Wedding Woes

Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village

We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in 2009 for our wedding.  We gave my wife's wedding dress to Hilton, at their suggestion, to steam on the day before our wedding to be ready for our special day. Instead of steaming it, they washed in in the washing machine, ruining it. They offered to get us a new dress and alter it to fit the same as the old. The seamstresses who were supposed to alter the dress were not familiar with wedding dresses and destroyed the new dress as well leaving us with a painful and terribly fitting dress ruining the pictures and the day. Hilton agreed to compensate us for the dresses and fly us back to Hawaii to make up for the day they ruined and told us to enjoy the rest of our time on the Islands. Upon returning home, they denied fulfilling these promises.
Do not stay at the property and patronize these people that have no integrity and do not make good on promises they make. Do not let them ruin your dream day as well.

Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village

  • edited December 2011
    This is a two year old beef you have with them?
    image
  • zitiqueenzitiqueen member
    Knottie Warrior 2500 Comments 500 Love Its First Answer
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:4c750987-3ede-44ba-85e7-8bd1fcdc3ffd">Beware of Hilton Properties</a>:
    [QUOTE]We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in 2009 for our wedding.  We gave my wife's wedding dress to Hilton, at their suggestion, to steam on the day before our wedding to be ready for our special day. Instead of steaming it, they washed in in the washing machine, ruining it. They offered to get us a new dress and alter it to fit the same as the old. The seamstresses who were supposed to alter the dress were not familiar with wedding dresses and destroyed the new dress as well leaving us with a painful and terribly fitting dress ruining the pictures and the day. Hilton agreed to compensate us for the dresses and fly us back to Hawaii to make up for the day they ruined and told us to enjoy the rest of our time on the Islands. Upon returning home, they denied ever making these promises. Do not stay at the property and patronize these people that have no integrity and do not make good on promises they make. Do not let them ruin your dream day as well.
    Posted by rupmh[/QUOTE]

    So you didn't get any of this in writing... two years ago?
  • zsazsa-stlzsazsa-stl member
    Eighth Anniversary 5000 Comments 100 Love Its First Answer
    edited December 2011

    This sounds like a problem with one or two people at a hotel in Hawaii.  I don't understand how you can extrapolate to the entire company.  I'm sorry for your problems, but this will not keep me from staying at the Hampton Inn in Effingham, IL.

    Or maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe they really have corporate meetings where they all practice putting wedding dresses into washing machines and then lying about it before hitting the bar for drinks and laughs about the brides they will infuriate.

    image

    I just a friendly gal looking for options.

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  • edited December 2011
    That really does suck. I will not be having my next wedding at Hilton Hawaaian village, that's for sure.
    image
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:c13b73c3-f044-4490-8ce9-5d4bfcadb564">Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]That really does suck. I will not be having my next wedding at Hilton Hawaaian village, that's for sure.
    Posted by Cant_wait![/QUOTE]

    We appreciate that.  Thanks, its just a terrible situation.
  • edited December 2011
    Morals have nothing to do with business. And you mean these people are jumping at the chance to admit fault and pay for more things? I'm shocked.
    image
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:4c750987-3ede-44ba-85e7-8bd1fcdc3ffd">Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in 2009 for our wedding.  We gave my wife's wedding dress to Hilton, at their suggestion, to steam on the day before our wedding to be ready for our special day.<strong> Instead of steaming it, they washed in in the washing machine</strong>, ruining it. They offered to get us a new dress and alter it to fit the same as the old. The seamstresses who were supposed to alter the dress were not familiar with wedding dresses and destroyed the new dress as well leaving us with a painful and terribly fitting dress ruining the pictures and the day. Hilton agreed to compensate us for the dresses and fly us back to Hawaii to make up for the day they ruined and told us to enjoy the rest of our time on the Islands. Upon returning home, they denied ever making these promises. Do not stay at the property and patronize these people that have no integrity and do not make good on promises they make. Do not let them ruin your dream day as well.
    Posted by rupmh[/QUOTE]

    Hm. I have a hard time believing this happened.. So what really went down and why are you mad?
    image
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:919c9bfa-1a30-4f43-a5a4-9528f9c2ab56">Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village : We appreciate that.  Thanks, its just a terrible situation.
    Posted by rupmh[/QUOTE]



