Ramada: not french for "nothing works right"

[Someone posted a note to the NAR sections list about a survey from Ramada regarding the NARAM hotel. I was getting ready to post this to the list myself, and wanted to post it here to make sure as many NARAM participants see it as possible.

You can go to the Ramada web site and provide feedback about the NARAM hotel, but sources say it will be ignored:

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I'd been meaning to start this thread myself. I was not at all happy with the dump that we held NARAM in. The announcement listed the place as being "Ramada's top-of-the-line Plaza brand". I guess after the dumps called Ramada that we used for NARAM-40 and NARAM-43, this was a step up. The rooms were farther above ground level.

BTW, I did look up "RAMADA" in the dictionary. I was wrong, it isn't French for "nothing works right", but Spanish for "An open or semienclosed shelter roofed with brush or branches, designed especially to provide shade. An open porch or breezeway. An arbor or trellis made of twined branches." Sounds more appropriate for the field, than the hotel.

During the week I also was told that many folks who didn't bother to ask for the NARAM rate of $79 per day paid $69 for the weekend (Fri/Sat) and $59 for the rest of the week. For me, that would be a $130 savings. When I booked my reservation back in March, I specifically asked "Christy" if there were any lower rate available from AARP, AAA, or other, and was told that the NARAM rate was the best they offered any one. The "manager" I spoke to me at checkout lied to me and told me this was not true. Still, I got her to knock off $100 (NOT $130) from my bill for the week. So much for their "best rate or it's free" guarantee.

I intended to file a complaint with Ramada when I got home. When I reviewed my bill to try and find a toll free number to contact them, the number I found was not a reservations number or a customer hotline, but an "opt-out of Ramada SPAM" number. These folks are the absolute scum of the earth opting-in customers without notice, and waiting to fine print at checkout to give you an opt-out oportunity. If you want Ramada to sell your personal information to other scum, sit back and do nothing. To stop it, call

877-277-3357. All I got was an answering machine that takes your message. I left an irate message for them. But it also gave me the customer service number, which is 800-828-6644. Call there to let them know how unhappy you were with this "luxury" facility and "luxury" pricing.

Here's a list, from memory, of issues I saw or heard about for this Ramada:

Overcharged above best available rate.

Lobby tile in shambles, hard to move in and out with carts.

Elevators stopped on certain floors all week.

Luggage carts not available. Saturday morning there was ONE cart with over an hour wait.

Only one ice machine worked all week. 2 never worked, and one was wimpy most of the week.

Room phones didn't always work for room to room calls.

Internet flaky. If you had anything but Windoz/IE, it wouldn't work at all. Any connection other than http would drop after 30 seconds to a couple minutes. I had repeated difficulties TELNETing to EISNER to read my mail and news.

The bed sheets were so small they wouldn't stay tucked in over night.

No towels the one time I visited the pool.

My daughter found loose electrical wires in the pool.

The room had no hotel services or local info available. Not even a "do not disturb" sign for the door.

The lobby was inadequate for social gatherings. There was no gathering area available.

I heard a couple reports of the fire stairwells being locked.

I heard at lest one persons room was left wide open by the maid service.

Numerous reservations for connecting or adjacent rooms were botched.

There was no "vendor row" at the hotel

There were no laundry facilities at the hotel

Some folks had to change rooms because of plumbing problems. Those rooms were reissued to other NARAM folks without being repaired.

Some folks had to change rooms mid-week as certain rooms were only available part of the week.

Mildew in bathtubs.

Never got any soap or shampoo replenishment all week.

Any one got anything I missed?

Chad Ring, please submit your contest board RCP to prohibit the use of Ramada Inns for NARAM ASAP. And mark it "EMERGENCY / SAFETY ISSUE". Although it doesn't matter to me, I'll never stay at a ram-it-in again.

********** I urge EVERY NARAM participant to call, complain about the conditions, and if you paid the $79 rate all week, ask for a rebate. **********
Reply to
Bob Kaplow
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I booked about 4 weeks before Naram, but first checked prices on the internet and got the $69/$59 rate on Expedia. So I called the hotel, asked for the Naram rate and was told $79. When I told them I had an internet rate $20 lower and could they give me that rate but still list me as a Naram participant they said "no we don't match internet rates" So I said goodby and booked online.

I know that when we held Naram at Muncie we got the meeting rooms for free because we had a certain number of sleeping rooms booked at the Naram rate. I hope Quark did not have to pay extra due to people not booked as Naram, but I'm sure a number of us took advantage of the lower rates.

BTW the only problem I had with my room was the automated wake-up service. My 6:30 wake up call came every day at 8:30!

