Shocking Mount Grace Country House & Spa!!!

I drove about an hour and a half to check in at Mount Grace Country House & Spa in Magaliesburg, South Africa on Saturday, 21 July 2018. Upon my arrival, I was informed by Alfred that my room was not yet ready, so I waited at the outside restaurant area and enjoyed some sparkling wine. Almost an hour later, Alfred collected me and arranged for me to be taken to my room (which, if my memory serves me correctly, was room no. 175).

As soon as I walked into the room, the first thing I noticed was a very musky, unpleasant smell as though the room hadn't been aired out for a number of days. Then I noticed how dark and gloomy it was, and looked absolutely NOTHING LIKE the room I had booked online. I then contacted reception and asked to speak to Alfred to find out if there hadn't been some sort of a mistake. I explained to Alfred that the room I was in bared a striking resemblance to a Superior room, whereas I had booked and paid for a Luxury room. I continued by stating that online, the Luxury room I saw and subsequently booked, consisted of splendid décor, with a flattering scenic view of the Magalies mountains rolling over the vast landscape. The room I was standing in at the time had a very out-dated look and feel, with views of gravel and ground soil and nothing more. Alfred then explained to me that the room I was in WAS a Luxury room, and that he would check to see if there was a different room available which I could be moved to, and assured me he would call me back. Then I waited..... and waited...

I then called him again, and he then very disappointingly told me that he was still busy checking in other guests. Really? At that point I felt like I had been had; I was fooled into paying R3500 per night for substandard quality!! So is this the new method for tricking guests into paying for something and not getting what one paid for?!! I immediately insisted that he get the manager on the line. He then put me through to the manager's office, but there was no response.

I then called reception again and demanded to speak to the manager once more, as you can imagine that by this time I completely felt as though I had been fooled and had been taken for a ride. Reception then informed me that they would contact me as soon as they were able to get a hold of the manager (Billy, if my memory serves me correctly). A few minutes later, Billy the manager called me back, and I expressed my complete dissatisfaction, and the fact that I did not appreciate the level of treatment and service I had been receiving. I then insisted that I deserved to be placed in the room type I had booked and paid for. I had done my part as a customer, so why was I being treated unfairly?

Billy then explained to me that the room I was placed in had been previously renovated, and was subsequently turned into a "Luxury" room. He empathized with me and understood exactly how I felt about the room, as he acknowledged that the room may be seen as being of a lesser quality as compared to the Luxury room advertised online. He then promised that I would be moved to a room that more closely resembles the room I had booked online.

Then I waited some more.... and waited some more.... Almost an hour later (and by this time one can imagine that I've spent my entire time at Mount Grace just waiting instead of enjoying my weekend getaway) I again called reception to find out what was happening, and as though I hadn't endured enough, no response. I hung up and dialed reception again, no response!! I decided to leave the room and walk all the way back to reception.

When I arrived at reception, there was a group of staff standing by one of the reception desks, and I asked what was going on??? I explained I had been waiting about an hour to be moved to my room and that my calls were now being ignored. Now I'm just being ignored as a guest??? One of the staff then stated that they were trying to reach me, and that they were contacting Billy. All sounded very strange to me as I had been calling reception in vain.

Eventually Billy came to meet me at reception, and you can only imagine how furious I was. I told Billy that I was ready to leave, and that I wanted my money back. Billy pulled me aside and apologised profusely, and explained that I had waited for so long because they wanted to ensure the room I was being moved to was up to standard. Even though there may have been merit in what I was being told, why keep the guest waiting for so long? Why not keep the guest in the loop?

Billy then drove me back to the room I was initially placed in so I could collect my belongings and be moved to my new room. We then arrived at the new room and Billy showed me around. I was relieved that my stay just might have been saved after all; despite the fact that I had already lost vacation time fighting and waiting for the room I had booked in the first place! I then tried to calm myself and make the most of the remainder of my stay (as I was only spending Saturday and checking out the next morning, so every single moment really counted; especially when considering the amount of money I had already spent upon checking in). Feeling drained after driving for so long, waiting for even longer, and stress levels reaching an all time high, I spent the little time remaining taking pictures of the sunset, and enjoying some champagne.

