How to handle this review?

[JoyfulC 132299]

I have often used reviews when selecting a hotel for myself, and have used them when helping my daughter pick a hotel. (She's a bit of a world traveler.) Last night, I stayed in a hotel here in Ottawa that I was very pumped about. And I expected to give a glowing review.

 

But... while for the most part, it was the best hotel I ever stayed in, I am frustrated that one thing -- the mattress -- made it the WORST hotel I ever stayed in too!

 

The hotel has recently been redone in a Euro style and they've made some choices that I really like -- such as laminate flooring instead of carpeting. And laundered duvet covers instead of the standard bedspread that is never laundered but simply thrown out when it gets too filthy. (Think about it... have you ever seen a bedspread on a chambermaid's cart??) The room also featured a walk in shower made for playing in, a kitchenette and more closet space than I had at the apartment.

 

But that mattress! I'm used to feeling like I've been beaten with a sack of doorknobs after sleeping on a hotel mattress, but this one went beyond the pale. I seriously think I'm going to need massage and a lot of inversion and a couple days off to sort myself out. The night was sheer agony. They probably used these same mattresses at Gitmo!

 

So what do I do? I am enthused about many of the choices this hotel is making and would love to see them catch on -- but on the other side of the coin, I wouldn't want to be responsible for someone enduring a night such as the one I just suffered through.

 

I'm starting to wonder if I just shouldn't review at all.

[A***** A***** 510]

Call hotel manager and tell him that their quality of mattress will most definitely affect your choice of their facilities in the future, and the choices of your acquaintances as well.

 

Take it to the top, but be nice. People often want to help, if they feel like they will be able to contibute something good.

[coachg 388]

Angela is right..take it to the top in a nice suggestive manner....they will be thrilled to get the opportunity to correct the problem. Too often in the service industry, customers don't say anything, but also don't go back..so the hotel loses the customer. They can't fix it, if they do not know it is broken.

[JoyfulC 132299]

I did leave a note on the little suggestion thing, and I spoke to whom I assume to be the manager.

 

It's the review that I'm grappling with because for so many reasons I really really want to give this place a great review. I'd love to see more hotels include some of the same features when they renovate.

 

For now, I guess I just won't review.

 

And I probably would use the place again, as it wasn't quite as bad for playing on as sleeping on -- but since I'm only 45 minutes away, I'd probably go home and sleep in my own bed.

[JoyfulC 132299]

Hmm.... Perhaps you're right that they didn't realize how baffed the mattress is and will replace it since it's been brought to their attention.

[a******s.m*****e 187]

There are places on the Internet where people write hotel reviews.

 

A very good one is http://www.tripadvisor.com

 

If you write a review there I am sure they will read it. If you write a nice review, but point out what you did not like it will help them.

[capitalman 3861]

Ya, Tripadvisor is the cat's ass.

 

An older teacher I once had gave me advice on how to critique someone successfully...it's a method I use all the time and it works*******

 

Tell the person two really good things, two compliments. Then drop the negative comment, followed by a suggestion on how they can improve that negative and how it could become a positive.

 

For example "Your hotel is great, I love the new look and the service was excellent, but the mattress is too hard. If you put in better mattresses, you'll probably find more people staying at your hotel and I'll recommend to all my friends."

 

Using this method always gets a good listener and never promotes anger or rebellion.

[JoyfulC 132299]

No offense, you guys, but you're kinda missing the point.

 

I'm not looking for a way to let the management know about the problem. I already figured that one out.

 

Nor am I looking for a place to review -- as I stated in my original post, I use hotel reviews all the time.

 

What I'm looking for is how to give both a good and an honest review. There are so many wonderful things to say about this hotel -- but if I'm to be honest, the one not-so-great thing might be a dealbreaker for many.

 

No matter how nice a hotel is, I would think twice about going there if I heard the mattresses were really, really bad. After all, most people go to hotels to sleep.

[rickoshadows 937]

Then that would be the price they pay for the money they originally saved by buying cheap mattresses. I say, write your review, comment on the good and the bad. Being fair doesn't always mean being nice. I have learned more from criticism than I have ever learned from a compliment. Besides, Think of the others you could save from a similar experience to yours.

[JoyfulC 132299]

Then that would be the price they pay for the money they originally saved by buying cheap mattresses. I say, write your review, comment on the good and the bad. Being fair doesn't always mean being nice. I have learned more from criticism than I have ever learned from a compliment. Besides, Think of the others you could save from a similar experience to yours.

 

I don't know if they cynically decided to save money at their customers' expense. They have made some really amazing and innovative improvements to this place, while keeping their rates affordable.

 

Normally -- like the motto of this site -- if I can't say something nice, I don't say anything. I try to stick to giving positive recommendations rather than being the type of person driving around with a "This car is a lemon" sign in my window. Lots of other people don't seem to have many qualms about bashing so I don't figure the world needs my two cents on that.

 

But in this case, I was really hoping to be able to give a positive review because this hotel is making choices that I view as very positive improvements over the ways things are normally done (at least in the price range that I'd normally pay for a hotel for work purposes).

 

I've always felt that even the cleanest hotels are somewhat grody. Perhaps that's because I know some of the things that people have asked me to do in hotel rooms. That, and once I heard that a perpetrator's DNA was found on a hotel bedspread ... along with 30-some other samples. (And that was just the semen samples.)

