As far as I am concerned, I am happy to accept modest or outdated accomodations. I don't need the place to be fancy. I would be willing to put up with the filthy floor, the outdated and overpainted rooms. However I feel that two things are vital to a hotel room in a cliamte where teh typical daytime temperature is 90 degrees. Every hotel room nees a bed and it needs air conditioning. However I was told, after checking in, that the hotel has a policy of only turning on the air conditioning from 10:30 at night until 7 in the morning. You might think that it wouldnt be too hot by 9 in the morning, but it is still quite humid.
I did notice that Orbitz and Expedia did say that no refunds were allowed after seeing the room, which I thought was suspicious. Nonetheless I had assumed that it was just because too many foo-foo Americans just didnt think that it lived up to their five-star expectations. I really wasnt afraid. After all, I have stayed at $5.night hotels where the bed was just a piece of foam. I really thought that I could accept it whatever it was like. But I cannot accept no air conditioning!
The staff policy also seems to be to lie in whatever way possible to placate the client, and then do nothing. When I called upon arrival, I was told that they would turn on the AC "early" (9pm), and then hook up the individual unit in my room. (There was a brand new unit in the room, it just needed an extention cord). The next morngin we left to spend the day at the beach, and I told the front desk again that somebody needed to plug in the air conditioner. I was told by that lady as well that of course it would be done. Of course nobody did anything. Moreove when we returned at 6pm that night, we found the door to our room was wide open. Not just unlocked, but wide open. The maid had done the beds, so I know that we couldn't have possibly have been the ones to leave it open. There was my $500. PDA blinking its little light right in view from the hallway. Luckily nobody had stolen anything, but the door must have been like that for hours.
We reported to the front desk (the phone was did not work, so we had to go down in person). They pretended thast they would "make a report" and that someone would come fix the airconditoner. We already knew not to believe them.
Yes, the beds were rock hard, the pillows felt like they were made out of rags, not foam. The pool was murky and disgusting (we decided not to use it). The floor and bathroom was moldy and filthy. But if the air conditioning had worked, then that stuff probably would not have bothered me.
- Paraiso Hotel Ixtapa
