Cape Town Lodge Hotel left us stranded by cancelling our accommodation booking on 30.04.2017

<p>So I made the booking with Booking.com on 26.04.2017 and got an email that my booking required credit card details on 28.04.2017. <br /> <br />I got an email from Booking.com that I can contact the hotel directly with the detaiels which I did. <br /> <br />On 28.04.2017 at 15:30 is I sent an email to Ryan from Cape Town Hotel lodge with my credit card details - he never reverted back to acknowledge my email etc.<br /> <br />On check in date I.e. 30.04.2017 I arrived earlier at the hotel (11:40am) to ensure all was in order with my booking I was welcomed by Patricia whom kindly took my luggage and stored it kindly in their hotel storage facility. <br /> <br />I asked her if I can check in earlier as i have requested on Booking.com answer of which being "no as the hotel was fully booked" before leaving to do some excursions in Cape Town I asked Patricia if everything was fine and if I should pay etc. and she kindly told me that "everything was fine and that I can pay later". <br /> <br />We (my son and I) left and spend the day doing some excursions and we returned to the hotel at 4 pm. When I wanted to check in , Nozipho told me that "my booking was cancelled" upon which I asked her how that happened I was at the hotel in the morning and have dropped off my luggage and got told to come back later to check in.<br /> <br />All she could say was "sorry and that she will try and get me a place around their place" and she carried on checking in other guests for an hour and I eventually stood up and approached the reception desk again to follow up if she managed to get us a place to stay and her answer being "yes she spoke to the manager whom advised her that there is availability at Cape Town Manor which is along the same street as they are". My response to her wad that how sure is she that there was availability there and she said "I must go there and do the booking there" my answer upon which was that the least they can do is call the place and enquire on my behalf seeing that they messed up upon which she did.<br /> <br />When I approached the manager as I confused him with the other gentleman that was there in the morning when I tried to check in earlier.... All he could say when I said he was here in the morning when I dropped the bags was rudely "no I came in at 2 pm it can't be me". Not even a single word of apology from him as the manager for the mess up as one expect a manager to be have like - he just carried on checking other clients in as if nothing is happening!<br /> <br />I mean here is a client with a child stranded in the middle of Cape Town at 17:00 on Sunday 30.04.2017 due to their incompetence and they couldn't be bothered. <br /> <br />While I waited for Nozipho to "find" me and my son an alternative place, I myself decided to jump on to Booking.com and managed to secure myself and my son an accomodation at Oria Guest House in Da Gama Street, Brooklyn, Milnerton. <br /> <br />Thanks goodness to Booking.com or else my son and I would have been stuck Cape Town for the night without a roof over our head due to Cape Town Hotel Lodge bad service which might have ended bad for us and they couldn't even be bothered as they continued as normal as if nothing happened while we sat for an hour at their reception. <br /> <br />The funny part is that when I ask Nozipho why my booking was cancelled :-<br />- firstly her answer was " no mam your card didn't work" and when I answered and said I have been in contact with Ryan regarding my other card details and showed her the emails communication; <br />- her second answer was that "the second card didn't work mam" and I said that is impossible as that card works fine;<br /> And I checked my email and I realised and/or saw that actually my booking got cancelled as I walked into the hotel at 15:59ish or was in the line waiting in the queue to check in;<br />-her third answer was that "they actually only hold the booking till 6 pm and if the don't get the card details they cancel the booking funny enough my booking got cancelled 2 hours, 1 minute before 18:00/6 pm? ??.<br /> <br />When I prompted her for an answer again as to why they cancelled my booking while they had my luggage since 11 am and while Ryan had my new card details and before 6 pm<br /> <br />- Her forth answer was that " no the cancellation are done by Booking.com which gets delayed hence I only got that late blah blah" (funny enough Booking.com has immediate response in terms of booking reservation confirmation and cancellations etc.) and I told her that I am not keen on her excuse as I came in the morning to check in only to be told to come back later surpisingly only to find my booking cancelled when I came back. <br /> <br />I don't think such kind of mistakes must be made in such industry especially by a 4 star hotel like Cape Town Hotel Lodge as one relies on the hotel for comfort when you are away from home especially if you are not from around Cape Town and are from Johannesburg - this is putting people's lives in danger and costing them unnecessary money as we had to now get transport to get us to the Oria as we had no idea were it was etc.</p>