23 March 2009

Hampton Inn Atlanta-Buckhead, GA - Watch your charges from them

Recently we went to Atlanta to see Cirque De Soleil. I had booked our hotel more than a month prior to the trip and pre-paid for the room. We decided to stay at the
Hampton Inn Atlanta-Buckhead
3398 Piedmont Rd., NE Atlanta,
GAUnited States, 30305
Tel: 404-233-5656
Fax: 404-237-4688

This was my first trip in a long time to Atlanta so I wasn't sure of the location of the hotel but it turned out not to be too bad and actually close to a mall and several other stores I wanted to visit. Also parking was free with this hotel which I have come to find out is pretty rare when you're talking Atlanta. Our check in went well. The room was nice with a refrigerator and microwave. The front desk person was pleasant. We had a nice breakfast the following morning which was included in the the price. Now to the issues I had while there. Before even leaving we had housekeeping knock on our door 3 times before check out time which I thought was inconsiderate. After the first time she should have waited until we checked out. Other than that things went well minus the major bit of snow that was coming down. We headed to the show, then home.
After returning Sunday, come Tuesday morning I see a post from the hotel in my account, charging me again for the room and causing overdraft fees now. This caused my account to be overdrawn and I incurred $35 overdraft fee. I called the hotel immediately and was told they would investigate and receive a call back later that day. I received no such call so I tried to call the hotel several times but could reach no one. I called the VIP hot line (as I am a diamond member) and they said they spoke to the manager at the local hotel and they are working on it. They told me I would be contacted. I was not contacted by the next day so I wrote an email on the website in regards to this issue,. In the meantime another purchase I had made before finding out about this charged posted, so I incurred another $35 overdraft fee. I finally received an email on 5 Mar from Kesha Holmes-Smith, a guest assistance specialist. I had not heard from anyone by the 7th of March so I emailed Ms Smith. I still had not heard by the 9th so I sent another email. I finally received a response on the 9th of March from Ms Smith saying the hotel had contacted me and issued a refund. This was not the case. I had also mention several times about the overdraft fees and asked how they would be handled. I never received a response. I emailed Ms Smith 2 more times in regards to the overdraft fees asking who I should send the letter from my bank that states they are responsible to. I still have not heard anything.

My warning to you is being very careful what card you use when booking with Hampton Inn Atlanta-Buckhead as you might end up with a nasty surprise.

I have since then contacted the better business bureau and Christopher ElliottBlogger/syndicated columnist/TV host ( http://www.elliott.org/ ) to try and help me with this issue.

This issue is still unresolved.

Yeah I ordered, finally

Have you guessed what it is yet? Well I decided to go ahead and buy something I thought I wasn't going to be able to . Technically I shouldn't but sometimes you have to just jump in, which is what I will be doing when my new hot tub I ordered this weekend gets to the house. It is not the one I originally planned on getting (I'm not that extravagant) but I think it will suffice. This one also only requires a standard plug instead of a 220v so that will save at least $400.


I can't wait until it arrives. I'll be in that almost daily. I'll let you know how the first soak goes. Stay tuned....

22 March 2009

NCAA Basketball tournament

I've been slacking a little but at least now I can say a few things.  FIrst off, UNC was seeded #1 in their region YEAH and the rest of the bracket doesn't look to bad.  Also the good news is that Ty Lawson is playing and they really needed him in the second game.
In the first game UNC had to play the 16th seed of course that's how it works, which was Radford, they stomped them, 101 to 58.  Lawson did not play in this game.
Next they had to play LSU which also went well but they needed Lawson and he came through.  Even though he hurt his toe again during the game he came back .  UNC won with 84 to 70.  Not that you can tell by the final score but the game was pretty close.  
On friday they play Gonzaga.  I can't wait.  I love March madness (even if 4 of my brackets that I picked didn't get stored so I only have on bracket out there).
My paper bracket though did pretty well in the South Region (UNC'c) and the East Region, West Region wasn't horrible but the Midwest Region was blown to hell.  Good thing I didn't have money riding on it this year.
Just so I put it out there let me set out my picks final 8:
Pittsburgh vs Duke
UNC vs Syracuse
Louisville vs Kansas
Connecticut vs Memphis

Final 4:
Louisville vs Memphis
Pittsburgh vs UNC

Finals: 

UNC vs Louisville

And the big winner, UNC of course.