An Unpleasant Experience
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 5/16/10
Upon our arrival at the Holiday Inn Express in Christiansburg, we parked in the lot near the entrance to register. To our dismay, we later discovered that the car bumper had been damaged by a metal spike protruding several inches from the concrete space marker. The person on duty at the front desk disclaimed any responsibility pointing out signs around the lot announcing "Guest Parking User Assumes All Risk." She only offered to telephone for a wrecker to take our car away although we had graduation ceremonies to attend that evening. Upon checking into our room, we found the bathroom counter dirty though the beds and other items were fine. Upon returning to our room the following day, we found the door ajar with our personal belongings inside. That same desk clerk seemed unconcerned when we reported the security lapse saying it must have been left open by cleaning staff. When I went to use the water fountain in the first floor hallway, I found both of them out of service. The hotel charged $468 nonrefundable for a mandatory two nights during VT graduation weekend due months in advance (no credit cards accepted ). At check-in, the desk clerk then wanted a credit card number in case a guest made a phone call or broke anything. The hotel seems keen to make money with less interest in the well-being of its guests. To be fair, the only staff member on duty the day of arrival was harried because she was by herself and there was full occupancy. The gentleman who then came on duty named Alan helped replace some parts on our bumper, offered some advice and more genuinely seemed concerned with the hotel's reputation. It is regrettable that the hotel seemed undertaffed on what surely was one of if not the busiest weekend of the year.