We just returned from a visit to Orlando. We chose this hotel for its location but will NEVER stay here again. After a day spent at Universal, we returned to our room about 6:30 pm on January 15 only to find that our phone charger had been demolished (see photos). The charger was left plugged in behind the night stand. No other plugs (those belonging to the hotel) were damaged or even pulled from the wall. I immediately went to the front desk, damaged charger in hand and asked for a manger. No manager until the next morning. The front desk staff did call the manager who kept saying that it was not the hotel's responsibility. The manager, Rogi, did call the hotel engineer to see if they could find a charger, but was otherwise nasty and unhelpful. The morning of January 16 I again asked for the manager who did not arrive until around 10 am; I finally saw him about 10:30. He was not helpful, said he could not speak to the person who cleaned our room as she was not working, and kept insisting that it was not the hotel's fault that someone damaged the phone charger while we were out. He did not offer to replace the charger nor did he offer any other assistance. Rogi did say that the hotel (he used the word "we") had been paid so it did not matter what I did or said. After a heated exchange, I left to return to my room prior to leaving the hotel. I was followed into the elevator by a rather large man who had been present during my exchange with the manager. This man had no identification and had been told by the manager to stay out of the discussion. He kept asking about the problem but, despite repeated requests, did not identify himself. When, for the third or fourth time, I stated that I would not speak with him unless he gave me a name, he said he was the hotel owner (still unnamed). He followed me into my room and asked what happened and what I wanted him to do but would not listen to anything I said. This individual did state that housecleaning did not clean behind or under furniture during a guest stay and only did so between guests. His following me, refusing to identify himself and entering my room made me and my daughter very uncomfortable and a bit frightened. We left the hotel shortly after, feeling threatened and uncomfortable. We will never stay in this place again and are unlikely to stay in any Wyndham by Wingate hotel in the future. This was, bar none, one of the worst hotel experiences we have had anywhere.
Room Tip: Find a different place to stay
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
10 February 2012
I understand that you recently encountered an issue here at the Wingate by Wyndham. I apologize that your experience was anything less than satisfying. Our goal is to not only meet the needs of each and every guest we serve, but to exceed your expectations to make your stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible. This guest has complained to the following companies: Expedia, AAA, AARP, and Wingate Corporate. All four companies heard both sides of the story and sided with hotel as not responsible and did not give any credit to the guest. The guest came down Sunday evening to the front desk and was very upset about the phone charger being damage while she was away. She insisted that she speaks with the GM immediately. We are a 100 room hotel and unfortunately we do not have a manager on duty during the evening. Yet, as the GM I am on call 24/7. So the agent called me that evening and placed the guest on the phone. After several minutes of being yelled and cursed at, I immediately apologized and said lets first let’s fix the issue. I did not state we are not responsible or offered any resolution as I wanted to calm her down and find a charger. The guest was claiming that she had to leave early the next morning and if she did not charge her phone it would complicate her travel. I understood and apologized again several times and said let me speak to the engineer on the property. I told my engineer to go to my lost and found with her and find a blackberry phone charger so she can charge her phone. Success, we were able to find her a phone charger immediately and she went directly up to her room. I spoke to my engineer and front desk agent afterwards and both said she was content with the new phone charger. I did arrive to the hotel late on Monday morning as I had a breakfast meeting scheduled. It was a holiday Martin Luther King Day, Monday. I spoke to her at the front desk and kept insisting to speaking with the housekeeper. I did tell her she was not working that day and ultimately I am responsible for everyone at the hotel, guest or employee. I looked over her claim and said I will not be able purchase a new phone charger as I already gave her a functioning phone charger. I do not have proof that the housekeeper broke the charger or if the guest broke it. I did mention that on the back of the door it does state the hotel is not responsible for any guest’s items that are stolen, damaged, or lost. When she heard this she became even more irate and started to use profanities. The guest said that she is not paying for the room. I told her that she prepaid her reservation with Expedia and everything had already been charged. I did end the conversation as I cannot help anymore. As she left the front desk she screamed out very loud vulgar language. The owner followed her and asked her to please calm down and he did in fact state his name. He stated his name three times to her and said please show me where and how you think your phone charger was damaged. He even said his name in front of a guest who was asking her to not use profanities in front of her kids. They both went up to the room and she let him in. If she was calm, collected, and reasonable I would run to phone store and buy a new charger. I am truly sorry that it ended up this way.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
