Hi Ladies
Sorry, this is really long, but I wanted to warn brides thinking of and/or staying at the AQUA hotels for their pre- and/or wedding night. Will post an "official" review once things calm down, but our expereince was SO bad, had to give everyone a heads up.
In April I worked with the AQUA marketing department to book a group block and wedding accomodations, since we were taking getting ready pix, I toured the properties and booked our pre- and wedding night accomodations. I asked that a note be placed in our record indicating that it was very important to stay in the room reserved (all rooms are owned by different owners, thus look different). No problems there. I call to confirm a month in advance, everything is good. I get an email to confirm a week out, everything is good. I call three days prior to confirm, everything is good.
1015 a.m. the day we are checking in (checkin is at 3) I get a call from the front desk employee Fe (on her cell) telling me the room we reserved was not available.
The owner of the room decided to extend their stay so ... I got bumped out and no longer could stay in the room that was reserved SIX months in advance. You would think they would tell you when booking the owner can show up at any time and kick guests out right? (Later the GM emailed and said she was new so told me that was the policy, but after researching that is not the policy i.e. lied) However to make up
she was happy to offer us $100.... seriously, you are stressing me out and ruining the day before the wedding and you offer me $100?!
It took us an hour to check in since no one at the hotel communicates with each other, then we were up until 11 having to keep calling back the front desk since there was a shift change (situation NOT passed on so we had to keep checking) as supposedly the owners were checking out at 10. Again found out this was a lie or "un-truth" as they liked to refer to it.
After our wedding, we come back and ask for bell assistance.
The security guard Bruce comes out with the cart makes my husband load everything onto the cart, then puts it in the elevator and says "you can take this up right?"
Hello.. I’m in my wedding dress so no, I can’t take this up.
He rolls is eyes at me (husband is parking the car) gets in the elevator and when we get to our floor pushes the cart out of the elevator leaving it there for me to push to our room.
He promptly gets back into the elevator and leaves.
Classy.
At the end of everything we did get our entire stay comped, but I really had to fight for it. I even had to call back a week after our stay since my credit cards had not been credited.
I could go on and on, but the bottom line – fine hotel if you don’t care which room you’re in (beware showers leak, thin walls and the only parts of the hotel have been renovated), not bad location… however DO NOT book if your stay is for an important occasion.