Well, things still got more asinine with Royal Pacific. The breakfast comp for the week, as it turns out, was only for one day, which is not what the manager said to me. She said it was "for the rest of your stay." They apologized, several times, for poorly communicating this. Like that makes it better.
When I was disputing this to yet another manager, I told her that I didn't care about the comp (which you may recall I had to actually make more calls to receive), it was more the principle of the hotel's inability to deliver on the most basic promises it makes. That, and the amount of time I wasted thinking about it. It's absolutely astounding that an organization can fail to communicate to its customers and internally the way this one does.
I hate being that guy, but the truth is that my expectations in situations like this aren't any higher than "as advertised." I'm a firm believer in telling people no if they ask for something that you can't deliver. A little disappointment up front always beats missed expectations later on. Under promise and over deliver, as the cliche goes. And when it comes to hotels, honestly I'm often surprised, even at top-of-the-line, five-diamond places like the Hyatt on Kauai or Venetian in Las Vegas. And even some of the smaller places like a Holiday Inn Express we stayed in this year surprised me. Hospitality isn't that complicated... be super polite, pay attention to details, make sure the guest is comfortable.
I had a fantastic day with Diana, Kara and Simon today, so I don't want to give the impression that this nonsense with the hotel has ruined the trip or anything. Proper trip reports are coming. But after the ridiculous mess back in 2007, now this, you can see my frustration how my favorite theme parks have hotels with crappy service on the property. Staying on site is half of what makes this place so much fun for me. But how many times do you reward failure? Am I being forced into being a Disney rat by this?
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