quote:

Originally posted by hotelcontinentalvenice in attachment about TT's response to his complaint:
[qb] The main part of my complaint was about the dirtiness of the hotel and the rooms, and the fact that not all rooms were created equal . In fact, some of the rooms were a 7 out of 10, and some were a 1 out of 10, they weren't even close. It is not at all fair that I paid the same money as other people and they received a newer, cleaner, more modern room with a working bed . Whereas I received an ancient looking, dirty room with a broken bed and peeling wallpaper. In addition, Trafalgar wouldn't even reimburse $15 for a lost travel adapter which was misplaced b/c the hotel gave us 10 minutes one morning to switch rooms. They said had I spoken to the hotel about it the hotel would have found it for us. What an awful response.
Trafalgar said they would not reimburse us for anything. Not for the adapter, not the $500 we spent to change our plane tickets, nothing... [/qb]

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I feel TT is not going to get involved in a passenger's complaint about "not all rooms being created equal" . That happens on tours regularly, unless the hotel is a 300rm Hilton, where everyone gets a room of the same quality. That's one of the facts of touring and just like the bus seat rotation, I believe most TDs practise a room rotation so that everyone gets an equal chance in better and not so good rooms. (As mentioned recently by Kaz from Taz in her tour tale.)

A passenger's lost property is not up to TT to reimburse, nor can a passenger expect a reimbursement of travel costs incurred by his decision to leave the tour a day early -because he did not get a room as good as others in the tour group. The fine print in the tour contract would have been quite clear in what are TT's responsibilities and what are the passengers' ones.

Sorry, hotelcontinentalvenice, I understand you were very unhappy with your Venice hotel and not particularly impressed with Venice itself. I am sure you had some serious grounds for a complaint, although nowhere nearly as many as you are imagining.
If your TD and other tour passengers have complaints about this hotel, I hope they pass it onto TT to take action - perhaps selecting another hotel in Venice next time. Venice hotels are so expensive, that there aren't many of them in "Venice proper" which fit within the tour's budget. If tourists are not happy to stay in a historical Venetian Palazzo-style building right on the Grand Canal, then future tours would be much better off switching their accommodation to Mestre or to Lido like majority of TTs do now.

I must admit the first time I went to Venice I was not that impressed, I went with my two daughters, and said to my husband I was not bothered about going back there again when we were planning our Europe trip, but I am so glad he talked me into it and we went there together, It is now one of my favourite places, we went one evening into St Marks Square and the magic of Venice took hold...I am so glad I gave it a second chance.

Karalin

I felt the same way as you, but another poster on this board by the name of "Travellor" has talked me into going back and giving it a second chance, she has promised me a very romantic Gondolier to serenade me on a Gondola trip

I've stayed in the Continental hotel 3 times on Insight tours - it's one of the standard hotels that Insight use when visiting Venice. Right on the Grand Canal - wonderful location. 1 minute's walk from the "Ferrovia" vaporetto stop. I'm delighted to hear that Trafalgar are now using it too rather than the Holiday Inn is Meastre - you're experiencing "Venice Proper" by staying there.

It's ludicrous to compare a hotel like the Continental with a modern hotel. It's a 15th century building, and one of those ancient buildings which are a maze of narrow twisty corridors and rooms which are strange shapes - some tiny rooms with enormous bathrooms, and some enormous rooms with a bathroom you have to decide in advance which way you want to go into it . Most of the rooms are very dark because, like virtually every other building in Venice, where land is so scarce, you open the window and see the brick wall of the next-door building a foot away from you.

Yes, the wallpaper is peeling, there is mold engrained in the walls and it smells a bit strange, just like every other building in Venice. If you got a foot of not terribly clean water flooding your house some 60 times a year for a century or two, I strongly suspect that your house would be the same. This is what "real" Venetian buildings are like. They aren't anonymous concrete and glass blocks; they are buildings with "character".

It's one of those hotels which, to my mind, people who moan about (and there always are some) just don't "get it". It's NOT a modern hotel and to compare it with one is madness. It's 600 years old, and you have to accept that. How many times in your own country are you going to stay in a 600 year old building? Accept it as an adventure and an experience, don't whine and moan that it's not the same as a Holiday Inn, for goodness sake. The fact that anyone would actually COMPLAIN that a room in a 600 year old building was "ancient looking" just cracks me up .

I don't like Venice as a city, as I've often said, but the Continental is a truly unique hotel and always fun to stay at. It's not a Holiday Inn; that's the whole point. It's an "adventure" to stay there.

Some people just don't get it. <sigh>

Regards,

Chris

quote:

Originally posted by Caitie:
[qb] Helen: I would agree with you that there is merit in complaining where there is a legitimate problem. If no-one complains, nothing gets fixed.
Caitie [/qb]

Caitie,

There is, to my mind, absolutely ZERO merit in this person's complaints. The Continental is a gem of a hotel - an honest-to-goodness 15th century Venetian "palazzio" with all the charms and drawbacks that brings. Given the choice between the utterly bland and anonymous Holiday Inn in Maestre and the Continental on the banks of the Grand Canal, give me the Continental any day. Why travel to Europe if you don't want to "experience" history?

Cheers,

Chris

Chris, if you happen to come across the Virtual tourist website on hotel Continental, there are 3 recent reviews of this hotel (and 3 similar entries on Tripadvisor site)which look very much like coming from the same person. One of them criticizes this hotel, a 15century building for :"There are no features to report at this hotel. No pool, gym, gift or snack shop, and no business center. "

Obviously, no Hyatt either. Those pesky Italians most likely refused to pull the old building down in the name of progress and replace it with a modern hotel with a swimming pool and a business centre.

Damned inconsiderate of them .

