ComplaintsforThe Biltmore Los Angeles

• Initial Complaint

  06/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I stayed at the millennium Biltmore for one night it cost $99. I was in a car accident and my phone was not available so I had to use the phone in my room to call my wife I was charged over $300 for a few minutes phone call. They told me when I called they charge for local cost $25 a call and that was not disclosed to me anywhere. I travel frequently for work and I have never been charged for using the phone to call within the same state let alone $300 for a few minutes. This hotel is basically robbing people.

• Initial Complaint

  11/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I was staying at the Biltmore and became extremely ill after eating at their restaurant. I came downstairs to extend my stay, informing them I was sick and could not travel. They would not accept the card I had checked in with or cash. I went upstairs to pack and threw up twice more from the stress. Security watched me walk, hunched over and clearly distressed, all the way to the elevator, never offering a wheelchair or if I required medical attention. My friend left me in the lobby to go get the car, as I could not walk any further. After watching me for several minutes, security then came over and proceeded to kick me out of the lobby to wait on the curb at the valet, as I may be disturbing other guests. All I was doing was sitting in a chair and trying to focus on my breathing. I took myself outside, and security continued to watch me as I sat there, alone. To be kicked to the curb when sick, not offered help at any point, and embarrassed in front of other guests, I wasnt only shocked, but emotionally disturbed by the experience. On top of all this, the Biltmore proceeded to charge my card for $250 because the old sealant on the toilet came loose, adding insult to injury. After such abysmal treatment, I was going to ask for the full stay be compensated. As long as I am refunded the $250, I will be satisfied, though I will never stay at the Biltmore again. They should not be allowed to treat their paying customers, or indeed any human, in such a manner.

• Initial Complaint

  10/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I had already purchased and paid for the entirety of my stay at the hotel through a travel agency when I arrived. Upon arrival, I gave the front desk a credit card, which they said would only be used for incidentals. They did not mention some of the additional fees they were charging- one fee was a "Destination fee" of $35 dollars PER DAY. They could not tell me what this fee was for and upon checkout had charged my card $35 for 5 nights, so $175. This was never mentioned by the travel agency or the hotel, not in any fine print that was given to me. This is a terrible way for companies to take advantage from people who are travelling from out of town. Please help me get a refund.

• Initial Complaint

  09/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On June 8, 2023, I reserved 2 rooms at the Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles for the dates of August 31, 2023 to September 3, 2023. The rate per night was for $190.11 with taxes and fees of $178.84. My family and I were extremely excited about our vacation. However, what should have been 3 days of relaxation and exploration was instead restless and frustrating. When I checked in, I was met with a $300 per room holding fee for incidentals along with a service fees of $35 per day for (Destination) and $45 per day (Self-parking) and constant apologizing for the noise inconvenience. We were initially assigned rooms 655 and 645. When I arrived in 645, the lights and tv were on, and there was a used wash cloth with pubic hairs hanging in the shower. I immediately when back downstairs (although feeling sick from the flight) and expressed my disdain. I was assigned a new room (626). 9/1: At 6:00am we were awakened by the sound of horns blaring and shouting from protesters. We left the hotel for awhile with hopes that we could come back to some solace, but that was not the case. While gone our rooms were never cleaned and the protests continued until almost 1am. 9/2: We were awakened again with the same(horns blaring and shouting from protesters). We left again with the hopes of coming back to cleaned rooms and a little peace and quiet, but to no avail it mirrored the previous day and night. My family and I chose this hotel because of its location and initial reviews. What was imagined to be a vacation of relaxation and fun was marred by constant noise, disruption, and uncleaned rooms. This caused sleep deprivation and frustration to myself and family. Any company who stands behind their brand would not want customers walking away feeling like they were scammed or hustled. I am that we are compensated for the lack of courtesy, lack hospitality, and lack of sleep during this stay. (I was only allowed to upload 5mb into this platform, but there is more footage and video)

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I booked one night from 8/19/23 to 8/20/23. The total amount was supposed to be $341.58 per the attached booking confirmation. At checkout, I was told that I was being charged for two nights even though I booked one. I spoke with ********************* at the Biltmore who asked me to email him my original booking, which I did, showing that only one night was requested. I split the room charge with a friend. She was charged $180.62 to her card and I was charged $427.61 twice on 8/22/23. I called the hotel on 8/28/23 and spoke with ****** who insisted that I was only charged $427.61 and the other "charge" was an authorization hold for the credit card. I contacted my credit card company and they confirmed that I was charged twice, despite what ****** said. This company is engaging in fraudulent business practices. At best, they are being seriously negligent.

• Initial Complaint

  05/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Paid $143.46 on 11/24/2023 ********* will not accommodate my request for a cancellation and refund of the reservation of I was severely harassed during my stay 5/7-5/8. *********'s response after that was not satisfactory and I will not be comfortable with my scheduled stay on 11/24/2022.I would like to cancel my reservation and request a refund.

  Business response

  06/11/2023

  Greetings,

  ********************** issues stem from a breakfast order that she did not like. Here's is a pasted copy of her review:

  ?????????????????????
  

  Reviewed May 8, 2023
  ??????????????? ??????????2???????3?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????

  Translated using ****** Translate:

  "The hotel building was great.
  

  My order of water at breakfast was ignored twice. After the third request, the water brought to me was dirty water with black grains of sand that were white and cloudy. I drank it without noticing it at first. After that, I had it replaced, but there was no apology. The dish was mixed with eggshells. When I told him I wanted to talk to the restaurant manager, he lied to me that he wasn't here today.
  When I checked out of the hotel, I heard that the restaurant manager was there today. It was completely harassing."

