Eden Roc - worst hotel stay ever

[Ezra]

When I came down to Anaheim for my birthday, I stayed at the Eden Roc Inn & Suites on Katella. A friend of mine paid in full for the room in advance as a birthday present to me.

The day before my birthday I called the hotel to advise them when I would be arriving that day. The person who answered looked up my reservation and said "I see here you paid through Expedia" and then immediately launched into a spiel about how an additional deposit is required upon check in. I would have to turn over $75 in cash or have a credit card available. The card would be charged the $75 deposit in case of "damage to the room", which would be refunded upon check out.

This situation took me completely by surprise because I always pre-pay for hotel rooms, and noone has ever required this from me. I explained that I had no knowledge of this fee, and that it wasn't on my agreement. The man (who turned out to be the general manager) said that it's all right there on Expedia. I told him that the reservation was not made at Expedia, it was made on the airline's website; and that my agreement said that I would pay for any additional expenses on upon check-out.

I told him that when I arrive, I can show him exactly what my agreement says. He said that what I (the customer) agreed to didn't matter. The information is on Expedia and if I bought it from some third party that got it from there made no difference. I would have to take it up with the airline. He was very beligerant and argumentative about it.

None of this would have been a problem if it weren't for the fact that my bank account was empty, and my wallet had only $15 dollars in it.

I told him that I did not have the money. He said maybe we could "work something out". He then offered to reduce the deposit to $40. I told him that a friend of mine paid for my trip because I only have $10 in my pocket and nothing in the bank. Did that mean that, when I arrived later in the afternoon, that I would have no place to sleep?

The conversation was getting nowhere. Ultimately, I had to cry into the phone and sob about how payday wasn't until tomorrow, and I didn't know what to do, and would be left stranded. You read that right: I had to cry. Finally he said that they could swipe my debit card, but not run it until the next morning.

I thanked him profusely (while inwardly seething with anger) and ended the call. — This is not a good way to start my special trip.

When I got to the airport and was waiting at the gate, I called the airline's hotel reservation service, and explained the situation to the representative. She put me on hold to do some checking, and to call the hotel herself. When she came back, she informed me that even though the payment page said "all incidental expences must be paid upon check-out" that if I had squirelled down through links, the deposit rider was buried somwhere in the pages of hotel information.

So, the hotel manager was right, sort-of. Even if he were completely in the right, good customer service would mean (at least in my opinion) providing the customer what they they were promised, or what they have good reason to believe they were promised. He was right. He was also a complete jerk!

Knowing that the reservations rep called the hotel, I called again, concerned about what would happend when I got there. I told him that it was explained to me that if I had followed several links I would have eventually have ended up with the deposit information. I'm ashamed to say it, but I actually apologized. He said that he made a notation that my card was not to be run until morning, and that everything would be fine when I arrived. I told him that I'd be arriving about 6:30pm, which was the sole reason I called to begin with.

At this point I'm not only angry with the hotel manager, and a little peaved with the organization of the airline's website, I'm very mad at myself for stooping so low as to cry into a phone, and apologize and grovel while being verbally abused by this man. I'll say this again: This is not a good way to start my special trip.





When I get to my room I set my luggage on the desk and peel back the bedclothes from one corner of the bed to inspect the matress for bugs. There were no bugs and the sheets looked nice and clean, so I unpacked my clothing and left the room to go to Downtown Disney, and to the ticket booths to find out when they open in the morning.

When I returned to my room I turned on the light next to the bed and noticed holes in the walls, and marks that look like furniture or fixtures had been moved, but not fixed or cleaned.





Looking around I began to notice how filthy the walls were. They had not been washed in a very long time. The wallboards had about a quarter-inch of dust on them, and there were stains and scuffs everywhere.







Since the beds are alright, and the furniture is dusted, I guess that's alright. The vanity area was nice and clean, too. Then I went into the bathroom. The toilet was clean (thank goodness), but the walls, and tile floor were grungy.









Is that... a squashed beetle?



Or even worse, a roach?



A dead bug in the bathtub. I suppose it could have crawled in there and died after housekeeping was here.



...but what is that? Some sort of goo.



I looked up at the showerhead. There was no way I would put myself under that!



I briefly considered washing out the bathtub to take a bath. Why would I do that? The motel has housekeeping services, right? Switching hotels wasn't an option. Since I was already so tired of the crud of dealing with the manager of this place, I decided that since the bed was clean, I may as well use it.

I wondered... Are all the rooms at Eden Roc a wreck? or was I put into this room as some sort of revenge for daring to have words with the manager?


In the morning, I decided to stand at the vanity sink with a washcloth and give myself a "sponge bath" rather than deal with the bathroom. I got dressed, put out the "maid service" sign and went to the park.

When I returned that night I found that the sink and vanity area were cleaned up nicely, as was the toilet. But the bathtub still had the dead bug and glob of whatever in it. I also noticed a burn mark in the carpet.



Someone did that with a clothes iron.

