I stayed three nights at the ACME while in Chicago on business. Sadly, a great hotel and comfortable room were overshadowed by a disastrous check-out process.
The hotel is cool and funky. Some people might not like this, but I found it to be original and creative. My room was small, but since I was by myself it was quite comfortable. My bathroom was spotless – a key indicator of a hotel’s overall quality, in my opinion. The glowing red lips on the mirror were a fun touch. Breakfast was included, which I didn’t realize when booking the room. And if you don’t make it down for breakfast they’ll deliver coffee to your room with a USA Today. Overall, it was a fantastic experience.
Then it was time to leave. I had pre-purchased my room through an airline package. This was acknowledged when I checked-in. But upon check-out, suddenly there was no record of my payment. Two desk clerks seemed perplexed about how to resolve the issue, and eventually a manager was brought in who seemed as baffled and unsure as the desk clerks. He finally told me the room would be charged to my credit card (again) because, “somebody has to pay for it.” I was livid. The mix-up is understandable, because things like this can happen. But the staff seemed incapable of figuring out how to fix it. After 20 minutes I got timid assurance that everything was okay. I had a plane to catch, so I left unsure as to whether or not things really were in order. When I got home I checked out my credit card account online, and the hotel had put through authorizations (not yet actual charges) for both the price of my three night stay as well as hundreds of dollars in other unknown charges.
The next day I called the airline, which contacted the hotel on my behalf. I also spoke with Brent Hinton, the hotel’s Director of Sales, who expressed sincere remorse at the incident. He couldn’t have been nicer. I truly apreciated his help and professionalism. 24-hours after leaving Chicago I had confirmation from him and the airline that everything was resolved.
Did I like the ACME? Yeah, I really did. Would I stay there again? I remain bruised and honestly don’t know.
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