    Omg.
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  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:c13b73c3-f044-4490-8ce9-5d4bfcadb564">Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]That really does suck. I will not be having my next wedding at Hilton Hawaaian village, that's for sure.
    Posted by Cant_wait![/QUOTE]



    *snort*
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  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:3194b75b-78c7-4af8-9664-37c4f66cd694">Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village : Hm. I have a hard time believing this happened.. So what really went down and why are you mad?
    Posted by Matty143[/QUOTE]
    <p>
    Completely honestly they called me as we were driving to our wedding rehearsal to say that they made a mistake and instead of steaming the dress, hey washed it.  Its a silk wedding dress with a train.  We to this day have no idea how they managed to wash it instead, they even pinned a tag to the zipper that said "STEAM ONLY".
    We're mad because after ruining it we managed to get a new dress from the deisgner in CA, have it flown to Hawaii, and the Hilton promised that they would have amazing seamstresses that "could stitch us a new dress" ready and waiting.
    The seamstresses had never worked on a wedding dress before and made a mess of the replacement dress as well.

    After this all went down and we couldnt get in touch with the church to delay/postpone the wedding we went to get married, but the dress was dragging on the fllor, was extremely painful, and looked terrible.

    Hilton promised to pay us for what they ruined as well as fly us back to Hawaii and out us up at the resort.  As soon as we got home to coordinate the reimbursements and return travel they refuse to honor their promises.</p>
  • MixedBerryJamMixedBerryJam member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm sorry that happened to you. I lived overseas for several years and traveling always involved at least a two  two-day stays at HHV, twice a year. I figure I've bee there at least 18 times.  They once actually gave us the room key to a room that was already booked. By which I mean, I opened the door and someone else's suitcases were on the bed. I thank God the other person wasn't still in the room. Woulda scared the crap out of both of us.

    Which is to say they do make mistakes. But my experience with them (nothing relating to a wedding dress screwup like you experienced) has been that they've stood behind their word. Do you have anything at all in writing? An email, contemporaneous notes you made, names of people you talked with? Did you deal with anyone at the congierge desk? Even a picture of the destroyed dress.



    And just to be clear, most of my stays did not involve situations where they had to do something to correct an error they made. Most of the times I've stayed there I've been 110% satisfied customer,  Good luck getting a resolution in your favor!
    image

  • TheDuckisTheDuckis member
    Seventh Anniversary 5000 Comments 25 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    Something tells me you went home and did absolutely nothing to follow up on this. And now  you want a free vacation and expect them to magically remember a verbal agreement that one staff member made 2 years ago.
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:0f9102ef-02c3-4d66-8fbf-8ba1ea542f2b">Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]Something tells me you went home and did absolutely nothing to follow up on this. And now  you want a free vacation and expect them to magically remember a verbal agreement that one staff member made 2 years ago.
    Posted by TheDuckis[/QUOTE]

    Firstly I agree, your dog is really cute.
    Secondly, about my situation, we followed up immediately upon our return home with the individuals at Hilton whose promises we had relied on and was intimately involved in our ordeal. 
    We sent a letter recapping what was agreed.  They said they would discuss it with management, and they have been fighting with us ever since.  Our intention was to get home, fix the ruined dress if we could, or get a new one, and fly right back out to reshoot pictures and what not.
    All the delaying was Hiltons end... they ran us around dealing with different people forcing us to file suit against them last April, and yet more and more delaying.
    Broadcasting it now is only that the tactful and professional way of handling it by allowing them to settle or fix this without public disclosure got us nowhere so now we have decided to let others know.
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:0f9102ef-02c3-4d66-8fbf-8ba1ea542f2b">Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]Something tells me you went home and did absolutely nothing to follow up on this. And now  you want a free vacation and expect them to magically remember a verbal agreement that one staff member made 2 years ago.
    Posted by TheDuckis[/QUOTE]