Dale Greene SPAAR 503

Reply to
Dale Greene

I didn't sign up for a wake-up call, but got one at 7:15 AM every morning. I figured that was automatic for the NARAM booking code :-)

I thought the sign by the bar was amusing. Their attire standards didn't permit silkscreened T-Shirts; I can only assume that they didn't want business from anyone at NARAM :-)

Now, as an outlying data point in Bob's "Ramada Quality" chart, I stayed at the RAMADA in Warterloo, IA a month ago, and it really was nice.

Glen

Reply to
Glen Overby

The Ramada Inn in Lethbridge, host hotel for LDRS 24, was great. It was clean and tidy, well-maintained, with helpful friendly staff who, as far as I could tell, welcomed all of us rocketeers warmly. They have a wonderful pool area with waterslides and a wave pool, and served a decent continental breakfast. The wake-up calls were on time, as requested, and the on-site bar and restaurant were great.

...Rick

Reply to
Rick Dunseith

glen: I asked the bar manager about that and was told it would not be enforced for those booked at the ramada..I had a t-shirt with wording on it...

shockie B)

Reply to
shockwaveriderz

Thanks for confirming what several people told me they got for lower rates.

Well, at $20 per night extra, I suppose they could give us lots of free stuff...

Did you specify what time zone you wanted them from :-)

I never tried the wake up calls. I used my PDA alarm. Besides, I seem to wake up around 5:30 CHicago time no matter where I am.

But I do remember rotinely late wake up calls from the Muncie Ramada. They'd call at 7 and tell me this was my 6:30 wake up call or whatever, and I'd say "No, you're half an hour late"

Reply to
Bob Kaplow

I never asked for a wake up call, yet I got one at 6:30 every morning. the voice mail had messages to someone 6 weeks old.

When I checked out on wednesday, they said they could not give me a receipt due to no computers working. On friday their computers still had me checked in when I asked for a receipt.

Contesting the whole bill on the credit card sounds tempting.

Reply to
AlMax

Nobody expects the Spanish Inqui, er comfy chair.

I appreciate that some folks like to stay in only the best hotels. I preferred those NARAMs with reasonably priced college dorm housing and facilities. Nevertheless, the Las Vegas NARAM hotel was quite nice and the flying field was worth the daily commute. Do we really need to decertify all RAMADAs because of one bad cato?

Alan

Reply to
Alan Jones

It's not one but THREE, NARAM 40, 43, and now 47.

I wouldn't mind paying the $79 rate if the place was worth it. The hotels for NARAM 41 & 42 were not cheap, but were VERY nice. More than we needed for a NARAM.

But the 3 Ramadas had too many things that didn't work or were just plain UNSAFE. Declaring that we won't use them again sends a message to the corporate management that this is just not acceptable.

Reply to
Bob Kaplow

I had checked online before I booked, because the original NARAM info didn't even list the NARAM rate. I got NO availability of any rooms at this location for the entire NARAM time frame.

BTW, has any one who either called the Ramada complaint line, or posted to their web site ever heard anything back? It's been about a week since I called, and have yet to hear a response. If I don't hear anything by the weekend, I'll call back and elevate the complaint to management.

Reply to
Bob Kaplow
[yet another "lost" post from 25 Aug 2005 21:01:33 -0500]

When I called Ramada's customer service number (800-828-6644) and initially asked for a manager, they said I had to give the local management a week to respond. Well, it's been 15 days since I initially called to complain. No response. Nor did I get a response to the email complaint I sent via their web site the next day. Not that I actually expected one from either.

I called back today and talked to Jessica, the same person as 2 weeks ago. The ONLY thing she offered is half off the first nights stay. I told her that was an insult to us all. She wouldn't transfer me to any senior person in Ramada's management chain.

I did get the name of the president of the company, Kieth Pierce at

800-578-7545. All I get there is a recording asking that I leave my name, phone number and case number for a call back. I've done so, but doubt it will do any good.

I believe that Ramada owes every person who stayed at this dump an apology, a SIGNIFICANT refund (not 6%!), and to close this dump until it is repaired.

Towards that end, I've just forwarded those parts of the complaint that represent a safety or health hazard to the Springdale Ohio building and health departments:

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building springdale org 513 - 346 - 5730 health springdale org 513 - 346 - 5725

I've asked that they follow up with me. I've also asked for the status of their building permit, how long this project has been going on, what has been done in the past 3 months, etc. Finally, I included the links to the GREAT pictures on Jim Flis web site showing the lobby and the bathroom. The stall looks like the one that fell over on my daughter during the banquet. I only wish we had more pictures.

Reply to
Bob Kaplow

If you want action...

Get his address, write a polite letter, and send it to the president of the company, by name, certified, return-receipt. You'll get action.

I pulled that in college when I got jerked around once too many times by an IBM sales weasel. Let's just suffice to say that he lost that battle.

-Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Trojanowski

I got a call from the Springdale health department today. Those parts of the facility that are not up to code (bathrooms etc that Jim Flis photographed) have been closed to the public. A new management company has been brought in to get the Ramada up to shape.

Reply to
Bob Kaplow

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