I called to book a room with the Doubletree by Hilton on International Drive in Orlando FL. I had seen a rate of $107 / night for a king room online. I told the guy I spoke to (ALWAYS write down their names when you're making reservations- lesson learned) that I needed a room with a separate living area (we have a 3 yr old and 11 wk old) so we wouldn't all have to go to bed at 7:00 pm on vacation!!
The man on the phone said we do have that type of room but it would be $134 and you'd need to do an advanced purchase to reserve it (pay the full amount up front). He called it a King Deluxe and said there would be a separate living area to it. So a few days before check-in I called to see about extending our stay in the same room and was told that actually this was just a regular king room. I was COMPLETELY and TOTALLY LIED TO. I was told if I wanted the suite with the separate living room (which is what I had reserved originally keep in mind!) I would need to pay $499 / night. Keep in mind these types of rooms are all over the place in Orlando. I quickly got online and found the Embassy Suites down the road and the exact room I needed for $99 / night. I called to talk to the Hilton reservation line to see about changing it. I ended up talking to 7 different people - all of which were rude and the only answer they could give me was "you're calling only a few days before your check-in and it was an advanced purchase with no changes so we can't do anything about it".
No one seemed to understand I wasn't changing it because I'd decided not to go or that I wanted to be at a different hotel - the guy making the reservation charged me almost $30 more than the king room rate telling me all the features of a suite were included - he even listed them for me - when in fact he charged me more to give me the same standard room I could have gotten for $107. No one was willing to move us to the suite I was promised (unless I wanted or could pay the $499 / night), no one could refund our money or even the difference in the price.
Looking back, I honestly think it was intentional. There was no way to track the information - they don't record their calls. I was even told "how do we know that he even said those things?" The reservation confirmation listed King Deluxe as the room type so all he had to do was sell me on the fact that King Deluxe meant it had a living room area and that it was a rate of $134 if I'd pay in advance. Which I was willing to do FOR THAT TYPE OF ROOM.But they can just shrug and say you paid for and agreed to an advanced purchase so we can't do anything - you're stuck with what you have (even though their employee sold me on something that wasn't correct!).
They were so rude - one lady said to me "you requested a crib and a king size bed - why would you need a separate living area if you have a crib in the room? We look at those kinds of things to make these decisions." and another said "You really expected to get a 2 room suite for $134 a night - you probably should have looked into this a little more" REALLY?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? That's your explanation!
There are SO many great hotel chains out there - with KNOWLEDGEABLE, HONEST PEOPLE and GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE. DON'T SETTLE. I'm out over $300 for a room that wasn't what I promised or wasn't what was explained to me. And no one at Hilton is willing to make it right.
My advice -find a different hotel.
