Short Description: Half of balance must be paid in CASH! No HOT WATER for entire stay.
Longer Explanation: When I made the phone reservation I was told a security deposit of $75 cash was be made upon arrival and would be returned at checkout barring no major damage was done. That seemed reasonable. I was also told half of my balance was to be paid over the phone via my credit card and the rest was be paid upon arrival. A few hours after I reserved my room I received an email confirmation. The confirmation stated that not only must I pay $75 cash, but I MUST pay the remainder of my balance in CASH upon arrival. I wanted to cancel my reservation completely after seeing this but the confirmation also stated there was a $150 fee for cancelled reservations.
We had a late check-in, 10 pm Friday night. We were shown to our room. My first impression was it was a dump. It was furnished with old thrift store furniture and had a sink with separate hot and cold spigots. There was mildew on the shower curtain and paint peeling around the pipes for the claw foot tub.
Saturday morning I went to take a shower and found that there was no hot water. I proceeded to take a fast cold shower. We promptly went to the office and asked about the hot water. The manager told us the problem happened late last night (we never did get a straight answer as to if she knew about it before we checked in, we suspect she did). We were told as soon as there was more information we would be notified and the problem would be fixed ASAP. We heard nothing, so late Saturday afternoon we asked about the progress and the manager told us that the broken part of the hot water heater would be in on Monday and it will be fixed on Monday. We were also told a shower in the neighboring building would be available for hot showers.
On Sunday we spoke to the manager again and asked about our options about leaving or receiving a discount for our inconvenience. She said we could receive $75 refund or $125 credit for our next visit, or we were free to find another hotel and be refunded that portion of money. We decided to stay since the hot water was supposed to be fixed the next day and a $75 refund was decent. $75 would work out to $25/day discount if the hot water would be fixed on Monday.
Monday came and went, Tuesday came and went still no hot water.
We checked out on Wednesday morning. I had planned to negotiate for more money since we never had hot water during the entire five days. Well Wednesday morning the manager was not there and none of the clerks were allowed to negotiate with us. I asked if she was available on the phone and they said they would call her. They came back and said we agreed with the original discount and there was nothing they would do. When we tried to explain how we were lead to believe it would be fixed they said that the main boiler had broken and it was a major repair. Up until this point we had been lead to think it was a small part not the main boiler. When we started to tell them this fact, they refused to listen and told us everyone was notified by phone before they checked in about the water situation. We said that we were told it happen late Friday night and we were told nothing about the hot water not working when we checked in. The clerk just throw up her hands and walked away. We did get our $75 refund and the $75 deposit back. We will never stay at Lambros and Hampton House again.
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