Had a terrible experience
My family and I have stayed here regularly over the past 2 years but I had a scary night's stay by myself a few weeks ago. I booked a spa room and the room next door was also occupied by a person who ... more
My family and I have stayed here regularly over the past 2 years but I had a scary night's stay by myself a few weeks ago. I booked a spa room and the room next door was also occupied by a person who had people coming and going from her room all night. At 7pm I had to ring reception and complain as the music next door was so loud I couldnt hear the TV. Great I thought, this is going to be a long night - and it was. Phones were constantly ringing next door, the door opening and closing, people knocking on the door - by 1.15 am I had had enough, again reception came up. Now I felt quite scared on my own, these were different men coming and going, banging on the door and smoking in the hallway. Where was the security ? Earlier in the evening I noticed odd people loitering and it is the first time this hotel had shut the security gates at the front - on a Monday night ! In the morning I gave my concerns to reception and to the day manager who said he knew something was up and he had reviewed CCTV. Honestly - if it is that serious surely they should have been patrolling the grounds. I did not feel safe and honestly contemplated leaving in the middle of the night. It was truly awful. If this is the type of customer that is tolerated, I do not ever want to stay here again. Obviously my concerns do not seem to warrant any follow up as it is 3 weeks since my stay and I have not had any contact from the hotel or any apology, let alone offer of a discount. I am a Best Western member and this establishment reflects poorly on that group. Very poor customer service - I feel as though they really don't care about our safety or comfort. less
Jack Chen, General Manager at Best Western Plus Buckingham International, responded to this review
Dear MsMarianna ,
Firstly, thank you for choosing to stay with us while you were in Melbourne and the discretion taken in providing your feedback.
I was very troubled by your feedback and would like to offer my sincerest apologies for any frustration or disappointment you felt as a result of your stay.
At the Buckingham International Hotel , we pride ourselves in offering the highest levels of care and hospitality to all our guests.
To read that your stay was affected by this issue is nothing short of disappointing. I can assure you that this is not the standard we maintain. This is certainly not what we'd like anyone to experience while staying with us.
As you mentioned I was being informed in the same day morning by our overnight caretaker about the incident happened on previous night. He advised me that he went up to the room and issued a formal warning to the guest after you complained to him. He also advised me that he spoke to the person who was smoking and knocking in the corridor and asked that person to leave. He said he did not receive any further complaints .
I have been notified by the care taker about the incident during his morning handover. Then I reviewed the CCTV footage and decided to evict the guest from the property. When you raised your concerns I was aware about the incident and was waiting for police to remove the guests from the property , and I advised you the same. I apologise as we did not contact you after you left , but thought it was unnecessary to disturb you as we apologised and explained to you on your check out what actions we have taken to rectify the issue . Please be assured this was a rare incident and this is not the type of the clientele we want to attract.
We are taking our guests safety and security seriously and this is the reason why we are closing our security gates after 10.00 pm everyday , and only guests with security key/s can access the property.
Whilst I am unable to change your previous experience, I would love to invite you to stay again and show you the standard of service we provide every day. Please feel free to contact me directly and I will ensure you are well looked after.