If you ever have the pleasure of staying at the Continental, by the way, there's an excellent Internet Cafe right next door, and some fabulous restaurants on the other side of the street. It's a great place to stay, but you ALWAYS get moaners on any visit there. As I say, there are those who expect every hotel to be a Hilton or a Holiday Inn. Thank goodness they aren't!

Cheers,

Chris

In regard to Venice Hotels: I agree that hotels within the city of Venice can be/are many 100s of years old. They flood, etc. and there are accompanying problems with moisture, mold, etc.
It seems, however, that the poster and, perhaps, other tour participants, were not aware of this history. Most people choose a tour by the itinerary, usually not by the hotels. Had the TD made them aware of the historical aspect of these inner Venice hotels, then perhaps their perspective would have been different.

"Perspective" is the operative word, I think. I have stayed in hotels on TT which have received low marks from other posters. Many times, I personally, would not agree with them. But I am looking at it from a different angle.

If there are definite problems, which should be addressed, I stand by my comment about writing a letter. I think that it does not hurt to complain when something can be done about the condition. I have followed a thread on the Insight BB, concerning a hotel in Naples. It has made very interestng reading, since some steps have been taken by Insight, to reduce the "trauma" of staying in this particular location. I am waiting for posts by persons who have enjoyed the tour, since the changes have been made. Ciao!!

I visited Venice 4 times and know the vicinity of hotel Continental quite well. There are plenty of cafes, restaurants, shops and market stalls of all kinds all around (incl. plenty of gifts and souvenirs) and also a well stocked-up supermarket within 5 minutes walk.
In 2001 we stayed in hotel Rialto next to the Rialto bridge, another 15th century building. Our room was on the 3rd floor, the lift only went to the 1st floor and from there it was another 6 steep flights of stairs in an amazing rabbit warren of corridors. Our room faced into a very narrow lane at the back of the building. Being 3rd floor had its advantages - the building across the lane was of similar height, we had a view of some of the roofs and in some distance the top of the Campanille on St. Marco Sq. from our windows. The room was furnished with an old Venetian-style furniture (painted in a light colour and with decorations), incl. Venetian mirror and with period-style wallpaper and drapes. I am sure the wallpaper might have been imperfect in places but who cares? The room had a lovely quiant "old world atmosphere" about it and we liked it very much.

quote:

Originally posted by Helen:
[qb] If there are definite problems, which should be addressed, I stand by my comment about writing a letter. I think that it does not hurt to complain when something can be done about the condition. [/qb]

I agree with you entirely, Helen, and my post was in no was whatsoever intended as a criticism of your comment. I just think that this person didn't "get" the nature of this hotel. The fact that it's not a modern anonymous concrete and glass cube is its whole "point"!

As I say, I've stayed at the Continental three times on Insight tours, and every time I've stayed there the group has been split probably 80% who LOVED it and regarded it as one of the highlight of the tour, and 20% who HATED it and thought it was the absolutely pits. It's a place nobody is "neutral" about; you either love it or you hate it. Personally I adore these very old buildings which are a maze of corridors, unexpected staircases, strangely shaped rooms, etc; they are "living history". Some people, however, want every hotel to be a modern Hilton or a Hyatt.

Cheers,

Chris

Helen, I would have been most surprised if the TD wouldn't have explained the passengers about Venice and the palazzos on Grand Canal. They would have had to be blind and deaf not to take it in - or not interested and listenning to CD players instead.
I am guessing the first room allocated was a "dud", otherwise the hotel wouldn't have exchanged it and I would also imagine the TD would have been helpful in getting the change done. As for the second change - none of us here know the reason. Maybe the second room was one of the hotel's better, more expensive rooms which was booked for a non-tour, full price paying guest arriving that day. Tours get charged a discount rate because theirs are bulk bookings. That sometimes means they don't always get the best rooms. That's the way it goes in travel industry and as it is said often in here: tour travel is cheaper than individual travel. Nothing is said here about TD's response and whether the TD thought the hotel was treating the guests fairly or not.

Chris: I have never been to this hotel. That's why I qualified my comment by saying "there is merit in complaining where there is a LEGITIMATE problem."
It's one thing to "experience history" but I do think that hoteliers have a duty to keep their premises safe and clean no matter what their age, and having a historic building does not excuse proprietors from their duty to maintain the property in good repair.
I once had water leaking on my head during sleep in a hotel in Ireland. The ceiling was full of water marks, so clearly it was an unresolved problem. Why they didn't at least move the bed is beyond me.
Caitie

Hi Caitie,

I see nothing in this person's post or photographs to indicate that the hotel _wasn't_ clean and safe. Every building in Venice which floods is damp and has peeling wallpaper and mold on the walls. Mold isn't "dirt" (it grows INSIDE the plaster and is impossible to remove). That's the nature of the beast, like it or not.

Of course I accept that buildings should be kept in good repair, but there's a very different attitude to such things in Italy than you find in the UK or US.

This really is a "love it or hate it" type of place. And as I say, I know this hotel pretty well; last time I stayed there was an "acqua alta" (high tide) when the ground floor flooded to a depth of about a foot. That happens some 60 or so times every year. Damp and mold are impossible to avoid in such circumstances.

Cheers,

Chris

Chris: Perhaps more could be done to prepare the tourist for any unusual conditions he might encounter, such as in areas like this where flooding occurs routinely.
If he knew what to expect ahead of time, he'd be making an informed decision and assuming any risks, rather than being thrust into a potentially unpleasant situation he has no control over.
Caitie

Whenever I've stayed there, the TD has explained in advance what it's like and the reason for it. Perhaps either this TD didn't (although I doubt that) or the person was asleep at the time!

Regards,

Chris