    And they remember the verbal agreement, they just are now declining to honor what they admit they agreed to.  Furthermore the promise was frm a high level director at the property.
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:f220e852-bead-4863-912f-09f7f4567097">Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]I'm sorry that happened to you. I lived overseas for several years and traveling always involved at least a two  two-day stays at HHV, twice a year. I figure I've bee there at least 18 times.  They once actually gave us the room key to a room that was already booked. By which I mean, I opened the door and someone else's suitcases were on the bed. I thank God the other person wasn't still in the room. Woulda scared the crap out of both of us. Which is to say they do make mistakes. But my experience with them (nothing relating to a wedding dress screwup like you experienced) has been that they've stood behind their word. Do you have anything at all in writing? An email, contemporaneous notes you made, names of people you talked with? Did you deal with anyone at the congierge desk? Even a picture of the destroyed dress. And just to be clear, most of my stays did not involve situations where they had to do something to correct an error they made. Most of the times I've stayed there I've been 110% satisfied customer,  Good luck getting a resolution in your favor!
    Posted by MixedBerryJam[/QUOTE]

    Thank you for your well wishes for a fair outcome.  We do have documentation and they do not deny pormising us, they just refuse to honor what they promised. It is terrible after we put our faith in them to salvage our wedding after they caused the situation
  • LisakingeryLisakingery member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Wow.. I understand your frustration however, you can't blame an entire Hotel chain for something that happened at one hotel!

    I personally will not stay anywhere else but a Hilton property because I love the Hampton beds and the service.  I don't actually stay at Hilton or the Hilton Gardens but, I absolutly love Hampton, Homewood & Embassy which are all Hilton properties. 

    Your complaint is with the Hilton Hawaiian village and they should make it right if that is what you were promised.  I'm a little disappointed that they didn't follow through with their offer to you until they had an expiration on it.

    I'm planning a trip for the Hilton resort for Bora Bora and I'm excited.. Has anyone been there?

  • LisakingeryLisakingery member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I want you to know I will never stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village because of what you went through and the way they treated you.  If I do decide to take a vacation to a Hawaiian island it will not be there.   I'm now questioning if I should stay at the Hilton in Bora Bora.. I probably will not stay there now.  I'll be too far from home and I don't want anything like that to happen to my daughters wedding dress.   

    Thank you for sharing your experience with us.  Sorry about your wedding dress.. I have no idea why a hotel (especially a resort) would wash a wedding dress to begin with.. they would send it out to dry clean.. that didn't make since either.
  • mrsconn23mrsconn23 member
    Knottie Warrior 10000 Comments 500 Love Its First Answer
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:dd314da6-2652-46d9-89ea-56cd268978f7">Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]I want you to know I will never stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village because of what you went through and the way they treated you.  If I do decide to take a vacation to a Hawaiian island it will not be there.   I'm now questioning if I should stay at the Hilton in Bora Bora.. I probably will not stay there now.  I'll be too far from home and I don't want anything like that to happen to my daughters wedding dress.    Thank you for sharing your experience with us.  Sorry about your wedding dress.. I have no idea why a hotel (especially a resort) would wash a wedding dress to begin with.. they would send it out to dry clean.. that didn't make since either.
    Posted by Lisakingery[/QUOTE]

    <em>::headdesk:: </em>
  • jojobrnjojobrn member
    Eighth Anniversary 2500 Comments 100 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_beware-of-hilton-properties?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:fe70d9cc-3525-499c-be77-2cd042d5e8b8Post:b864e83a-1ca5-4975-957e-d915e5169f8a">Re: Beware of Hilton Hawaiian Village</a>:
    [QUOTE]Wow.. I understand your frustration however, you can't blame an entire Hotel chain for something that happened at one hotel! I personally will not stay anywhere else but a Hilton property because I love the Hampton beds and the service.  I don't actually stay at Hilton or the Hilton Gardens but, I absolutly love Hampton, Homewood & Embassy which are all Hilton properties.  Your complaint is with the Hilton Hawaiian village and they should make it right if that is what you were promised.  I'm a little disappointed that they didn't follow through with their offer to you until they had an expiration on it. I'm planning a trip for the Hilton resort for Bora Bora and I'm excited.. Has anyone been there?
    Posted by Lisakingery[/QUOTE]

    <div>Two whole posts ever and they are opposite opinions of each other. OP?</div>
  • edited December 2011
    * shrugs *
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