Hotel Botánico (2941)

Louisamartinlondon

(TripAdvisor)

Request for quiet room not fulfilled

As you can see, we liked this hotel, we gave it 4/5. Best thing- serving staff all very helpful and polite. Hotel generally is tranquil and quietly located. Buffets (breakfast and lunch) are amazing. Not great- ambiance of Spanish and Italian restaurants was a bit cafeteria-like, with variable food. Rooms are a bit small. What really annoys me though is that we booked through Expedia, and made a specific request for a "very quiet room". And when we checked in, we reiterated "very quiet room" and were assured this was the case. We stayed 5 nights, and I wish I had said something on night 2, when we first noticed noises coming from one of the other rooms. It seemed like they were coming from one of the rooms above, banging of doors and running footsteps , but noise travels in strange ways- it was hard to be sure. I tried to ignore it, used some earplugs and hoped it was just a 1 night problem. Next night, (night 3), same thing . At midnight, I got out of bed, put on my bathrobe and walked the halls of our floor and the floor above. The hotel is heavily carpeted, so it seemed strange that noise would travel at all, and in my midnight wanderings I could find no evidence of anyone making noise. I suppose I should have called the hotel to complain, but the noise was intermittent (someone would have to sit in the room with us for 10 minutes to ensure they heard the noises I was talking about , although once they started they were very loud) , and I was starting to wonder if it was my imagination as I could find no evidence. Night 4, same issues , and I did the walk of shame in the hallways yet again, trying to discover what the problem was. On the last night, I finally figured it out. By chance, when we were coming back later than usual to the room, the hotel room next door was open and there were 2 kids jumping on the bed, running riot. I knocked on the adjacent door , found the parents and asked them to keep the kids quiet/ that people were trying to sleep (it was 11:30). When I complained to the staff upon check-out, they asked why I hadn't complained sooner. (As you can see from above, it wasn't that simple, and there was no point moving rooms for 1 night, once I finally discovered where the noise was coming from. This is why I request a quiet room in the first place!! I hate the disruption of moving rooms.) They offered to take 10% off the incidentals bill . Since we had prepaid for the room and for half board and we don't drink, this would have equalled the princely sum of 22 euros . That is not a very apologetic offer in my opinion- we declined. They also offered an upgrade if we came back to the hotel. I hate it when businesses do this! It is so rude to force any display of good will back onto the customer. Why on earth would I want to return to a hotel that paid absolutely no attention whatsoever to my request for a quiet room before they make amends properly? A 30% discount or similar would have demonstrated an apology, especially when our extras bill was so tiny anyway. Note to the Botanico: when a customer asks not once , but twice for a quiet room, do NOT put 2 children in a room beside them. It is only common sense. Another tip : when a customer complains about a request you failed to accommodate, 10% off a 220 euro bill isn't good enough after 5 days of interrupted sleep, and asking them to come back on the vague promise of an upgrade is just rude.

Hotel Botánico

Dear Guest, Thank you very much for taking the time to review us in TripAdvisor Your suggestions are very important to us, we regret not having met your expectations and apologize for any inconvenience caused by noise of the kids. We hope we will have another opportunity to serve you better. Best regards, Gustavo Escobar Hotel Director