Some Niagara Fall hotels ruins your tourism industry.
My story is like below.
I booked a room through bidding of PRICELINE.COM.
My family’s experience in HILTON NIAGARA FALLS FALLSVIEW was terrible. I’ve experienced several HILTONs in San Francisco, Boston and New York, the United States, and those were good. HILTON NIAGARA FALLS FALLSVIEW doesn’t seem like a real HILTON. The GOOD that I am talking means the staffs’ attitude. We checked in this hotel on April 13th, 2012 and checked out on April 15th, 2012.
When my family arrived in HILTON NIAGARA FALLS FALLSVIEW, I tried to check-in. At that time, a lady staff with dark shoulder length hair and henna on the back of one of her hand dealt with my check-in work. I asked a room with a falls view but she answered that my original registration was a room with a wall view. Do you understand No View in the Niagara Falls? Instantly, I got embarrassed because I promised with my two kids to show them beautiful falls view in our hotel room. I told her I need a room with a falls view to keep my word with my kids and asked her how I can get a room with a falls view. Her answer was negative. She said that there was no room with a falls view left except a suite room.
To stay in the suit room with a falls view, she asked me to pay an extra charge 170 dollars for two days. I told her, “It’s too expensive.” She said, “Then, how about 70 dollars a day?” I said, “Yes.” She said, “You should know it’s a good deal.” However, she made me a fool and ripped me off. When I pay the extra charge containing tax, the total amount becomes 170 dollars. My check-in time was over 6pm. I could see that she tried to sell the room left. Over 6pm may be a less possible time to sell the rooms left. One shocking thing was that room with a falls’ view was a SMOKING ROOM. Her facial appearance looked like a wooden face. I couldn’t feel any kindness and warmness. From seeing her facial expression in a place away from her, my wife felt anxiety and thought there was a serious problem. The facial expression of female staffs whom I talked with was the same. When they said ‘Hi’, they just smiled formally. When they started talking with me, their smile disappeared.
Here is one thing. I am an Asian and non-English native speaker. I felt she thought of me as a stupid person from her talking and behavior. Even though my oral expression in English is not good, I can understand other’s talking much better.
When my family entered the room with a falls view, we were very surprised. She gave us a “Smoking Room” without any notice. The smell was really bad. They interested in only money, but ignore the guest’s health. However our family had to endure the situation because the woman staff told us we don’t have any choice. We tried to bear the smell for one night but the smoking smell never disappeared. My wife and kids almost got sick. One of my kids coughed and my wife felt so bed.
The next morning, my wife and I asked another lady staff for my room changing. Her attitude was so so cold and aggressive. When my wife and I mentioned about the smoking room, her reaction and attitude was shocking. She never apologized about that non-understandable situation. Even though we talked to her that my wife and my kids almost got sick because of the serious smoking smell of the room, she just ignored our words and never reacted. Her talking speed was extremely fast looking like she’s got upset. Usually we can understand fast talkers’ talking. However, her talking attitude made us difficult to understand her talking. My wife and I tried to complain that they gave a smoking room to my family including two kids. However, she cut out our talking. Without any smile, she said with a cold face, “Yeah, so, I’m trying to change your room. Come after one hour and tell about changing the room again.” We couldn’t continue our talking to her, so we just went outside to ride Maid of The Mist. As soon as we started to head outside, we overheard her small talking sound to the other lady staff who was standing next to her. Our feeling was so bad. Generally speaking, as soon as somebody’s complaint, no matter what the content is, talking right behind the person gives really bad impression.
After riding Maid of The Mist, we came back to the hotel and asked for changing the room to the other staff. She explained the new non-smoking room’s story change. We went to check our new room. The new room’s view was totally different. The view was city, not falls. She didn’t explain about the view change. We had no choice to talk again. She said that our reservation was no view. We said that we paid extra charge for the falls view and had to get refund for the view change. After our talking, she sighed without smile making us feel her anger. Then she told us she would discount the view charge for the rest day. The changed new non-smoking room’s air smelled smoking, even which was much weaker than that of the smoking room.
The three female staffs’ attitude was so disappointing. We felt a kind of discrimination. A small note of a room attendant made us feel as the only kindness of this hotel. My wife’s and my attitude to all of the staffs was never ill-mannered. Even when hotel workers meet rude or annoying customers, they usually never forget their basic manners. How should we understand those situations?? So, we decided to talk about these problems to the manager of this hotel next morning when we check-out.
When we checked-out, we asked to see the manager. We talked to her what we’d experienced in this hotel. She shortly said ‘sorry’. After that, she asked us what we wanted her to do. The question was so weird to us. Commonly, in this kind of situation, the hotel suggests something and asks our opinion. We felt that we got considered as bad complainers having a bad intention. I said, “Nothing!! I just want serious apology and promise about hotel counter staff education and supervising well for the staff’s attitude toward guests.” She didn’t look like recognizing that, for this kind of requirement like mine, the sincere apology is the most important thing. She suggested us not paying extra charges. We refused her suggestion several times. And I told her “Money cannot solve the problem always”, because I felt that she didn’t apologize. However, she talked that that suggestion was just a gesture and only thing that she could do. From her talking, we thought that suggestion could be from her sincereness. So my wife said, “Okay, then…” She cut out my wife’s talking. “Here’s your new invoice with the balance of zero. Then, good bye.” She went away(It seemed running away from a uncomfortable situation). We felt like that we got trapped by her hypocritical acting. Before her going away, we mentioned that they need to check out the reviews of this hotel on HOTELS.COM, talking about a former Asian guest’s review that I read just before my check-out, which talked about this hotel staffs’ unkindness toward Asian people and non-English native speakers. She said repeatedly, “I’ve never heard of it.”
All of these made us decide to talk about our experience through the Internet.
I thought that the hotel ruined not only our family’s trip but also Canadians tourism industry. Who would visit the Niagara Fall in Canadian area again and recommend other people in the world? I really want them sincere apology, improving service quality, and learning how to say ‘sorry’. I really recommend Canadian Tourist Commission to supervise that hotels well in the future, if you don’t want lose all the tourists to Canada area.

Hi Cindy

You can either share your thoughts in the comment field here, or e-mail to communications [at] ctc-cct [dot] ca.

best, Mat

Perhaps i am missing it, but I can't find an email address for you or Tourism Canada on this website. I have just had the most horrific experience with Air Canada and would like to share some thoughts with your regarding this National Disgrace which is actually working against your team. Please forward your contact.
Warmest Regards, and here's to a fabulous summer for visitors and locals alike. Cindy