I thought staying at a hotel such as this, with a longstanding reputation, would be a fabulous experience. I couldn't have been more wrong.
On our final day in New York, the hotel suffered a burst water pipe, and the luggage room was seriously flooded. As a result, all of our luggage and possessions were damaged or destroyed. Despite the flood occurring at 11am, no one from the hotel contacted us during the day. We did not discover the damage until after we had collected our suitcases and were about to leave the hotel - the bellhop called us back to "just check nothing was damaged after a slight leak". We opened our suitcases to discover that everything was soaked in dirty river water, and virtually every item destroyed.
The level of customer service that we received was zero. The "manager" we were allowed to speak to was rude, discourteous, patronising and unapologetic. All he wanted to do was get us out of the hotel. At no point did he apologise for the damage caused to our belongings.
It is now more than two weeks later and we have still not heard from the Waldorf Astoria, or anyone at the Hilton Group. We were assured we would be contacted by their insurance company about replacing items and some form of compensation within 24 hours, but we have heard nothing.
This holiday cost us a small fortune - it was a once in a lifetime experience and a gift from my parents for a special birthday. I returned to the UK having to spend another small fortune to replace clothes, shoes, electrical items, personal items and luggage. I am unable to replace the gifts I bought for my friends and family.
Although a burst water pipe couldn't have been anticipated, the level of customer service I received as a result was shocking. I expected an awful lot more from a hotel like the Waldorf Astoria, and would not recommend a stay in this establishment to anyone.
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