I booked this room months in advance. A few weeks before my arrival date, however, my son broke his leg and needed extensive surgery and was bedridden, causing us to cancel our trip.
I called to cancel the room and was told that since it was a "special weekend" (with a six month cancellation policy!!?)that their cancellation policy required me to pay for all three nights that I had booked. I explained why I was cancelling and asked that since it was a high demand weekend, would they allow me off the hook if they rented the room after all?
I was told no, that I would have to pay for all three nights anyway!
After begging and pleading, calling other area hotels to ask them to refer overbookings to the B+B, I was finally told that since I got them another person to rent the rooms, they would refund---minus 20%!
Now they weren't keeping only 20% of only the first night, but of the entire three day booking! I really felt this was excessive, but I grudgingly paid it anyway.
I am a frequent visitor to Wallingford and hoped to have found a home away from home. But I will certainly never call on them again.
I am writing this review months after the incident--mainly because it STILL bothers me! They could have had a very happy repeat customer had they simply handled the situation more reasonably. Instead I post a warning to stay away.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
17 January 2009
We gave you so much more.
As owners of the Wallingford Victorian Bed and Breakfast; we feel it necessary to reply to this review.
Our policies are detailed on our website for everyone to see. We also send them with each reservation confirmation. Our confirmation asks the requester to acknowledge that they "read, understand, and agree to" the policies. If the requester does not agree to the policies; they can withdraw their request without charge. Below is the policy in effect at the time of this reservation request:
"Policies: Deposit required at time of reservation. VISA, MasterCard, Discover credit cards, may be used for the deposit. Cash, money order or personal check also accepted with credit card information as a guarantee.
Cancellations: Deposit will be refunded only if notice of cancellation is given via email or in writing at least 14 days prior to arrival date. Less than 14 days notice, only the portion of your reservation we are able to rebook will be refunded.
Special Events: Holidays, school events, group bookings and affairs; require 120 days notice.
Extended stays (more than one week) require 60 days notice.
A partial cancellation may be treated as a cancellation for the entire stay, no refund for early departure or late arrival. All cancellations subject to 20% administration fees. We will make every effort to reschedule your visit or provide a certificate toward future stays."
We feel like we are stating the obvious; however, we wish to point out:
1. The requester agreed to give us 120 days notice of cancellation or pay for the reservation in full. They also agreed to a charge of 20% administration fees on all cancellations.
2. They did not give us 120 days notice.
They did not pay for the reservation in full.
They also did not beg or plead for us to try and refill the room. We always try to do this without being asked.
We were good enough to refund the room charges with only two weeks notice - and this is their way of saying thanks. It seems another instance of no good deed goes unpunished.
By the way - If the requester had asked; we would have given them a certificate for a portion of the fees to be applied toward a future visit.
Thank you for the opportunity to reply.
Becky and Dave Barrett
The Wallingford Victorian Bed and Breakfast
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC