Worst hotel experience of my life
Nov 2022
| KelseyF255
The experience myself and my partner have had at the Ivana Palace Hotel was so awful it will stick with me forever. We booked a Double Room through a travel agents. When we arrived late the first night, were given a room that had no balcony, which was a massive disappointment as when making our booking we made sure to select a hotel that had balconies, and was also inconvenient as it meant we had no way of drying clothes/towels/bikinis. I went down to reception and asked if we could be moved to a room with a balcony, the woman checked the system and advised they were at full capacity at the moment, but to come back to them in the morning in 2 days time, as they would have rooms available then, she also left a note at reception for the staff on duty on the that day about moving rooms. We were ok with this as it was already late on the night of arrival so we wouldn't have long to wait, however in the time we were in the room we were not happy with the bathroom. The toilet brush (as seen im the photo attached) was old, worn, and absolutely filthy, but the biggest complaint is about the shower. The water in the shower was not hot, it passed for warm at the highest setting, but not hot. The shower head was also worn and broken, the head was covered in black (probably mold), and appeared to be held together with glue, which had worn down on one side, which resulted in water spraying out the side of the shower head (photo attached). On the morning we were due to be moved, we went down to reception, and I explained to 2 men on duty, that we weren't happy with the room, I explained the shower did not provide hot water, and there was no balcony in the room, and I explained the receptionist on the first night left a note and said we could be moved. The guys found the note from the original receptionist, checked the system and said this was no issue we could move rooms, but advised they would just need time for the cleaners to clean the room, so we would be able to move at 2 o' clock. We advised them that we were going to be gone for the day and night as we were staying with family that night, and asked could we just leave our bags into the new room before we leave, we dont mind that the room isn't clean, its just that we won't be here to move at 2. The receptionists then advised that its no problem to wait until tomorrow, they will ensure the room is held and we can just move tomorrow, which we were happy with. So today we returned to reception and it was the same woman who had originally left the note. I explained to her we had come down the day before and the receptionist told us the room would be ready for us to move. She checked the system then went back into am office, and brought out another woman (a supervisor possibly). This woman said to us that we would have to pay to be moved to the upgraded room. I explained to her that we had spoken to 3 receptionists and not one of them said to us we would need to pay to be moved, it was already agreed that there was a room for us to be moved into, it was not an upgrade ot was simply a room with a balcony. She said no, you did not book a room with a balcony, so there will be a charge to move us. I said to her about the shower not providing hot water, and she said that she can move us into another room without a balcony if there was an issue with the shower, that we should have booked a room with a balcony if that is what we wanted. I explained to her that we had already been told by 3 different receptionists that there was no issue and not once was a charge mentioned, she advised again there is a charge, and that we will have to take it up with the travel agent about the room. I asked the receptionist who had spoken to us the first night, if there was a charge to be moved why were we not advised of this, and she did not respond to me, it was clear that she had made a mistake or had not expected the other woman to insist on a charge. So this went back and forth for a few minutes anyway as I was not going to pay to move to a room with a balcony that we had already been promised without charge, and eventually the receptionist who came from the back office said I can take it up with the manager. I said that's fine, can you ask the manager to come out to speak to us, and she said no we won't ask her to come out, you can go to her office and speak to her, and pointed to where it was. So myself and my partner went to the office, knocked on the door and she indicated to come in, myself and my partner went in and shut the door behind us. I explained to her everything that had happened, and the first thing she said to us was, well I live her so I can tell you there definitely is hot water in the shower. I said to her that there certainly is not in our room, and she repeated that there is no issue with the water. As she was saying this she stood up and was walking towards the door, she then said let's go back to reception. So we followed her out, she spoke to the other receptionist for less than a minute, and then turned around to us and said you did not book a room with a balcony so you will have to pay if you want to be upgraded. So we went back and forth again with the same argument, me advising that we have already been told there was a new room for us with a balcony, no charge ever mentioned etc. I said to her after being told several times there was no issue moving, and with the issues we have had with the shower, as a gesture of good will could then not just move us to the room we were promised, and again the manager said there is no issue with the water, there is hot water in the shower, and repeatedly shut down my question of a good will gesture (for the sake of 20 Lev, which is what they were trying to charge us). This is a blatent accusation of lying (about the shower) and we offered if she would like to come up to the room and see for herself we can show her the shower. I could not believe the bluntness and rudeness of all staff members, at one point the manager told my partner to 'be quiet' as she was speaking to her. During the exchange we were very annoyed, as would anyone in our situation, so there was clear frustration in our voices, but by no means were we shouting or screaming, nothing that at all warranted my partner being told to be quiet. The manager repeatedly said you will have to take it up with your travel agent, and at one point I responded that I will be giving a scathing review of the hotel to the travel agent, and I would be doing the same one trip advisor, after this to which she responded, that she will call the police to take care of this matter. I could not believe what I was hearing, the customer service skills of all involved, especially the manager were deplorable. And their ability to handle a customer complaint or an annoyed customer was non existent. To threaten us with the police as a response to me saying I was going to rip them apart online was honestly so juvenile I am still in disbelief. Like I said of course we were frustrated and we were arguing back with them, but by no means were we threatening, shouting, screaming or anything of the sorts. If a manager in the hospitality industry can not manage a frustrated customer this is worrying. At this point with this threat we knew there was nothing more we could say, we weren't going to get anywhere. So we walked off and went up to the room, and packed up to leave. I am honestly still in disbelief at how we were treated by staff, to be repeatedly told by the manager that we were basically lying about the water in the shower, to being charged for something that should come as standard and that we were already promised (had we been there for 2 o clock yesterday the receptionists on duty would have handed us the key for the new room with no issue) and then to be threatened with the police which was only when I said I was going to give scathing reviews online. I am absolutely disgusted. I am also disgusted at the fact that the manager did not keep the dispute to the privacy of her office and brought us out to air this out on front of other guests. After we left, I checked both the travel agents site, and the hotels own website (screenshotted below) and there is no distinction between a room with or without a balcony on either site, which they insisted there was. After settling yhe dispute with my travel agents, they also confirmed that the hotel had been om the wrong here. I have never in my life experienced such deployable customer service, and out of pocket as we had paid for several more days that we weren't using, and had to pay to stay elsewhere. The worst holiday experience of my life thanks to the attitude and greed of the manager and staff of the Ivana Palace. My partner asked for a refund, and they refused. Thankfully this was later settled with the travel agents. Avoid this hotel at all costs, if you have any sort of issue their customer service skills are non existent.
