I had a terrible experience over the weekend at a “hotel” in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  TERRIBLY HORRIBLE.  When we first arrived on to the property, I had a sinking feeling but didn’t say anything aloud.  It looked rundown and forgotten about, but I kept my mouth shut because I don’t like to be Debbie Downer.  As soon as I opened the door to my room, there was a rancid smell of mold and mildew.  I took a look around and not only were the accomodations dilapidated and outdated, but there were dead flies laying around the room.  And what’s worse is that every time I came back to the room, not only were there more flies mysteriously entering the room, but they were dying once in there!

Since I am in Haiti for work, this hotel was booked for us because it is close to our job and doesn’t require us to wake up very early to get to work.  Believe me, this hotel would not have made the cut had I been making the reservations, but I went with the flow and tried to be a team player.  However, because I have been here before, I know for a fact that better accommodations are available.  This experience got me to thinking. What should you do if your hotel sucks?

WORK AROUND THE ISSUE(S).

When I first entered my room and noticed the awful smell of mold & mildew, I thought to myself, “Ok, you can get over this.  Stop to the grocer next door and get some air freshner next time you’re out.  It’ll be fine.”  I didn’t want to make a big deal since I was with work colleagues but the smell was absolutely horrible.  It made me wonder what had happened/was happening in the room to make it smell so bad, and causing flies to die upon entering.  For me, these issues were breaking points, but yours may be different than mine.  Try to put your best foot forward and not inconvenience your group or the hotel if you can deal with the issue yourself.

SEEK REPARATIONS.

If you’re unhappy with your hotel room, the hotel may offer discounted or free services at their various hotel amenities.  Perhaps a free massage or cash for the hotel casino.  It never hurts to ask for other amenities they can offer to make it up to you.

MOVE TO A DIFFERENT ROOM.

Let hotel management know your issue and see if they can fix it.  If a problem is so intolerable, the next best thing to do would be to move to a different room if the hotel has one available.  Maybe the hotel has an empty room for you to move into to alleviate the issue.  If they don’t…

FIND ANOTHER HOTEL.

Hopefully there’s another hotel within your price range that will allow you to move on such short notice.  In my case, there was and I happily & quickly proceeded to pack my bags and bid adieu to that less than desirable “hotel.”

REVIEW THE HOTEL SO OTHERS DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE.

Reading reviews on TripAdvisor has become one of my favorite pastimes.  I honestly feel like I’ve avoided bad services or accomodations by reading reviews before making decisions.  Believe me, it’s worth the time to research so your trip doesn’t have any unnecessary bumps in the road.

Do you have any suggestions for bad hotel accommodations?  Help out your fellow travelers!