Disappointment
I just received a call from our event sales representative over at the Gold Coast hotel in Las Vegas. When we first started planning our wedding out with the Gold Coast, we had to put down a deposit on the event. Janric sent his credit card number, and we signed the contract.
It's nearly been a week since the wedding, and the sales rep just let me know that they never charged the card for the deposit, and now that card is expired. Why didn't they charge the card? They just forgot. *facepalm*
To me, the nail was already in the coffin for the Gold Coast. The wedding itself was fabulous, but everything else about the place is a cautionary tale regarding what happens to Las Vegas hotels if they are not demolished and built from scratch.
The new refurbished rooms aren't bad, but they're still trying to house guests in old rooms that are not up to the task anymore (we had wedding guests that had to switch rooms for that). We also had another complaint from Janric's sister that they had to switch rooms because there was a cockroach running around in their originally assigned room.
Then there is the Gold Coast's management of the renovation. Oh, lordy.
When we reserved our room, which was more expensive than a regular room because it was refurbished, we were not told of the ongoing construction, nor that the construction would be in close proximity, nor that the construction would be from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week. We received no notice, in writing or otherwise, even though we were in constant contact with the hotel regarding the wedding. The only notice any one of our guests received was MsChilepepper, and that notice said 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during week days.
My anger reached its peak on our wedding day. We hadn't been allowed to sleep past 9 all week, and here it was, Saturday, and it sounded like the drilling was happening in our room. I called the hotel manager, pissed. After all, we were bringing 10k in business to the hotel. After letting him know exactly how unhappy we were, he agreed to comp us a night in a deluxe suite for our wedding night, and to comp $400 off the wedding bar bill. After that, I had a forcibly cold shower (as did many others).
Awesome. The wedding went better than expected, and everyone had a great time. Janric and I had a quiet evening in the deluxe suite.
Then Monday came around. At 10 a.m. Monday morning, the hotel thought it would be a great idea to test the fire alarms. That went on for 15 minutes. Then I got a call from MsChilepepper that she had a cold shower that morning, and that there was a foul odor coming from the sink.
Enough was enough. Janric called the hotel manager again. We got the entire week comped, and every one of our guests had one night comped from their bill. This is to ensure we go back, but I really don't think we will.
We're not super-fancy people. We don't care that the pool doesn't have a waterfall, or that the rooms are fancy. However, there is an overarching sense that the Gold Coast is going downhill, and it's not what it once was. There is no nice cafe like there once was, there's a TGI Friday's being built in its place. Ew. So the dining options there were two Chinese restaurants, a steak house rated as "so-so" and a buffet that's ok, but could be better.
Beyond that, the management is really stupid. They kept reassuring everyone it would be better once the renovations were completed, but really what kind of Vegas hotel makes it so you feel like you've just moved into a low-rent apartment? This is not what we'd come to expect from a Las Vegas hotel, and it was just a huge disappointment - particularly since we'd always recommend people visit the Gold Coast.
It's nearly been a week since the wedding, and the sales rep just let me know that they never charged the card for the deposit, and now that card is expired. Why didn't they charge the card? They just forgot. *facepalm*
To me, the nail was already in the coffin for the Gold Coast. The wedding itself was fabulous, but everything else about the place is a cautionary tale regarding what happens to Las Vegas hotels if they are not demolished and built from scratch.
The new refurbished rooms aren't bad, but they're still trying to house guests in old rooms that are not up to the task anymore (we had wedding guests that had to switch rooms for that). We also had another complaint from Janric's sister that they had to switch rooms because there was a cockroach running around in their originally assigned room.
Then there is the Gold Coast's management of the renovation. Oh, lordy.
When we reserved our room, which was more expensive than a regular room because it was refurbished, we were not told of the ongoing construction, nor that the construction would be in close proximity, nor that the construction would be from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week. We received no notice, in writing or otherwise, even though we were in constant contact with the hotel regarding the wedding. The only notice any one of our guests received was MsChilepepper, and that notice said 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during week days.
My anger reached its peak on our wedding day. We hadn't been allowed to sleep past 9 all week, and here it was, Saturday, and it sounded like the drilling was happening in our room. I called the hotel manager, pissed. After all, we were bringing 10k in business to the hotel. After letting him know exactly how unhappy we were, he agreed to comp us a night in a deluxe suite for our wedding night, and to comp $400 off the wedding bar bill. After that, I had a forcibly cold shower (as did many others).
Awesome. The wedding went better than expected, and everyone had a great time. Janric and I had a quiet evening in the deluxe suite.
Then Monday came around. At 10 a.m. Monday morning, the hotel thought it would be a great idea to test the fire alarms. That went on for 15 minutes. Then I got a call from MsChilepepper that she had a cold shower that morning, and that there was a foul odor coming from the sink.
Enough was enough. Janric called the hotel manager again. We got the entire week comped, and every one of our guests had one night comped from their bill. This is to ensure we go back, but I really don't think we will.
We're not super-fancy people. We don't care that the pool doesn't have a waterfall, or that the rooms are fancy. However, there is an overarching sense that the Gold Coast is going downhill, and it's not what it once was. There is no nice cafe like there once was, there's a TGI Friday's being built in its place. Ew. So the dining options there were two Chinese restaurants, a steak house rated as "so-so" and a buffet that's ok, but could be better.
Beyond that, the management is really stupid. They kept reassuring everyone it would be better once the renovations were completed, but really what kind of Vegas hotel makes it so you feel like you've just moved into a low-rent apartment? This is not what we'd come to expect from a Las Vegas hotel, and it was just a huge disappointment - particularly since we'd always recommend people visit the Gold Coast.