Stay Away from Ramada Inn in Key Largo

[gentlegiant]

My wife and I went down to Key Largo this past weekend and I want to caution everyone to stay away from this hotel. We had nothing but trouble there. Here are some of the details of our story:

We booked the room on my debit/credit card on a joint account. We called the hotel and told them that we would be arriving late since we were driving down from Atlanta. When we got to the hotel we decided to use my wife's card to pay for the hotel, different account, and checked in. The next day we did some shopping after diving and my card came back declined on a purchase. We called the bank thinking that they had just locked the card after seeing purchases in a different state and were told that this was a balance issue. Apparently the hotel had run my card and checked us in without me even being there, which placed a hold on the account equal to 3 nights stay. I asked the front desk to reverse this hold and was told that they would do so and confirmed this by standing at the front desk while the manager got the info from the bank to do the release.

Here is the better part...It seems that this hotel also charged my wife's card for the full stay plus $800 for some reason. She had to call and get that charge reversed today when she found out about it. So far I cannot get hold of the manager or get anyone to return my phone calls. The card compnay will release the hold automatically next week, but it is the principle of the matter now.

We also had some issues with the room and had some very rude cleaning people to contend with (We were asked repeatedly when we were checking out even though we were scheduled to stay another night)

I want to make sure that no other divers get caught in this mess. I know that this hotel is close to several dive operators, but in this case being close just is not worth it.

On a good note the guys at Blue Water Divers were great, even though we only got in a pair of dives Saturday and none Sunday due to mother Nature, Brent and Glen did a great job. Fast boat and good people.

 

[firedogut]

If i was you I would write a letter to Ramada's Customer Service .

Ramada
Attn: Guest Service
P.O. Box 4090
Aberdeen, SD 57402


I've had bad trips in the past with other hotel chains and after a letter and a follow up phone call (about 3-4 weeks after sending the letter) they have offered me free room on my next stay or a large discount on my next stay.

In the letter make sure to say when it was, if you got the name of a manager tell them, and about what time of day this was (so they can figure who handled you complaint at the hotel)

This also helps Ramada find out which hotels are not treating the guest right.

 

[Bob]

Hate to hear that your lodging turned into such a mess. When diving in Key Largo, we stay at the Holiday Inn (across the canal from the Ramada) or the Rock Reef Motel, MM 98, on the Bay side. Brent and Glen do their best to make your dives a success. almtree: Bob

 

[scubadoguk]

OO dear,
I am on my way down to the Keys and to the Ramada in Largo on Thursday and as I am going as a Instructor and I will have to show this to my boss I really hope that your bad service is not a reflection on Ramada.

 

[ronrosa]

I asked the front desk to reverse this hold and was told that they would do so and confirmed this by standing at the front desk while the manager got the info from the bank to do the release.

Sounds to me like a few honest mistakes were made, but it also sounds like they were corrected. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see anything so bad to warrant a letter to customer service.

 

[gentlegiant]

I already talked to Ramada customer service and there is not much follow up they can do since the hotel is part of a franchise. I have asked for this matter to be reported up the chain and am waiting for a call-back from a supervisor on this issue. It also seems that the hotel may have changed hands without the parent company knowing since the front desk tells me that the person who was listed as the owner no longer works there. The real sad thing here is that my wife and sister-in-law are both travel agents and are getting tied in with several dive shops in the Houston, Texas area who make bi-yearly trips to the Keys.

My next step is to follow up with Ramada on the owner issue and to contact the Florida Better Business Bureau to file a complaint there. I have already called my LDS and they have added the hotel to their "Do not recommend or use" list and plan on passing this info along to other shops they are associated with.

The hotel is in a great location, maybe they can clean up their act.

 

[diver josh]

this doesnt have to deal with key largo but i went to one of the last few keys i forget which one but the dive charters suck there the divemaster was like you have to be back in 45 min or we are cutting out of your next dive no wonder why those 2 peopel where left in the ocean never to be found again. i recomend that if you dive there do a beach diver or use a personal boat dont wait your money. but the view is very nice i will give it that much but the service sucks.

 

[knives]

I went down in November with my club (GLUE) from Ontario Canada and we stayed at Ed and Ellens Lodgings, they were very nice ,clean ,comfortable and reasonably priced. we dove 5 days with Ocean divers. it was nice to be in warm water for a change!

Sounds to me like a few honest mistakes were made, but it also sounds like they were corrected. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see anything so bad to warrant a letter to customer service.

 

[gj62]

Anytime the hotel runs a charge - it should be with the customer's approval and at checkout, unless otherwise stated. When checking in, they obviously found your reservation, so both cards should not have been charged.

Also, an $800 *additional* charge is ridiculous and either of these mistakes would warrant a letter to customer service - especially if the $800 charge occured prior to or during checkout yet was not on the receipt.

Hey, if it were $30 bucks for the minibar, that's one thing - but $800 here, $800 there and pretty soon your talking real money!

 

[Genesis]

Ramada is all franchise operations - and unfortunately, I've had this kind of problem with their hotels before, and have gotten next to nothing in positive response from them in trying to get it resolved.

I used to do a LOT of business travelling (like roughly half the time) and was in and out of hotels and motels all over the country.

My personal favorites for "reasonable cost, decent service, no BS" are Courtyard's (Mariotts), Holiday Inns, and a handful of others, some of them small chains that you've probably never heard of. Be aware that Best Western is also franchised and I've had trouble with them before as well - but I've also had excellent service and a decent price from some of their outlets.....

MOST hotel chains are franchise operations - the difference is in how serious the parent company is about the service provided to their customers, and protecting the good name of their brand. Some are more interested in that than others.....

My recommendation for plastic is to ALWAYS use an Amex card for lodging reservations. Amex now has cards that carry no fee, and they are 100% No-BS about dealing with this kind of thing if some hotel plays a game like this.

I've had a hotel try to "walk" me on an AMEX guaranteed reservation before - one call to Amex from the lobby on my cell, and they "took care of it" - they told the hotel that they either solved the problem or they'd revoke their merchant account on the spot. The hotel solved the problem

(The difference between AMEX and a VISA or MC is that American Express actually IS the company on both sides of the transaction - both for your card, and for the merchant. VISA/MC aren't - your bank is not the company that provides the hotel's merchant account, so your bank has no "reach" - beyond a chargeback - if the merchant screws with you. That is, YOUR BANK can't revoke a merchant's ability to take Visa or Master Card. This is NOT true for American Express - they can and will, and Amex gets real unhappy if their customers get messed with.)