kind of guy I am

Did you post here solely for the purpose of having your own beliefs reinforced or are you genuinely seeking advice? If it's the latter, the overwhelming consensus seems to be at odds with your take on the matter. If that were me, that would give me pause for thought.

20-09-2012 4:56pm

Yamanoto wrote: »

Did you post here solely for the purpose of having your own beliefs reinforced or are you genuinely seeking advice? If it's the latter, the overwhelming consensus seems to be at odds with your take on the matter. If that were me, that would give me pause for thought.

I only got one piece of advise from Durdara (the category moderator), everyone one else is more concerned about showering in cold water and changing room (all of which is retrospective and totally irrelevant now) so I have given up on trying to seek genuine advise from this thread...

I just thought I should still respond to people's questions as it's rude to ignore someone (that thinks they are trying to help you).

Yamanoto · 20-09-2012 5:10pm

07438991 wrote: »

I only got one piece of advise from Durdara (the category moderator), everyone one else is more concerned about showering in cold water and changing room (all of which is retrospective and totally irrelevant now) so I have given up on trying to seek genuine advise from this thread...

Come off it now 07438991, this is getting silly.

ejmaztec wrote: »

It might be worth contacting the NCA, which announced back in July that it was looking into "deals".

http://www.nca.ie/index.jsp?a=888&n=101&p=100

LeftBlank wrote: »

Let it go? If the owners have changed, there's probably not much that can be done.

TheDriver wrote: »

bad experience in a hotel = tripadvisor and any other review site...However i think your wasting your time doing anything else at this stage.

Yamanoto wrote: »

The hotel are clearly unmoved by your demands - leaving the SCC as your only option.

sandin wrote: »

As for scc - the original hotel is in receivership and as your claim did not come in prior to receivership it either won;t be enterained or will be last on the list. And even if it was not, I doubt if it would be entertained.

So best advice as per above - forget it and move on.

donegal. · 20-09-2012 5:39pm

you say the deal is back on groupon ?
if you decide to take it up i have a nice thermos flask you can borrow.

also is your grievance not with groupon's notorous terms and conditions, instead of the hotel.

Magenta · 20-09-2012 8:13pm

If cold water is all you have to complain about, you must have a great life! The devil makes work for idle hands, as they say.

discus · 20-09-2012 11:39pm

Magenta wrote: »

If cold water is all you have to complain about, you must have a great life! The devil makes work for idle hands, as they say.

Yes, because having hot water in a hotel room isn't important(!)

I'm surprised at people not backing the OP up. This wasn't some ****hole motel - he booked this as a nice, luxury get away. Hot water is a basic human necessity.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy · 21-09-2012 2:50am

I agree with the OP. Im surprised at the way this thread went.

I personally love having a hot shower once, even twice, a day if I stay in a hotel. I've paid for the privilege so why not?

I would be severely disappointed if there was no hot water. Whilst checking out and leaving was a slight overreaction the hotel managements indifference is worse.

They say they were trying to solve the problem, yet a small gesture of goodwill like a round of drinks wouldn't bankrupt them :rolleyes:

At least you had the opportunity to name and shame OP.

It's because of the attitude of some people in here that we pay more for hospitality than our european cousins, and put up with poor service.

And to anyone who wants to argue that the heating was beyond the hotels control and not their fault, well it wasn't op's fault either.

hardCopy · 21-09-2012 6:18am

discus wrote: »

Magenta wrote: »

If cold water is all you have to complain about, you must have a great life! The devil makes work for idle hands, as they say.

Yes, because having hot water in a hotel room isn't important(!)

I'm surprised at people not backing the OP up. This wasn't some ****hole motel - he booked this as a nice, luxury get away. Hot water is a basic human necessity.

In reality it is a sh1thole motel

davo10 · 21-09-2012 8:00am

I think if Op posted he was unhappy about the hotel experience having paid for it, because there was no hot water the night he arrived, most readers would have agreed with him. But like most readers, I think he over reacted leaving so soon and not giving the hotel the opportunity to rectify the situation the following morning. It is not beyond the realms of possibility to think the hotel made every effort to get a plumber to fix it that night but were unsuccessful.

Also he seems not to comprehend that the company which was resoncible for his stay, no longer exists and that the new company is in no way responsible.

rainbowdash · 21-09-2012 8:42am

Still don't get why you couldn't give yourself a quick wash under the cold shower or even boil a few kettles of water, mix it with a bit of cold and splash yourself down in the bath.

I think we can all recall times in our lives when there was no hot water somewhere and had to take a quick cold shower.

montzarella · 21-09-2012 9:38am

I think the key thing here is how you go about your business. By this I mean, how to complain effectively.If you go down shouting the odds you will more than likely not achieve anything. Its a hotel with a lot of people staying there and sometimes stuff goes wrong, its how you deal with it that counts.

