We booked two rooms for 5 nights because of the location. I booked through the internet special and added comments for rooms with windows due to my asthma. when we got to the hotel we were told that the rooms will not be on the same floor should we want one room with a window. I opted to be on the same floor as my friends instead when they reassured me that the rooms are well ventilated. I ended up in a small humid room with a crack in the wall and black mold on the ceiling. There was a strong smell and the room was definitely not well ventilated. This room was not helpful to my asthma. After leaving our luggage in our rooms, we went down to the lobby to see about WIFI as my friend saw on the board in the lobby that breakfast and WIFI was COMPLIMENTARY. The staff confirmed that it was COMPLIMENTARY. When we asked her for the password, she started telling us the price for 2 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours?!?!? Confused, we pointed at the sign and asked again "Is WIFI COMPLIMENTARY?" She said "yes, but the charge is $ for 2 hours,....". That is NOT complimentary!!
The first night and second night was awful because the humidity in the room and the smell. We also noticed that there was no cable. Eventually, I asked if they have a room with a window to move me in. They confirmed they do have on on the same floor as my friends, so I was happy. But after being moved to the room did I realize what a big mistake it was. The room had a small window but you would never open it because there is construction right across that wakes you up at 7:00am. And worst of all, there was a strong smell of smoke when it was a smokefree room. I would have rather they told me that the room had problems.
Our flight out was late at night and I didn't realize that we didn't actually need the last night I booked because we would be at the airport. So, I asked what the penalty was and the staff confirmed it would be one night's cost to cancel. After discussing with my friends, we all agreed that we were extremely unhappy with the rooms. So, we went next door to Hotel 81 to check the prices and if it was reasonable, we would rather move and pay the one night penalty. Hotel 81's lobby was clean and spacious, the price was comparable and we checked the rooms and they were bigger and CLEAN. So, we went back to Fragrance to try to cancel but the staff this time told us that we booked through the internet and it's NOT refundable. We would have had to forfeit 3 nights if we want to cancel!! I also brought up that the room they moved me in smells strongly of smoke. I believe it was the manager that looked at me, nodded and went back to pretend looking at the computer. No apologies, no effort to resolve our situation. The least they can do is ask why we want to cancel and what they can do to improve our stay. We went back to Hotel 81 to let them know that we can't cancel at Fragrance. The staff at Hotel 81 said it's unusual for there to be such booking conditions.
DO NOT BOOK THIS HOTEL!! If location is what you are looking for, Hotel 81 is a few doors down and even though I didn't get a chance to stay there, the rooms are bigger and better ventilated. I don't know when it's ever okay to put guests in rooms with mold or strong smell of smoke when it's smokefree!
