1) Here’s the kicker: a colleague of mine got stuck in the elevator for 15 minutes. He rang the alarm button and, although it rang, no one responded. After finally prying himself out he went to the front desk and saw an attendant and a bellhop standing around. He told them what had happened and instead of offering apologies or showing any concern, the two men mouthed off at him.
2) Upon arrival, there was only one person at the front desk and she was terribly slow. It took about 10 minutes each for me and the people in front of me to check in. When I was finally checked in, the line to check in was eight people deep. Eight people time 10 minutes each – you do the match. I observed this each day I was there.
3) Upon arrival, my colleague had urine on his toilet seat where it clearly hadn’t been cleaned. Luckily it was his room and not mine; he simply wiped it off and didn’t complain.
4) The sheets on my bed were not changed or even made after my first night there. I did have a small bag on my bed so that may have been the excuse. My colleague’s bed, however, was also not made and his bed was clear. I called downstairs to ask for it to be changed and was told that there were not cleaning staff available. The manager was also unavailable.
5) The following night, my sheets were changed, but the new sheets had a large hole in them. There also was a giant ball of dust and hair left in my bathroom, longer than the length of a dollar bill. By this point I knew calling downstairs would be a moot point.
6) The hotel charges a mandatory $9.99 per night amenity fee for use of the fitness center, safe deposit box, and WiFi. This is not mentioned by Priceline up front, and only in very small print did I learn that Priceline.com requires guests to pay all mandatory “resort fees”. I understand having to pay a resort fee, and have paid many in my life. This dump is not a resort and the mandatory fee is hidden and unethical; if it’s mandatory it should be included in Priceline’s upfront price.
7) The internet is too slow to stream Netflix, much less accomplish any productive work.
The following morning, the manager, again, was not available. I called during the day and was transferred to his voicemail because he was not in; the voicemail was full and I was unable to leave a message. Apparently lots of people are calling him with complaints. I checked out the following morning. At check out I again asked to speak to a manager. He was at the property but couldn’t speak with me promptly. I had to catch my flight so left my phone number with the front desk and asked him to call. He never returned my call. It’s a shame because the hotel is in a fantastic location between the French Quarter and the Convention Center and has the potential to be a cute boutique option if it were better managed.
- Ambassador Hotel New Orleans
- Ambassador New Orleans
