ComplaintsforTalus Rock Retreat LLC

• Initial Complaint

  02/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Went to this resort to spend 3 days/nights with family seeing its a 4 star resort We drove from ******* to ********* during winter to get stuck in this rat hole. The place is nothing like what they promote online and in reviews. We booked 3 nights in their Syringa suite (which was recommended when I called them a week back. They mentioned they have 2 suites with kitchen - Syringa and Nooma and recommended Syringa for a family stay). Realized that we are trapped the moment we entered their place (I have attached all the photos).The room was more like a garage space converted to a room. Room door opens directly to the dining/reception area. Whole suite was messy and the oven even had left over burnt food particles in it. Bathrooms were gross and broken walls had flies and insects coming out.The dishwasher literally teared open with wires hanging out and we were worried about the safety of our puppy and kid. The toaster was no better than a dirty ***** trash can.The bedroom in the suite was so tiny and suffocating. The tiny little wiggly curtains provide no privacy from the parking lot just outside.I had contacted the customer care person over the phone (you are your own during night. There is no receptionist) and explained all the issues. We requested to talk to the owner but to no avail as we wanted to check-out the next day as well and escape from there. Later the text support offered us another Nooma room with a common area from next day. Our family was so upset and disappointed and didnt want to spend our Christmas in a place where we experienced such a disaster (paying close to 400$ a night). We declined the offer and checked-out the next day sharing all the photos and issues with the manager onsite in the morning after spending a suffocating little bedroom.. They were generous enough to offer to send a handyman and electrician (and ********* may be) to the room to fix the issues. We declined the offer to stay in a construction zone during Christmas and walked away.They did not provide a refund and declined to connect us to the owner saying she is no longer managing operations.Still wondering how they are getting 4 star despite having such a condition. It is misleading and weas no way near general standards for a 4 star resort.I have all the photos taken during our stay to show how bad the situation was (not sure how I can upload all those here as it exceeds 5mb in total).I'm still not sure which are the agencies I need to raise this issue to. Can you please look into this matter.

  Business response

  02/13/2023

  This guest called prior to arrival asking about cancelling. They were within the non-refundable timeframe. They called the night they checked in about the cleanliness of their room. They were offered both someone to come right away or in the morning as well as a room change to the entire Nooma Expanse which is 3x the room rate and is an entire floor of the estate. They declined all help and remedies offered and disturbed other guests with their yelling at each other. 

  These are notes in their reservation: 

  December 25, 2022 at 9:31 am.
  Side note: We just received a review from the guest just prior to Bineesh on December 21, 2022 for 2 nights:
  
  "10 out of 10
  by ***** on
  Hotels.com
  Posted Dec 23, 2022"
  
  _____From Expedia_____
  
  You have a new review
  
  Lodging ******* Services <*********************************>
  Sat, Dec 24, 11:10 AM (22 hours ago)
  to me
  
  You have a new review
  Dear Talus Rock Retreat,
  A guest who recently stayed at your property has published a review that now appears on ************* sites.
  
  10.0
  Excellent
  
  *****
  Dec 23, 2022
  ________

  
  December 24, 2022 at 2:56 pm.
  When I spoke with the guest this morning, he showed me pictures he had taken of the issues making them unhappy. Mostly they were dings in the paint from guests moving furniture around. We regularly touchup. The toaster wasn't pristine. The dishwasher is a place holder while we are researching one that will be a perfect fit, but it functions well. The wiring is blocked with a board for now. He said the toilet wasn't flushed and had been used. I had spot checked the room prior to guest check in and didn't see that state of things. I did check the shower and it was clean. It is a unique cement design with inlaid mosaic and I believe the guest thinking it was unclean was due to hard water. The bedside drawer inside they thought was unkempt. On his way out, he said it was like a garage. It has lovely stained cement floors as an ADA ****** The guest had also called 12/23/22. He wanted to cancel the 1st night and move the reservation a day. He was told it would be non-refundable. He wanted a second option. We offered the change with a $100 fee. He said he would be coming as planned in that case.
  delete
  