I actually began to be a little afraid. Why would they be so concerned about getting a security depost against damage, when the room is already a wreck? Maybe this is some sort of scam, where they put me in a room that already has burns and holes and then charges me for it.

Now I'm looking at everything really carefully. I'm getting paranoid. I pulled back the bedcovers and it all looked fine. Then I noticed one of my own hairs on the sheet. Do they only change the sheets between guests? Not every day?

Since It all looked perfectly clean the night before, I decided not to be concerned about it. I just need a place to sleep and dress (and not shower!).

In the morning, I did the "sponge bath" thing again, got dressed and went to the lobby to meet my shuttle to the airport. I did not let the hotel problem spoil my birthday strip, but only with great diffuculty. I would never ever stay there and would warn everybody off of considering staying at Eden Roc. It was the worst experience I have ever had in any hotel anywhere.

[Space Mountain]

Wow I'm sorry to hear about your poor experience at the motel. Hopefully next time you will have a better staying experience... yikes on those pictures btw.

-SPACE

[bigben78]

Gross.
Thanks for sharing Ezra.

[ryguy222]

Man that's too bad. If the room rate is 75$ I may be able to accept a few indecencies, but that's a bit much.

[Wedbliss]

Ezra, when you posted that you would make a trip report as soon as you psychologically recovered, and then posted about your great time at the park, I was wondering what you were recovering from. Now we know.

The sad irony of the Eden Roc insisting on a $75 damage deposit for a room that is completely thrashed is unpardonable. Then to be treated rudely by the General Manager on top of that...

I certainly hope you got the $75 deposit back.

Here are a couple of reviews of the Eden Roc from a big travel website:

The staff was nice. But you get what you pay for. $40+ a night, but I would not take off my socks. Strange stains in places you wonder how they got there. Cigarette burns on furniture and wall (at shoulder level - how does that happen?) the shower stall was solitary confinement. Dude...stay away

and

This was the worst place I have ever stayed. The bathroom had mold growing around the window and on the ceiling. Electrical outlets did not have covers and hair dryer, cell phone chargers, etc. would not stay plugged in. Wallpaper have stripped off the walls. Nasty, nasty, nasty. Hotel staff was friendly. We took photos just to show the horrible conditions the room is in.

There were numerous other bad reviews.

There were a couple of fairly postive reviews as well, mostly commenting on the affordability of the place. One person mentioned that their room was nice, so perhaps not every room is messed up.

Sorry to hear about your experience Ezra, but I'm glad your time at Disneyland was enjoyable.

[Rogue]

Wow, that's just awful. The story AND the pictures are maddening. I'm sorry that you went through that. Thank you for sharing your story with us and letting us know not to stay there.

[Ezra]

I guess I forgot to put in that, although they said they'd run my bank card in the morning, they never actually did. I guess someone forgot? They never actually had the additional $75 in their posession. So all that chest-beating was completely pointless as well as insulting.

[Executioner]

My goodness that is a nasty hotel. We stayed at one near there, I forgot the name) and the carpet was so filthy that my feet became black from the dirt. Some of those hotels are quite old and run down. Really badly run down. I am amazed that the state, let alone the city, allows these places to stay open.

Sorry your hotel stay was not a pleasant one. At least Disneyland was clean for you!

[Ezra]

If I had a longer stay, like a vacation week or something, this would have been a serious problem. But my stay was so short (fly in - one day in the park - fly out) that the hotel room fiasco didn't have much of an effect on it. Rather than a vacation spoiler, it was just a nuissance.

[crystaltink]

Working in the travel industry, it's my job to look at hotel rooms every year. So I know what's acceptable to recommend to the travel agents and what I feel is not. This is disgusting, disgusting!!! I hope you posted these on trip advisor so people can see what you're seeing and not model pictures posted on Expedia. I don't know about you but I would have checked out and moved elsewhere. There is no excuse for any hotel to be in that condition, none!

[ryguy222]

Good thing they had bad customer service and didn't run the card lol

[kairamoon]

Eww! I've stayed in many hotels and I've had a few like this but I only stayed in them because of short stays like yours. The only thing I could say is that a lot of hotels these days don't change the sheets every day of your stay unless you ask them to to save money on laundering costs. But the fact that the shower wasn't cleaned during your stay is just gross!

[MVP]

yeah we stayed there for the D23 convention and it wasnt the worst place i have stayed but is not the top of my list either. there was a deposit for the room when we went too and we had the same argument, my dad just payed the 40 bucks. are room did not look that bad tho, what side did you say on the one with the pool or the side behind the office?

[Piglet]

Ezra, I am so sorry you had to go through that! There is no excuse for bad business practices--NONE. Unfortunately, the only thing you can do is let everyone else know what a miserable place the Eden Roc is to stay at. If it were a larger chain, you might be able to write a letter to someone to complain--and possible get a free night's stay on your next visit. Good for you for not letting it ruin your trip. I hope your next trip to Disneyland is magical in every way =)

[JasperGein17121]

Sorry that you had to go through all that, Ezra.