Ramada Hotel Ballina - bad experience

padette

I am writing this review for a number of reasons –

1. Warn couples looking for a wedding venue to be VERY careful if you are considering the Ramada in Ballina
2. to vent my own pure frustration at the Management’s lack of courtesy and respect for my sister when planning her wedding

The story is as follows. My sister and her Fiancé booked the Ramada hotel as their venue last year in October. They ended up paying a deposit of €2,000, which was well over the minimum requirement of €600 as they wanted to pay off some of the total value in advance. They were delighted with their choice until they attended her Fiancé’s Christmas party in the Ramada in December. The service was appalling and those she knew attending the party laughed at the service (This was only the tip of the iceberg really – Fawlty towers would win Customer service awards in comparison to the service that night. These are the words of others, not my sister incase you think I am biased) She was so upset that night that she spoke to the Event manager on duty and again the following morning. They decided immediately to cancel the wedding in the Ramada as they felt they could not depend on the service and they were not about to jeopardise their special day on a promise from the Manager that had supervised the previous night).

This is really where the drama and months of empty promises began as the Event manager from that night said that there would be no problem in getting their deposit back. They met with him and the Assistant Manager on another occasion and they advised them that they would have to get sign off from the Director(s) to pay back the deposit but that they could see no problem. This line has been used numerous times when calls were answered by Management. I (Bride’s sister) then took over the conversations as my sister was getting too stressed out. I was promised that the situation would be reviewed at a Director’s meeting on February 18th. The General Manager was courteous and answered my calls but then passed me over to the Director – Eugene Cawley. Mr Cawley refused to answer my calls for 2 days and when I eventually got through to him, he acted as if he had no idea what I was on about and was extremely rude and dismissive on the phone, not what you would expect from a Director of a Ramada hotel.

In summary, he refused to return any of my sister’s deposit, as they cancelled within 12 months of the wedding. They are not willing to return the extra €1,400 that they paid to the hotel.

I am not writing this in the hope that I will get my sister’s money back, I feel it is necessary to let others out there know what they are dealing with.

Savman

Solicitor and/or Small Claims Court.

Johnnio13

I would suggest writing to the Ramada head office.

You will find the contact info somewhere on the web.

Consult a solicitor regarding the 1400 extra, if it is stated that €600 is the deposit, they have no right to hold onto the other 1400.

Do not let them get away with it, thievin' bastar$s!!