  A breakfast order that is not prepared to her liking is not something that The Biltmore would refund a room night for. The restaurant would simply credit her for the food. One of our Food & Beverage managers, *********************, did indeed reach out to ****************** about her restaurant experience. ****************** hung up on Mady. 

   Additionally, ********************** reservations are booked via a third party named Agoda. The Biltmore can not refund money that she paid directly to Agoda. Her reservations are also non-refundable as is *****'s booking policies. 
  

  Thank you.

  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  03/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  Hello I would like to file a complaint against **** the manager I felt disseminated against she would not help me I had am urgent situation I had to leave booking was willing to refund me tge day but she wouldn't please call me asap ************ thank you

  Business response

  03/31/2023

  Good evening,

  Ms. ******** contacted ****** at the Front Desk the night before she was scheduled to depart to inform her that she had to leave the hotel early. ******'s notes indicated that Ms. ******** phoned the Desk at approximately 8:45 pm. It is because she occupied the room that late that she was charged for the entire night.

  At this time of night, Ms. ******** would have been in the room past the time that we would have been able to consider waiving the night's room and tax. Our Housekeeping teams would have left for the night, meaning that there was no one on staff that could have cleaned her room so that it could be resold to another guest. And as this was a busy Friday night, we would have needed that room to be available to sell.

  I hope this explanation clears up any confusion. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any aditional questions or concerns.

  Thank you.

  *********************

  Assistant Director of Front Office

  Customer response

  04/05/2023

   
  Complaint: 19851214
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  10/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I purchased a room at the Biltmore Hotel through Priceline and paid through Affirm. The hotel took my card for the $100 hold, however I was charged $148 and never received the money back. The front desk does not help, they transfer me to their billing department whose mailbox is always full. Cannot get a resolution.

  Business response

  11/09/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/10/20) */ Contact Name and Title: ***** *****, FO Manager Contact Phone:************************************************************* To whom it may concern, The bill in question relates to incidental charges that are not covered by the third party. I've attached a copy of the final invoice for ********. Thank you. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/10/20) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) These two "destination charges" were never brought to my attention. I was told that they needed my card to hold the deposit only.

• Initial Complaint

  06/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On May 29, 2022 I reserved a room directly with the ********* Hotel in ********** for the nights of June 24 - 26, 2022. The charge of $230.96 for the two night stay cleared my bank account on May 30, 2022. When I checked in at the hotel on June 24th the person at the front desk made me aware that there is a $100 hold which would be placed on my card for incidentals or in case of damage. She explained that would be released within 3-5 business days after check out. I told her that was fine and I understood. When I arrived home on Sunday June 26th, I checked my bank account and discovered there were two pending charges dated June 24th, each in the amount of $330.96 for a total of $661.92 being deducted from my account. I immediately called the hotel and spoke with ***** who told me there is nothing he could do and there was not a manager on duty. I explained that I need that money to pay bills, buy food and gas, etc. He explained he has authorization, but there is no way for him to reverse the transactions. He said "don't worry, it will come off eventually." I checked my account again first thing Monday morning 6/27 to discover there is a third charge of $330.96 dated 6/27. I immediately called the hotel and was told there will not be a manager on duty until tonight. The person I spoke with transferred me to their accounting department where nobody answered. I asked for a number to the corporate office, and when calling that number I immediately got a message that said this voicemail box is full. They have $992.88 of my money tied up, which I need to have access to, not to mention it has put my bank account into overdraft.

  Business response

  07/25/2022

  Consumer Response /* (-5, 5, 2022/06/29) */ ***Document Attached*** I did speak with ************* (Accounting Manager) on Monday afternoon and he told me that they have a new system and they are having trouble with it. He also said he does not understand why my bank is "messing with me" as they should not be holding these funds because in his system they only show as "authorizations." Obviously, he does not realize that is what an authorization is and what I need them to do is remove/reverse those authorizations, so the bank can release the funds. Somehow they have now removed one of the three $330.96 pending charges (which is good), however, now they have added a $230.96 charge that has processed through my account. So far, I have incurred three overdraft charges of $36.00 each. Consumer Response /* (-5, 6, 2022/06/30) */ ***Document Attached*** I have updated some of the information, as I have learned corrected names of some individuals and had some more interactions with the business. All of my updates are reflected in the attachment.

• Initial Complaint

  06/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company seriously stole $100 deposit from me. They have not returned it to my card, and it's been 1 month. They are thieves, and right people! Never would I book with this old hotel ever again in life!! Their customer service makes it your fault that you don't get your deposit back! ******* & ***** have not help me hey my deposit back and it's been 1 month!!!!!

  Business response

  07/11/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/06/27) */ Contact Name and Title: ************** Contact Phone: ************ Contact Email: *********************************** As of 6/27/2022, the consumer has received her $100.00 deposit back. Recorded written records will be sent separately as support for our response to the consumer inquiring about not receiving their deposit back. Guest checked in with a reloadable **** APP card which does not work like a credit card for authorizations. Typically release of authorizations can take anywhere from 24hours to 30 business days depending on the banking institution or card type. We initiated a reversal of the $100.00 authorization on 5/24/2022 to try and expedite the release(support will be sent separately due to privacy and security concerns). Therefor the guest was asked to reach out to **** App on 6/3/2022, after not yet receiving their deposit back. We offered our help and informed the guest that we would be willing to provide **** App with anything that can help expedite her release. Hotel did not here back from the guest about **** Apps correspondence, until this BBB review was sent. Guest was contacted by our property to follow up and she did confirm that she never reached out to **** APP however she did receive the $100.00 back from the Hotel, although she never contacted **** App.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