Comfort Inn Arkadelphia, Arkadelphia

The hotel was very nice and clean, but we had problems with the clerk on 9-12-08. Our group of 10 ladies had reserved 4 rooms and were part of a larger group in town for a retreat. When we checked in, the clerk did not have sufficient cash on hand to make change nor would he allow us to use our credit or debit cards to pay for only a share of the room. Because a couple of ladies were unble to attend the retreat, we tried to cancel one room (before 6 PM) but were not allowed. This was the weekend many were escaping from Hurricane Ike: we met some of these families in the lobby. We heard the clerk taking calls and turning away folks, but would not let us cancel a room we really didn't need. In retrospect, I wish I would have paid for the room and let one of the families have it for free, but I was too frustrated to think. When reservations were made I was given the price of $79.99 plus $6 for the third adult, and another $6 for the fourth adult. We had 3 adults in two rooms and 2 adults in two rooms and were all charged 91.99 plus taxes for all four rooms ($104 bucks). I tried to state our case, but it did no good. The ladies from another group behind us confirmed the same thing, but it did no good. The internet price for that day was listed at $73. One of our ladies had checked it to see how much money she needed for the trip. Don't get me wrong, there was no major confrontation. The ladies just shook their heads and settled for the incompetence. No one lost their temper or acted rudely. However, the clerk never even offered an apologetic tone for not having change or for the confusing situation with a lobby full of ladies trying to figure out how much each one owed for the room and how much we owed each other, some on credit cards, some with cash.....he made it easy on himself. We have always been able to pay individually everyplace we have ever stayed. He was not apologetic about not canceling our room. He was not apologetic about the conflict in room rates, nor would he budge or offer to contact the manager. As the group leader, I apologized to the ladies with me. They were very sweet and we had a great weekend. The next day at the retreat someone asked me where we stayed and I told them Comfort Inn. They said, "Did they overcharge you?" This group did not stay there this year because twice before the same thing had happened to them. Hummmm. It was nice and clean, good breakfast. Bad service from the desk. (And, I never write and complain, but this is on behalf of some single women who had to pay more than their share, and it wasn't right.) The clerk's excuse was, "See here, it is in the computer, and I can't change it." I really don't care about a computer, just honor your prices, consider and listen to folks. We will stay somewhere else next year too.