After a little while I decided to order myself a large pizza as I had missed lunch due to the day's fiasco, and was feeling rather hungry. When my meal arrived the waiter explained that he had forgotten to bring along a card machine, and since I had no cash on me (as I very rarely carry cash and used my last R50 cash to tip the waiter who served me at the restaurant upon my arrival at the hotel), the waiter suggested that I should perhaps pay later, in case I would order again as it wasn't quite yet dinner time. I then agreed to his suggestion.

Since the pizza was quite tasty and rather filling, I did not feel like ordering anything else, and continued to relax in my room. I then turned in for the night at around 09:30pm as it had been a very long day and I was exhausted.

Just as my whole experience was starting to become nothing more than a bad dream, I was abruptly awoken by a very load ringing room telephone, which startled me at first. I switched on my side light and naturally looked at the time, only to see it was 11:35pm! Was this some sort of emergency? Perhaps something was wrong back home? With a huge lump in my throat wondering if something was desperately wrong, I answered. To my utter disgust, it was a staff member calling to state the following: "Good evening sir, we noticed that you did not order anything else for room service, and we will therefore add the cost of your pizza to your bill upon check out." What?!! You woke me up from deep sleep after a very long, trying day to tell me about a pizza bill at check out????? This was just insane!!! Much too much!!! I then instructed this insolent individual not to call my room again, and proceeded to hang up.

I then called reception once more, and spoke to the manager on duty at the time. I made the manager aware of my complete disgust with Mount Grace, and that I would never be returning after my check out the next morning. He noted my complaint and stated that he would advise the manager reporting for duty the next morning.

Since it usually takes me a very long time to fall asleep again after I have been woken up, I must have finally managed to fall asleep at around 3:00am (as the last time I checked, the time was exactly 2:13am).

As you can imagine, I felt like I had been hit by a bus in the morning when my alarm rang at 6am as I was intending to take a shower and have my breakfast before checking out. Since I was so groggy, I hit the snooze button, and probably didn't even hear the second alarm ring as the next time I opened my eyes, it was just after 8am. I dragged myself out of bed and decided I would just shower, check out and leave. At this time, I wanted nothing more than to go home as I still had a long drive ahead of me.

At checkout I was asked about my stay, and I think when the agent at reception saw the expression on my face, she quickly asked me for my room number, and soon gathered that I was the guest who had the most ********** experience at Mount Grace. She then called her supervisor who apologized profusely, and I politely stated that I was tired of all the meaningless apologies, and that I just wanted to check out and leave. They asked if I was not going to have breakfast, but I humbly declined, despite the fact that I had already paid for breakfast as part of my stay; I wanted nothing more than to just leave. They then called Marius (whose designation I did not gather at the time), who was also aware of my experiences, and insisted that I would be invited back to the hotel and that they were very sorry for all that I had endured. I shook hands with Marius and once again declined breakfast as I was really anxious to start my trip back home.

Till this day, I have never again heard from Mount Grace or Marriott for that matter as I sent a similar email to ********** with absolutely no response whatsoever.

I wish to pose a few fundamental questions: Marriott, is this the level and grade of service one should expect in terms of what you offer to guests who pay good money for substandard delivery? Is this the new precedence you have set for those unsuspecting travelers who gladly pay for something they believe is of great value to them, but only to have it all turned into unpleasant memories of disconcerting experiences, one poor experience after the other, all in one stay?

I am deeply unsettled by my unforgettable experience at Mount Grace, and for that, I will make it known that I will never again return to Mount Grace. In fact, I am so disgruntled by this whole matter that I feel this might be the end of the road for the relationship I thought I could continue to build with Marriott (since I do frequent Irene Country Lodge in Centurion, South Africa). Traveling for leisure is one of the very few things I get to enjoy in my life, and to rob me of such precious moments is nothing but shameful!