  December 24, 2022 at 1:17 pm.
  Guest stayed 1 of 3 nights then abandoned their reservation so we are cancelling the remaining 2 nights with 100% non-refundable per the cancellation policy agreed upon and signed when guest booked online. When the guests brought their complaints to our attention, we immediately swung into action and offered to attend to/fix/resolve any issues, including a move to our "Nooma Exclusive" when it became available the next day. It is a full floor and 3x the cost of their booked room. This was also declined as they didn't wish to be inconvenienced with a move and preferred to just leave instead. They kept asking to speak to the owner who is with family for the holidays and is no longer a part of the operations side of things here. They count on the managers and staff to resolve such things. The staff on night time call, the live-in caretaker and two managers all offered to resolve issues within the given time-frame in their confirmation or provide an upgrade. These were declined by the guest each time. They ordered breakfast-in-bed, which we provided complimentary as an act of goodwill. We even went as far as to offer an 80% return for the remaining 2 nights if we were able to fill the room last minute, which was also unsatisfactory to them. -z

  
  Saturday, December 24, 2022 - 10:06 AM
  There was a Breakfast-in-bed service card for this family when I arrived, but it was not on their reservation so they must have chosen it after night staff left. It was prepared and delivered. Management has decided to offer it gratis for their discontent with the room. ******* showed a manager pictures of the issues he found as they looked deeper. Talus Rock Retreat again offered to relocate them to the entire lower lever or clean/fix any issues they found disturbing. He declined and said they were going to leave regardless and hoped we could work something out to his benefit. Unfortunately, TRR is well within our rights per the cancellation policy they signed upon booking. **** (overnight phones) offered The Nooma Expanse, which they declined or if the room rebooks upon their checkout, we could work something out. 80% of remaining is the likely option. Guest has been communicating through text mostly. ******, the manager on duty this morning, discussed the matter with another manager and this is what was offered. The guest keeps asking to speak with the owner who is with her family for the holidays so unavailable unfortunately. -z
   
  Friday, December 23, 2022 - 9:18 PM
  Answering service texted option to guest who expressed gratitude for the prompt service and consideration. Will check it out on the internet and in the morning. The compensation room upgrade value is close to $1000/night after taxes and fees--more than double what the guest is paying as consideration.
   
  Friday, December 23, 2022 - 8:40 PM
  Guest called at 8:05pm (after hours and several hours after check in) complaining about the cleanliness of the room and that the floor was in bad shape and there was an exposed wire (the dishwasher bottom panel fell off) and that they are very disappointed with the room that theyd like to check out and not stay for the remaining two nights and they wanted to talk to the owner. The nighttime service explained that the owner was away but Management would get to them first thing in the morning and offered to send someone over to clean the room and address concerns. The answering service inquired if they would like someone over immediately to rectify all issues including cleaning the room as well as doing necessary repairs. ***** declined the offer and "did not want anybody coming to the room" but if somebody wanted to address it tonight they would meet them in the lobby. The answering service promptly texted/informed upper Management that guest would be addressing the issue in the morning and that they wanted to leave. Management has planned to offer them another room that is triple the value at no additional cost to guests to satisfy them and the family first thing in the morning and verified that they thought the guest was looking for a way out since the minute they checked in. Management reiterated that they witnessed first hand that the room had been thoroughly cleaned by two seasoned staff members as well as checked by management (who in fact I brought extra towels for the family in preparation). It is interesting to note that this was the same guest that had earlier wanted to change their reservation. Something doesnt seem right and they seem to be looking for a way out of their reservation.

   

  We had every desire and readiness to make their stay better and more pleasant with multiple efforts and managers working with them, and they refused ALL help. The dishwasher was in temporarily while the new one was in transit. It was an appreciated amenity for the guests both before and after this guest. The oven did not get cleaned of pizza crumbs from the prior guest, for which we were both embarrassed and apologetic ... but were not allowed to remedy. The bathroom was clean and not "broken." It's a special design treatment of concrete with mosaics. Our 5 star reviews are sincere and go through time, so it is very disappointing to have any guest not appreciate their stay in this beautiful lodge. 

  Customer response

  02/17/2023

   
  Complaint: 19391760
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  Their response is manipulated.

  
  1. Regarding their statement that guests called asking about canceling prior to arrival ->

  They are putting it in such a way that we were intending not to stay. But the truth is that our stay was for our xmas vacation. As you know, that week (week of xmas 2022) was a severe winter storm across the US even causing a high number of fatalities and nation wide flight interruption.

  We booked our stay to enjoy our family vacation in a 4 star resort and wanted to make that vacation at any cost. The reason we asked about the cancellation policy was due to the fear of road closures between ******* and *********.

