Modern Rooms not designed for tourist use
29/07/2018 ivanram, Staten Island, New York
For a four star hotel the staff is surprisingly ignorant about activities for tourists to do. We have traveled through Asia, Europe and the Middle East and found that nearly all four and five star h... more
For a four star hotel the staff is surprisingly ignorant about activities for tourists to do. We have traveled through Asia, Europe and the Middle East and found that nearly all four and five star hotels have a full or part time concierge. We finally were directed by to go to the Tourism Office.
The location is near nothing and to get to the main part of town requires a 15 Euro cab ride or a 40 minute ride on the local bus. If you want a decent meal the only restaurant on site is limited requiring you go into town to get a decent dinner.
At 4 AM on 7/24 we were wakened by the sound of alarms but no direction as to what to do. The two men who were manning the lobby desk running about apparently trying to figure out what to do. Guests were milling around the lobby and outside wondering what was happening and what to do. No one on the staff was taking the lead on the situation. I finally confronted one of them and was told it was not a fire but they were having some difficulty shutting the alarm down. I told him to then announce it to all of the guests standing around and not keep it a secret! Their staff is obviously in need of Fire Safety Training.
The swimming pool lacks ladders to enable swimmers to climb in and out of the pool easily and safely. This forced adults and children to jump or pull themselves out risking injury.
The rooms, while modern in design are not guest friendly. The design does not work and makes things difficult for guests. There is only a single closet about 30” in width to place clothing and not one drawer! Guests instead of unpacking are forced to live out of their suit case like some cheap motel. For guests staying for more than one or two days this is cumbersome and inconvenient.
Further, do not bring dollars there is no place in Ajaccio to change them to Euros. You can however use the cash machines but be advised if you get a 50 Euro bill out of the machines the banks won't make even change!
The people are friendly but in spite of its potential Ajaccio is not tourist friendly. less
SASCPH, Manager at Hotel Best Western Plus Ajaccio Amiraute, responded to this review
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez,
Thank you for your letter regarding your recent stay. I am disappointed to hear that you had such a dissatisfying experience and will try to address all of your concerns :
- Concierge :
Indeed, we do not have a full or part time concierge, most of our team members are locals and have good knowledge of the area. I am sorry that the person you spoke to was unable to give you satisfaction, we will review this point internally. We do however have an « E-concierge », a computer which offers guest activitiy information through a touch screen. It is located next to the reception desk. This is a standard in all Best Western hotels.
- Tourism Office/Taxi stand/Public Toilets : We will forward your observations to the city of Ajaccio and the local Taxi companies, as this falls under their purview.
- Washcloths : I believe this is an issue of translation/cultural difference. A washcloth translates to a "gant de toilette" in French. However, while the two words are equivalent in terms of language, the items are not identical. A French "gant de toilette" is a terry cloth glove with a small loop sewn on. An American washcloth is a small square of terry cloth. I will order a few of the American style washcloths, should American travelers wish to have those in future. While I have lived in the United States extensively and understand the difference between the two, my staff does not, as they are primarily Corsican (French.) For them a washcloth is simply an english word for "gant de toilette."
- Liquid Soap : I am sorry that you did not enjoy the toiletries we provided. The reason for the liquid soap is an environmental one. We are an "ecolabel" hotel, the only one in Corsica and as such we avoid single use items, such as small soap bars, however, for guests who prefer this type of soap, we have them on request at the reception desk.
- Closet Size : This is an issue we are looking into, as we do feel 30" is on the small side. For now, we do offer larger rooms with larger closets. It is a shame you did not make this concern known to us at the beginning of your stay, as we could have looked into changing your room. We are in plans to redesign the 30" closets in the year ahead, in rooms such as the one you occupied. I will note your suggestion to add more drawers.
- Pool Accessibility : Indeed there are no ladders in our pool, as it is a shallow one. I will forward your recommendation to our development team. I will suggest a ladder, or perhaps two ramps where the stairs lead down, one on each side.
- Fire Alarm : The fire alarm was deliberately pulled by a guest at 4am on July 24th in the hallways on the fourth floor of the hotel. For this I am truly sorry. French hotel fire alarms are designed with the specification that they must ring a full five minutes before the system allows anyone to turn it off. This is a safety feature and one that has no work-around. Our employees indeed had trouble turning it off, because of the location from which the alarm was set off. They inadvertently set it off a second time, whilst trying to shut it down. Indeed, in their scramble to turn it off, they failed to update the guests as to the cause of the alarm going off. While the alarm was not the direct fault of the hotel, it did interrupt your sleep, and for this I am offering to refund you the cost of that night.
Thank you again for your letter and its constructive comments.
Should you return to Ajaccio, please let me know and I will be only too happy to oversee your stay in the hopes that it will be a more satisfying one.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Stephane Mozziconacci