(Update: 1:04pm on Friday... Hey All, it's Natalie here posting on her lunch hour. I just spoke with Archie, the guy from the company who we would have liked to stay with on our holiday. He was lovely and agreed that the "pet-friendly" status of Fire Mountain isn't fair as they only have one room in the entire facility that caters to pet-owners, so they have removed the "pet-friendly" information from their website. It appears that it's actually Expedia who wants to nail is with the $140 fine, despite their policy that specifically states that we were supposed to contact the hotel after our booking: "Guests who would like a pet friendly room must contact the hotel to make a special request. Contact information is in the reservation confirmation received after booking." So I''ll tweet about the lovely Archie after I get home from work and I'll see what I can do about the Expedia situation. I am still sooo frustrated, but I am glad that Fire Mountain is updating their online information to reflect reality. *deep sigh*)
(Upadate #2: I'm writing another post right now - Fire Mountain really stepped up!)
So.
When we go on non-trans-continental holidays, we make every effort to bring The Boy. Because we like him. And he likes holidays. And that's what responsible pet owners do. (And he's awesome in the car, in a tent, and in the myriad of pet-friendly hotels that we've stayed at over the years.)
Which brings us to the holiday that we'd planned in Canmore, Alberta for the first weekend in October.
Grrrrr.
When we booked our two-night stay, we requested a pet-friendly room. They requested that we contact the hotel to confirm that we get a pet-friendly room. Fine.
So Steve called. And they said that they only have one pet-friendly room and it's not available on the weekend that we'd booked because the owner will be using it. Which is also fine. (I completely understand that "pet-friendly" hotels/condos have to have non pet-friendly rooms. What I don't understand is ludicrous customer service policies.)
In the past when an accommodation's pet-friendly rooms are completely booked up, they'll usually apologize (they did!!), cancel our reservation (they even called Expedia for us!!), and suggest other pet-friendly accommodations in the area (They did!!). Because that's what a good customer service team will do. (It appears that their cs team wants to kick ass, because they really stepped up!)
But Fire Mountain Lodge and the fine folk at Canadian Mountain Lodging Co. have told us that we can either show up for our reservation, sans dog, or we face a $140 cancellation fee. Are you freaking kidding me??
I don't want to cancel. I want to go to Canmore. Ideally, I'd like to stay at Fire Mountain (or I did). But they don't have the facilities we need to take our entire family. So we're faced with either leaving the boy at home (not interested), having him stay in the car in the evenings and overnight (um, no), or paying a $140 cancellation fee because they can't provide what they've advertised.
I am pissed.
So.
Dear Canadian Mountain Lodging Co.
Please don't advertise being a pet-friendly accommodation if you're not. Also, don't penalize your customers because you can't provide for their needs. Also, you may want to re-think your customer service policies, because damn.
Hugs and Kisses,
Natalie
(Am I being completely unreasonable?? Should it be my fault because I didn't call before booking? Should I never, ever trust hotel chains again?? *deep sigh*)
And the reasons why I'll continue to pay extra to bring the dog with me on holidays:
Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park
Hiking near Edmonton, Alberta
Rocky Mountains in Montana, USA
Fernie, British Columbia
Beaver Lake Trail (I think), Jasper National Park
Jasper Lake, Jasper National Park
Chickakoo Lake Recreation Area
Horseshoe Lake, Jasper National Park
Edmonton Corn Maze
Hiking near Nordegg, Alberta
Moab Lake Trail, Jasper National Park
(So... ptht!)
