san antonio hotel charges
We were staying in a very fancy historic hotel downtown known as the St. Anthony. We managed to get an EXTREMELY good deal, which is why we could afford to stay there for eight days (we didn't want to tell the Berkeley people, but we only paid $20 more per night than they did for their motel-style Travelodge). The lobby is gorgeous, with old wood and elaborate furniture -- settees and the ornamental tables. Our room had a four post bed where the mattress was a foot and a half thick -- supple and soothing. Staff were very helpful.
This morning, our final bill, including extra charges, was slipped under our door so that we could do an express checkout if we wanted. The extra charges amounted to $70+. HUH? We had admittedly eaten breakfast once at the hotel, and that was $34, but where'd the rest come from? The bill was only itemized for the past two days, and otherwise had a previous balance on it. The recent charges: a three minute long-distance phone call to Christian's mother cost $12. We were outraged, especially since we had specifically called down to the lobby before making the call to ask for the rate and they told us $1/min. When we went down to inquire and dispute, the manager came over and said he couldn't take responsibility for what his staff member said, but that, yes, long distance can be $5/min. That, however, was only one of the charges, so we started asking about everything else, and then a pleasant detail emerged: they had upgraded their billing system and in the process they deleted the itemization of any room charges prior to Oct 28, meaning they couldn't explain what the remaining $50+ in charges was about. The manager, without our prompting, said those charges had to be removed because they couldn't defend them -- so we only got charged $12 in the end, and that was totally acceptable. So now I will go back to completely recommending this hotel, with the caveat to watch your phone expenses.
This morning, our final bill, including extra charges, was slipped under our door so that we could do an express checkout if we wanted. The extra charges amounted to $70+. HUH? We had admittedly eaten breakfast once at the hotel, and that was $34, but where'd the rest come from? The bill was only itemized for the past two days, and otherwise had a previous balance on it. The recent charges: a three minute long-distance phone call to Christian's mother cost $12. We were outraged, especially since we had specifically called down to the lobby before making the call to ask for the rate and they told us $1/min. When we went down to inquire and dispute, the manager came over and said he couldn't take responsibility for what his staff member said, but that, yes, long distance can be $5/min. That, however, was only one of the charges, so we started asking about everything else, and then a pleasant detail emerged: they had upgraded their billing system and in the process they deleted the itemization of any room charges prior to Oct 28, meaning they couldn't explain what the remaining $50+ in charges was about. The manager, without our prompting, said those charges had to be removed because they couldn't defend them -- so we only got charged $12 in the end, and that was totally acceptable. So now I will go back to completely recommending this hotel, with the caveat to watch your phone expenses.