The other day I checked into the Park Inn in Fresno, CA – long story short is I had some leftover points prior to the end of the redeem 1, get 1 free benefit Club Carlson had, so I used up my remaining balance for two free nights at the Park Inn in Fresno, CA, I city I hadn’t been to before.
You can read my review of the property here, however, to be up front, this was probably one of the worst hotels I have stayed in. While this hotel is on the lower end of the spectrum for hotel brands, any hotel as part of a major chain should live up to at least a clean standard – that’s something you just don’t mess with.
My first room had mold and dirt in the toilet.
Along with mold and dirt in the air filter and vent.
The second room already had toilet paper in the toilet, and the toilet paper roll was undone, not like the first room where it was folded over to indicate that someone had been by to clean.
I felt obligated to let Club Carlson know about this property, simply because of the uncleanliness I encountered. Because I had been to three separate rooms, each with the same issues, it was more than a one-off thing. There was a clear lack of management at this property and both housekeeping and maintenance weren’t doing their jobs.
I sent Club Carlson the pictures (above) of my stay, and needless to say, received a response a few hours later.
Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention, James. We agree there is no excuse for these issues you encountered and we will be contacting management to ensure all necessary improvements are completed.
To compensate you for this experience, I have returned the 9,000 points to your Club Carlson account. Thank you for taking the time to share your photos with us as it has enabled us to take corrective action and improve the guest experience.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any further questions or concerns!
Kind Regards, [redacted]
I’m appreciative of Club Carlson’s response:
- It wasn’t an automated response or cookie-cutter. The person who read my complaint did respond in an appropriate manner.
- I was happy to receive my 9,000 points back, however with multiple bad experiences at Club Carlson properties (many including just poorly kept buildings), I’m not really thrilled to spend any more nights there than I have to.
Honestly, and not to broach the subject more, but I would love to have a chat with the General Manager of the hotel just to see where things went wrong. I’m sure I’m not the first guest to point out these failures, though on the flip side, I almost felt obligated to report them, and I want to ensure they’re fixed so other guests don’t experience the same, unclean rooms. Personally, I think the compensation I was given was fair, and I’m not looking for anything more, but at this stage, simply to make sure the appropriate people are aware.
What do you think of Club Carlson’s response to me? Was it fair?
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
Why do you need to talk to the GM? Get over it. You got ur points back. Move on. Stop making it more than it is. You didnt break a case of some high profile news.
Maybe they clean the rooms with the same meticulous care that you proofread your blog posts?
Ouch. But, yeah, I kind of had the same thought. One sentence in I thought “why can’t this guy EVER proofread what he writes?”
Your first mistake was going to Fresno.
Ha. Well, Yosemite was nice, but in all honesty, it’s not really “near” Fresno. I was thinking it would be closer.
True your proofreading is needy. And Fresno is just Fresno. But filth is disgusting and unhealthy and I would never have stayed there, even though I note they don’t have the germ laden throw pillows on the bed which more upscale places consistently situate right on the presumably clean pillows. And I for one prefer the toilet paper untouched! The quick response may have been due to your blog so we really can’t say if this is typical. I won’t go there though.
Air vents, no problem. Toilet, that is another matter entirely and I endorse your rationale for the complaint letter.
Compensation was fair but no need to speak to the GM.
End of story, but thanks for making us aware of this property.
I have not read TA and Yelp reviews but if they are anything like you experienced I would have steered clear of the place and sought use of your points elsewhere.
I have never been to Fresno, but I would consider it as it seems to be the epicenter for chain hotels closest to Yosemite so that would be a reason that would have motivated me to visit there.
Wow, you’re not getting a lot of love from the whiny complainers above. Too funny.
Let me make some points.
#1 That level of disrepair is unacceptable. You are not overreacting. The paper in the toilet may simply indicate that the room got missed by housekeeping after checkout. Simply a clerical error, solved by moving to another room.
However, the rest shows that housekeeping is not reporting issues to management, or management doesn’t care. I am constantly amazed at the issues I find in hotel rooms that housekeeping has not reported. I would’ve left for the closest Motel 6 instead of staying there.
#2 the West Coast, California in particular, N. Calif. in particular, are huge holes in the Carlson chain. IMHO Carlson has been accepting anything to get coverage in those cities. This is a property that probably got thrown out of its previous chain for being such a dump, and Carlson took it.
#3 I’m glad that Carlson did NOT put you in contact with the property GM. I’ve had Hilton pawn me off on the GM before, and wash their hands of the situation. Uh, this is the GM that allowed the problem to begin with. Why would I think I’d get resolution from that GM?