I think that if there is an issue (in your case no hot water) that you should be reasonable in what you expect as the outcome. Ideally, they should fix the problem and you have hot water, but depending on how serious the issue is, you have to accept that it could take the hotel time to fix it. Not all problems can be fixed quickly.

I think it depends on ones mindset....e.g. I am staying here and paying for this room, no hot water, the b*****ds, I am going to get something free out of this, a free meal, free night stay etc.

Or: there is a problem, i will tell them and give them time to fix it. If its not fixed after a reasonable period of time, I will ask to speak to the manager to see how this can be resolved, as long term is not acceptable after paying for a room for 2 nights.

And resolving does not always mean that you get something out of them for free!

They might offer you something as a goodwill gesture, but you should not be expecting it. In fact, I usually do the opposite, and specify i am not looking for a freebie, I just want so and so to work or get fixed whatever. On two occasions using this approach, I was emailed by the manager (two different hotels), offering me a free upgrade for my next stay. It was nice of them to do that, but I did not go seeking it.

I think the hotel are correct in that you did redeem the voucher so it was used, but I think your key mistake is that you left the hotel. Its far better to stay and purse the issue with them again the next morning.
Like others, I would have had a quick cold wash that night and pursued the issue the next day with them, cold water for one night would not be a deal breaker for me. I guess for you op that this was a much bigger issue.

A spider or creature infestation or a really obviously dirty manky room would make me leave, but not cold water. I dont think you have any comeback at this stage, I dont know much about the SCC but it does seem like a long shot. I would advise that if it ever happens again that you stick it out, and pursue them while you are there and express your disappointment (I find that expressing disappointment works far better than anger/rage).

Menas · 21-09-2012 9:53am

Interesting thread. The key here is that you left the hotel and with that lost the upper hand. The staff on reception at night time dont have much power. And it would likely have been fully booked on a saturday night so they could not offer alternative rooms.
On the sunday morning when there are more staff around and more guests complaining - this would have been the time to raise how unhappy you are. SOmething similar happend to me (in a large hotel in Wexford) and the hotel did offer me a complimentary stay. When I returned to take them up on that offer they had upgraded me to a really nice suite.
I am sure the hotel were not ignoring your original complaint and were trying to get the water working. Perhaps the receptionist could have communicated better. But is it reasonable to leave the hotel at 11pm? I dont think so.

At this stage OP there is no point in persuing this further. The SCC will not rule in your favour and any chance of getting a freebie from the hotel is long since gone. It is one of those thing that happens and had you played this right at the time you could have worked it to your favour. But that chance is long gone.

ncmc · 28-09-2012 11:28am

I have to agree with the majority of the other posters here, while it certainly is irksome not to have hot water, I think you massively over reacted by checking out on the Saturday evening and in doing so, lost the opportunity to get your issues addressed. The fact that the entire hotel was out of hot water would indicate that there was quite a large problem with the plumbing that would more than likely take quite a long time to rectify.

I’m sure the receptionist was frazzled with complaints on the Saturday evening, the best time to raise the issue would have been on check out the following morning. For example, I stayed in a hotel in Galway last year on a Super Valu deal (paid €99 for 2 nights B&B). Both nights sleep were disrupted due to Christmas parties going on, but the second night was really bad, because a drunken guest kept setting off the fire alarm. Now, I could have stormed out in a huff during the night, after all, the hotel was not providing what I expected i.e. a nights sleep, but instead, I stuck it out and politely mentioned it on check out. The result was that we got the second night free, and a €40 voucher for a future stay.

It sounds like the manager did not deal with your complaint very effectively the following week (not returning calls etc) but I do think your request for a free nights stay was slightly ambitious. I would hazard a guess that you were the only person to check out that night because of this issue, hotels are not immune to heating problems and other things outside of their control, you have to accept this sometimes and allow them sufficient time to rectify the problem. It sounds like you threw your toys out of the pram and went looking for a freebie.

I think you need to accept the fact that the hotel is under new management now, your grievance was with the previous owner and the new owner is under no obligation to deal with you. It sounds like you are going to a lot of trouble and hassle for no reason. Why do you even want a free night if the hotel is as bad as you say??? I think everyone has a bad hotel experience, sometimes you need to just forget about it and chalk it down to experience.

Joey the lips · 28-09-2012 11:41am

did you complain to groupon...

from reading what you bought was not what you got

ncmc · 28-09-2012 11:48am

Joey the lips wrote: »

did you complain to groupon...

from reading what you bought was not what you got

How is it Groupons issue? He got exactly what he bought, that is two nights B&B for €99. It was his decision to cut the weekend short.

hardCopy · 28-09-2012 12:28pm

Magenta wrote: »

If cold water is all you have to complain about, you must have a great life! The devil makes work for idle hands, as they say.

And if the only treat you have to look forward to is a cold shower in a sh1t hotel you must have a pretty bad one.

ejmaztec · 28-09-2012 6:50pm

It seems that the general consensus here is that second-best is good enough for most people.

Ashbourne House Hotel - Failure to Homour Deal Voucher

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