New Orleans treated us great, I wish the W Hotel would have done the same.
I will summarize now so you don’t have to read the entire rant. The W Hotel markets itself as an upper end hotel and failed at providing the basics such as a clean bathroom. Hell, Tom Bodett’s Motel-6 provides a clean restroom.
So I grew up in a sports family. We ate sleep and drank sports. If you didn’t let me explain the tittle of this blog post. A “W” is a win and a “L” is a loss. Oh yea, a spot is not a sport if you can have a tie at the end of a game.
Before our travels I was notified that my client had booked us in one of the W Hotels in New Orleans. After checking the W’s website I had an idea as to what to expect. Please keep in mind I love to stay in Holiday Inn Express caliber hotels. I don’t mind carrying my own luggage to my room. So I knew that W would be a bit of a change from my normal business travel spots. I wasn’t happy that I would have for things I can do myself, but I was excited about staying 3 nights in an upper scale hotel that markets itself to younger travelers.
So we traveled from Corpus Christi to New Orleans on October 18, 2013. We had a short stop to shoot some video in Houston and arrived shortly after midnight. Haywood greeted us at the ransom station (aka valet parking) I think the correct term used in the world of W is Wheels. I soon noticed nothing is in common English at this hotel. If you are looking for an elevator try to find the sign that reads “lift”
So the bell boy Haywood was a way over the top nice guy. I had just completed a very long day of travel with my family and wanted to get my pregnant wife and our two young boys to bed as soon as possible. He made sure we got in our room and that a refrigerator and a microwave would be brought to room 1617. I soon thought, “What type of place are we staying at if it doesn’t have a mini-fridge in the room.?” So his tip hungry buddy brought up the appliances and had us setup.
A quick stop to the bathroom and I discovered rust, wear & tear, and hair. This was not what I had expected from the W Hotel. Please take a look at my tour of the restroom and see what I found.
I kept on looking for the mammoth moth who was responsible for so much damage that had to occur between housekeeping last cleaning and our check-in later that day. By the damage seen above I figured I was looking at something with a 1 to 2 foot wingspan. We never did find that moth so I’m guessing the housekeeping hung the robe just like it is in the photo. When I closed the bathroom door the worn down robe wasn’t the only sub-par issue. Take a look at the rusty items below. They range from door hinges to vanity legs to a fire suppression system not shown.
So I move on with the bathroom issues. Cracked tile, missing caulking and grout, and handles that would come off in your hand were creeping around the corner.
Sure hand prints and hair on the wall are not major issues, but it sure is not the image of the W hotel before I checked in. These are basics I expect Motel 6 to pull off and I was scratching my head wondering whey the W Hotel could not get the job done.
The Hotel staff lied to me
So we lived passed our jacked up bathroom issues and it was time to check out. At this point I was all tipped out. I was sick and tired of paying extra for things I could do for myself. When it was time to checkout I went to the lobby and grabbed a luggage cart. 1/2 to the “Lift” I was approached by Anthony, another bell boy at the hotel. He let me know that he would help me. I let him know I can do it myself. He let me know there were only 2 carts and that the 2 bell boys were using them. Anthony lied because I looked over his shoulder into the luggage closet and saw a row of unused luggage racks. Anthony, tell me you have to to it, but don’t lie to me about the carts. You loose credibility and the company you work for looses credibility when you do that.
In conclusion – What started out as a great experience at a new hotel chain I had never visited soon turned south. I was puzzled by the fact they were not able to furnish the basics while marketing the majors. Someone at the W New Orleans needs to take a look at what they are offering. If you want to act stuffy and trendy please offer a pristine bathroom.
So next time I work in New Orleans or any of the other 50 places the W Hotel is located I will pass on it. I will be looking for a clean hotel that meets the basic requirements of the business traveler.
Derrick Perrin