response to 8/6/2010 review about hot tub
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 9/10/10
The gentleman who posted the "beware" about our hot tubs is just wrong. I believe he is wrong about the source of his infection and I know that he is wrong in saying that "management.. did not even respond to the problem". I personally addressed this issue with him, and he wrote to me "do not bother me further". I welcome anyone reading this to contact me and I will share my documents and support I have with regards to this issue. I contend Watershed has done nothing wrong in this case, and I will open my records to prove my points.
Here are major points about this case:
1) This guest arrived to a hot tub that had just had a complete change of water. I explained to him in my email that he arrived to cold and cloudy water because it was fresh out of the well and thus cold, and the cloudiness is normal with some well-water and goes away after the tub has filtered the water for several hours. Sediment is a naturally occurring product in many wells (when it is severe, we require our cabin owners to install in-line sediment filters at the home). It is harmless and rarely visible in drinking water quantities but is visible when you fill a large vessel like a bathtub. We sometimes filter water as we are filling tubs to minimize this, but it significantly slows down the fill time and during busy times, we must use unfiltered water direct from the well to fill the tubs and then let the built-in tub filters take care of clearing up the water. It is also very valid to point out that cloudy water is not at all necessarily unhealthy water, as we balance the pH and add proper sanitizing chemicals to the water and verify that it is balanced before every guest arrives.
2) our hot tub staff are all either certified themselves or supervised by someone who is a Certified Pool and Spa Maintenance Technician. It's not easy to get this training in Western NC, but we made it happen because it is just that important.
3) Upon checkout, our experienced housekeeping staff AND the owner of the cabin verified a cigarette smell in the cabin and witnessed butts in the trash can. Indoor smoking is against our rental policies, and we notify departing guests promptly if there is any risk that damages will be charged to them as a result of their stay. We commit to arriving guests a clean and comfortable cabin, and had the smell not dissipated, we would have enforced our contract against the departing guest. He apparently was offended by this and I feel his response was a bit overly-defensive: "I do not appreciate your questioning, and lecturing me about the smell of smoke. I will not justify your accusations with any response." Note to smokers: we are serious about our smoking policy and will hold you responsible for lost rents if an arriving guest can't stay because of smoke smell... this sort of commitment to our guests is why Watershed Cabins has a reputation for impeccable cleanliness, and anyone you ask in town knows it as well as lots of online reviews (thank you very much).
4) The stay was June 25 but the first we ever hear about this guest's "infection" was 5 weeks later, and when I requested more information from him to get a clearer picture of what he was accusing, his response was "To ask me for anything, records or otherwise, is another indication at what an awful establishment Watershed Cabin really is". All I was questioning was whether the infection was indeed a staph (he spells it "staff") because we are well aware of infections (I encourage everyone to Google "pseudomonas folliculitis" to gain an appreciation for hot tubs and the importance of proper maintenance... we know this information because it's our job to know it and protect our guests against it). The staph infection he describes is not at all consistent with the the bulk of internet data on hot tub infections. To the contrary, the most common description you find on hot tub infections is that they are usually minor and recovery rarely involves medical treatment.
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