  We did the trip (a normal 6 hour trip took 10 hours due to the severe weather) as we wanted to have a good time with our son and 2 year old puppy. We wouldn't have drove such a long distance from ******* to ********* in that weather if we were so much interested in staying there.

   

  2.I would like to share the photos I have as proof to show the pathetic condition of our 4 star suite.

  They are trying to downplay the issues. But the room was unhygienic and had safety hazards for our son and puppy (unhygienic kitchen and hanging electric wires from broken appliances & so on)

   

  3. Our family transitioned from festival mood to agony seeing the suite they provided. Their new claim that we were making noises is totally manipulated.

  We were depressed and tried to contact the frontdesk. We were starving and tried to get hold of the front desk staff after our dinner was delivered from outside. We had a hard time finding someone to complain to and finally the caretaker gave us a number that provided text support.

  We explained all the issues in detail and they offered to connect us with the owner the next day (later they denied talking to the owner saying she is no longer in charge).

  We never made noises (by the way even whispering is difficult as the door opens directly to the kitchen/reception area). We were so depressed and get out of that place even though we knew we would have to drive back home in severe weather (we have to go through one of the 2 mountain passes to travel from ***** to *******).

  We were so disappointed falling to their 4 star rating and probably paid reviews and advertisements. There were many 1 star reviews online that complained about similar issues we faced in their suite.

  We have declined their offer to move to another room the next day as we are not sure how better it will be. Even if they give a different one, we were so disheartened and disappointed with our first night (explained the issues in the original complaint).

  So we decided to travel back and we got stuck for 2 days in ******* because both passes were closed due to severe winter storms. We had stayed in a hotel in ******* unplanned because of that (I can share the reservation and invoice for the stay in hilton that we had to take because of this)

  
  3. They have provided unacceptable standards of service by tricking  us into booking their 4 star resort suite room. I wish there is a way to share all those pictures (appreciate if you can provide a way to upload multiple images)
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Bineesh Ambali Vadakkekandi

  Business response

  02/24/2023

  We have stated facts as experienced and documented by our staff. This guest inquired twice prior to booking the reservation about our cancellation policy and signed Talus Rock Retreats reservation confirmation. This same cancellation policy was clearly stated in this confirmation he agreed to. There are simply no grounds for a refund. The room was not unhygienic. It was (and is) cleaned between every reservation. Any and all guest issues were offered a remedy, which the guests repeatedly declined. These guests were offered an upgrade to an entire floor of the lodge and wouldn't even consider looking at it, choosing to stay in their reserved suite. Also, there were no broken appliances. There was a functioning interim dishwasher so guests wouldnt have to go without one, and it had secured wiring. If the guests were concerned they were in unhealthy and dangerous space, then one would think they'd jump at the opportunity to move rooms and yet they chose to remain for the night in that suite. It was puzzling. We have self-check-in so guests have as much autonomy as theyd like, and the phone # is posted in each room and in common areas so we are always reachable to meet guest needs. We are sorry these guests were so very disappointed, but they would not accept any reasonable offers to remedy the things they personally found troubling. We work very hard to achieve and retain our high standards as reflected in consistently 4-5 star guest reviews across travel industry sites through the years. Guests occupying that very same suite immediately before and after his experience left glowing reviews. This claim can be confirmed by 3rd party independent websites.

  Customer response

  03/01/2023

   
  Complaint: 19391760
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  1. Resort keep mentioning we had intention to cancel eve prior to stay. I have explained this in details in the earlier review. We travelled all the way from ******* to ********* with family with every intent to enjoy Xmas vacation. We were concerned about the winter storm (***********************************************************************)

  but still travelled there with 10 hours of drive. We were greatly disappointed and depressed seeing the room condition. 

   

  2. They did not offer another room that night. Only phone support was available when I tried to reach out to hotel staff. They had offered to move to another suite only next day after the guest checks out (attached the screenshot of the conversation). It was traumatic for my family to stay in such a pathetic condition and we hated the place by the time we spent one night. So we decided to check-out than taking chances again and wait for the other room to be free and then inspect. I have all the photos taken showing every aspect of the room (attaching 2 of them here as i am not sure sure how many I can send). I still suspect most of their reviews are paid/fake as there are lot of 1/2 star reviews listed in travel sites that are very much same as what we experienced.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Bineesh Ambali Vadakkekandi

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