You would certainly imagine in your mind after seeing this property, that its a fabulous piece of art(literally!) and your stay here would perhaps be one of your best stays ever. What with its size and layout and grandeur!
But then holidays are never about the physical property alone! its the staff and service and the experiences that matter too! Which in the process of becoming’grand’, this hotel has forgotten completely.
Here is my disaster trail of events:
We reached Agra around 530pm last evening from Jaipur. On our way we called Wyndham Grand’s booking office in Delhi and spoke to Mr Raj Sharma. They confirmed us a Deluxe room @ 9500 as no superior room was available at the property at this point.
We reached the hotel to check in around 6pm and when we rechecked @ the front office for possibility of a superior room, apparently a group had just checked out then and the same was now available(as confirmed by Mr Adnan of front office).
However, the condition was that we needed to wait for an hour for the room to get serviced and given to us. I called Mr. Sharma back is Delhi, who spoke to the front desk to reconfirm. Finally, the rate quoted by Mr. Sharma to us for superior room was 4500 which we agreed to. We chose to wait for an hour, as we felt there was no point in spending more than double just for the room and that too only for one night. Is there something wrong in all this? Apparently as per Wyndham there is!
Anyway, we confirmed with Mr. Adnan and Mr. Anuj at front reception and a booking was made in their system @ 4500 for a superior room with an understanding that a room would be available to us in an hours time.
This was around 6pm and we stepped out for an hour looking forward to check in later. We came back to the hotel at around 7pm to check in in our superior room.
This is when the whole tamasha started. Was it hotel staff’s greed that perhaps came into play or their pure inefficiency and attitude(which btw has been mentioned in a very negative way at least in 15% posts related to this hotel), we will never know .
At 7pm, we were told that the superior room in not available now and we would have to take Deluxe room only @ 9500! Thats it! I mean, that’s it!
We refused and we argued and we reasoned with Mr. Anuj and we felt we were within our rights as the confirmation for a superior room had been given to us just an hour back by the very same man!
We finally requested Anuj to let us have a word with his manager. We also called Mr. Raj Sharma in Delhi to resolve this issue.
The manager in question is a gentleman who sits right behind the front desk(2 feet behind) on a big desk like a goon who has been given a suit to wear. As he sits just 2 feet behind the front desk in an open area, he is completely audible and visible to the guests! Hope he doesn’t think otherwise! He came across as somebody completely disgruntled and an most uninterested person to play any part in this drama.
Coming back to the event, Anuj went up to the Don who literally rebuffed him and instructed him to ask us to take either the Deluxe room @ 9500 or take a walk. Service industry, standards of an international hotel chain, my foot!
Anuj, helpless, finally called the AGM who we insisted to meet. In the meantime, Anuj kept insisting that we take Deluxe room @ 9500.
AGM, or the pompous and patronizing Mr. Mahajan, on arriving, made us an offer that he felt we could never refuse! Voila!, He offered us a Deluxe room at 9500 as his solution!
We again argued, discussed, reasoned, put across our point.
After 15 minutes of to and fro, Mr. Mahajan finally stated that since we don’t have any written proof that superior room confirmation was ever given to us, we can do what we like! Quote, unquote! Take the Deluxe room @ 9500 or take a walk! Mr Sharma of Delhi office also refused to respond to his mobile at this point!
Thank God, We chose to move out than be bullied!
My suggestion, go to any other hotel in agra.be it jaypee, itc, trident, Mansingh.just anywhere.but do rethink about staying at’Wyndham Grand’ once!
By the way, while this action was taking place, at least three different sets of guests who were already staying, came up to the reception to resolve some or the other issue.I recall one couple fighting with front staff, as they had been given a superior room even though they were charged for a deluxe room! and to top it they had been asking for a room change since 3pm as apparently it smelled of a dead pest or something. Another gentleman came asking for a refund threatening to check out as he felt his bed had bugs as his whole body was itchy.
Stories of Wyndham Grand, agra! keep it coming.