Unsafe fire alarm, rude porter
14/05/2019 tripyrr, antarctica
FIRE ALARM. The Fire alarm sounds like a faint alarm clock, "buzz, buzz, buzz." My home alarm says "FIRE, FIRE, FIRE" loudly, and theirs should too, maybe in 3 languages, since the building is full of... more
FIRE ALARM. The Fire alarm sounds like a faint alarm clock, "buzz, buzz, buzz." My home alarm says "FIRE, FIRE, FIRE" loudly, and theirs should too, maybe in 3 languages, since the building is full of people who don't know what the alarm sounds like. This is the electronics age, and fire alarms can be very clear, if the chain takes fire safety seriously. When the hotel does have a fire, people will die if they think it's an alarm clock.
When I asked the front desk about the alarm, they said a guest had showered with the bathroom door open, setting off the smoke detector, which set off the alarm. The desk had warned us at check-in that showering with the bathroom door open would set off the "smoke alarm", so in effect they warn us to ignore alarms we hear. This approach is irresponsible. I should have left then, but I thought it would just be the smoke alarm in the individual room. I saw that my room had a carbon monoxide detector, so maybe that's the problem or the fix, but they shouldn't rent rooms until their fire alarm system is stable, safe and unambiguous. A false alarm every year is OK. A false alarm every other day is deadly, because it leads staff and guests to ignore it (especially at 7:30 AM Sunday morning) .
RUDENESS. When I checked in, the couple ahead of me asked for help taking their bags into their room, so the woman at the front desk asked a man who seemed to be the porter if he would do her a favor. He said "No, I won't." She graciously explained the need, and where to meet the couple, and he brusquely asked where to meet them, showing he had not been paying attention. Staff need training and supervision to keep their surliness in check and be civil to each other and guests. If surly porters are the best staff you can find, you need to raise the pay you offer.
BIASING THESE REVIEWS. Best Western's email asking for feedback said they included a "Tripadvisor review form at the end of the survey." With my negative feedback they gave no form, so they are stuffing the reviews here with just good news, and lying in their own email.
The end of the parking lot is deeply rutted and hard to turn around in.
The room was clean, generally quiet, and a nice view of woods.
Breakfast had too few healthy options. less
SamanthaC4102, General Manager at Best Western at Historic Concord, responded to this review
Thank you for taking the time to give us feedback on your recent visit. I apologize that we were not able to meet all your expectations, as we strive to create the most positive experiences possible. It is only through such input, that we can continue to improve. I will share your comments with our team. We hope to see you again.