 

So when I learned that this hotel was installing laminate flooring instead of the regulation carpeting, and duvets with launderable covers, I was really turned on. I'd like to see them rewarded for such choices and in whatever small way I can, do my part to support their getting business to spread the word.

 

I might just review them anyway and keep the part about the mattress to myself. After all, I did bring it up with them, and truth is, I have difficulty sleeping on brand new spring mattresses. Maybe they rely on feedback from guests to know when to swap them out. For all we know, that mattress has had an unusually high incidence of being in rooms let to families with several small kids who enjoy jumping on the beds.

[buggernot 588]

I might just review them anyway and keep the part about the mattress to myself. After all, I did bring it up with them, and truth is, I have difficulty sleeping on brand new spring mattresses. Maybe they rely on feedback from guests to know when to swap them out. For all we know, that mattress has had an unusually high incidence of being in rooms let to families with several small kids who enjoy jumping on the beds.

 

If you're so set on writing a good review for this place, why not use their response to you about your mattress concerns as part of it. If they don't respond at all, that's not good. If they say thank you very much for the input and we'll definitely be looking into updating our beds, or that because of your input we discovered that particular mattress was faulty and we're taking care of it, that's good.

 

You speak of writing something similar to the CERB model of recommendations, but if I read a glowing review that was ambiguous about a SP that made me believe she provides full service, and I spend my money on her to find out that she does not, I would be pissed at who wrote the review. And as far as hotels go, I'll take those 3mm thick, semen coated bedspreads on a comfy bed, over a clean duvet and a horrible mattress. People going to hotels generally need rest from traveling or extended business stays, and may have a hard enough time sleeping in an unfamiliar environment as it is.

 

I know you want to be positive, but there may be people that base their decision on going there on your rec that would be disappointed they did not get the whole picture. I certainly would be...

[JoyfulC 132299]

If you're so set on writing a good review for this place, why not use their response to you about your mattress concerns as part of it. If they don't respond at all, that's not good. If they say thank you very much for the input and we'll definitely be looking into updating our beds, or that because of your input we discovered that particular mattress was faulty and we're taking care of it, that's good.

 

Yeah, I got the standard management speak. No response yet from the written complaint.

 

You speak of writing something similar to the CERB model of recommendations, but if I read a glowing review that was ambiguous about a SP that made me believe she provides full service, and I spend my money on her to find out that she does not, I would be pissed at who wrote the review.

 

Well, that's what I'm thinking.

 

I probably won't review at all, which is a shame. Lots of hotels in Ottawa have baffed out mattresses. But very few in this price range ($100-$150/night) offer some of the features they've included in their reno.

 

And as far as hotels go, I'll take those 3mm thick, semen coated bedspreads on a comfy bed, over a clean duvet and a horrible mattress.

 

Oh, if only it were just semen!

 

Think about what all else could be on that bedspread.

 

I read a few articles about a study done to determine how long germs hang around in hotel rooms after the previous guest has left and the room has been cleaned. They hired people with colds (I think) to stay in a room for a night, then had them check out, had housekeeping do up the room, then went in and swabbed various things (toilet flush handle, remote control, phone....). What they found wasn't pretty!

 

As Dorothy would say, there's no place like home. At least I know the germs around here!

[SamanthaEvans 166767]

Are you likely to take a room in this place again, say in a couple of months? Because, if you are, you might consider writing the review that gives the merits of the place, but deducts a star or two for the mattress. Then, go back in a couple of months. If the mattress is better, review and report on that, increasing the points you give.

 

People will be warned, it's true. But the hotel might do a lot better after they improve the mattresses and you report it. I'd definitely consider staying in a place that had responded to this kind of critique and received a better review because of it.

[JoyfulC 132299]

Are you likely to take a room in this place again, say in a couple of months? Because, if you are, you might consider writing the review that gives the merits of the place, but deducts a star or two for the mattress. Then, go back in a couple of months. If the mattress is better, review and report on that, increasing the points you give.

 

What an excellent suggestion!

[d*mm*y 887]

Funny thing is that for me it is all about the mattress I stay in some pretty sketchy places as long as the beds are good. That is about the only thing that makes me a repeat client. My money BTW is on Kings Down mattresses any place that has them gets me.

 

As important as this is no one rates it, there is no place for the hotel to mention it, and it is largely ignored by the reviewing public?

Do a number thing

 

Ambiance and decor 8

Friendliness of staff 9

Mattresses 3

Overall a 6 but would be an 8 with better mattresses. If you prefer to sleep on the floor than this is the place for you!

[JoyfulC 132299]

Funny thing is that for me it is all about the mattress I stay in some pretty sketchy places as long as the beds are good. That is about the only thing that makes me a repeat client.

 

Oddly enough, I spent most of my "functional" time in the shower. ;)

 

The other thing I wonder too is if it isn't just me or just the particular mattress I got. Because a very good friend spent the night in the same hotel a few nights before I did (although I didn't know it at the time), and stayed in the same type room I did with his wife (who is eerily a lot like me in her preferences and attitudes, apparently), and they noticed no problem with the mattress at all.

 

I dunno. I haven't reviewed yet -- and you guys know better than anyone how it goes: if you don't review right away, you probably feel too ambiguous to review at all.