They Should Have Paid Me to Stay

I don't often get pissed enough to go on a negative "cyber" campaign however, treatment at the De Naga Hotel in Chiang Mai last week has me at that point. After not hearing from the COO of the Unique Collection Group (who I was told was quite conscientious and would get back to me, this notice is being posted.

I must clarify form the beginning as well, I want nothing from the hotel accept and explanation and an apology. The company offered to refund money and comp future visits but I turned them down. The hotel is offering classic bait and switch promotions on its (and other) websites and I feel wronged by the way my staff and I were treated last week.

From one that travels to Chiang Mai several times a year on business at the elephant camps, there are MANY good places to stay in Chiang Mai but "where" is of course dependent on your budget and needs". The De Naga is NOT one of those good accommodations.

DON'T stay at the DeNaga Hotel. What used to be a good 3 star hotel has turned into a nightmare.

Here is the story:

Stayed at De Naga last year but apparently this year went through management change to "The Unique Collection" group. Hotel has gone from nice little place to awful.

We booked a premier deluxe room and got a good rate from a manager. When we arrived, first room they gave us, bathroom smelled like a sewer. We also got into a bit of a tiff with front desk staff who, when asked about their web stated "Free Mini Bar" policy (quite frankly we were surprised - last year they also had free mini-bar but only water and soda - this year they had sparkling water, Evian and two types of beer - not that we drink beer but I wanted an Evian).

We were told only house water was free - everything else had to be paid for. Well that set a very negative tone - even as they checked with night manger on duty (by phone) who confirmed the confusing policy - only thing free was local water.

This also started a tiff between my Thai staff who was with me and a housekeeping supervisor that had gotten off work but was still hanging out at the front. She complained to my staff (in Thai) that "the foreigner" (me) was just causing trouble (What trouble - we asked about a policy AND reported a sewer smell in our room).

Only thing about our stay (besides their food which is very good)that made me happy was next day we were assured by the hotel general manager that woman was given a disciplinary warning.

We were moved to another room however in that room, the wooden door between the bathroom and the bedroom was warped and would not close. We asked them to fix it as I did not appreciate my toilet activities being observed by my staff or anyone else that may have been in the room.

They could not fix the door so they offered to show me other similar rooms to change to (would have been my 3rd change). I reluctantly agreed only to have two other rooms I was shown still have feces in the toilet. Yes, you read correctly. How disgusting!

You also would think they would upgrade the room but they did not try to do that - was a small point but just added to "bad feeling" that was created.

At that point I was exasperated. If it were not late night we would have walked out.

Minor problem but problem none-the-less in this non-secure world: security at the hotel is very lax. Doors lock but safety chain can easily be broken as well as locks picked.

Next day, after talking with Mr. Limprasutr, the hotel general manager about all the problems, we decided to book a car (for 200 Baht) from their tour desk to take us to the airport. The car arrives and after we load our bags in the car, my staff opens the drivers passenger side of the car only to find a woman sitting there.

Ugh, safety rule number one, never get in a car where there is more than just the driver - man or woman. Point number 2, when I hire a car to take me from point A to point B - it is "my" hire car" - no one else should be in it except for those I invite.

We decided to take a tuk-tuk instead (80 Baht to airport).

Folks, when considering accommodations in Chiang Mai, don't even consider the De Naga Hotel!. I had to pay to teach them how to have their staff treat guests as VALUED guests and how management should handle customer problems.

Maybe the new management group will get the message and bring back the old De Naga that I remember.

Strange, management group mission statement says, "Our Mission is to offer our guests a Unique experience by providing the finest in location, accommodation, dining, recreation, leisure, culture sports.

We have a passion to exceed the expectations of our guests through personalized, gracious, friendly service, accented by the best cultural values of both the East and the West, and offer an experience that our guests will remember always."

Offering guests to stay in rooms with "floaters" in the toilet and having hotel staff berating (in Thai) guests does not uphold their mission statement. OR, maybe it does in some weird reverse universe.

And one last thing, if you go to a buffet where you pay one price and everything is "free" on the buffet line - that means EVERYTHING is free not some dishes are free and you have to pay for others.

Unique Collection Group, stop being so lazy (or is it cheap) and change what it says on the web site if you don't mean it OR clarify with a table top sign on top of each fridge in the rooms your "Free Mini Bar" policy.

See, they really should pay me for training.

PS In this economic downturn, Thailand has enough problems attracting and retaining tourism - we don't need private sector companies like The De Naga and its management group that rip off the public.