During my Just Back Reports, 'Hither and dither in Bali, parts 1-6' I constantly mentioned the Ramada Bintang Bali Resort in Tuban (Ramada for short) in a negative tone. Some have been curious about what happened, or what did not happen. I have earlier posted a short version on the BTF but here is the story in full, but not necessarily in the order the events took place. Even one incident would have been more than enough and I really, really wish I could have had a normal, pleasant vacation with friendly staff instead of all these hassles.
The only good thing I found at the Ramada was the bed (comfortable) and the toilet in the bathroom. The toilet had a clever nozzle that saved toilet paper and was much easier on that particular, lower part of the body it was supposed to be used for. I discovered the nozzle by accident when I was looking for and turned what I thought was the flushing mechanism. It was not what I had looked for. The outcome of that rather stupid mistake would have been hilarious on Candid Camera. Even I could not resist a wide smile at that thought. Sometimes it is smart to read a manual. There was one on the seat cover of the toilet. A man, however, never ever reads manuals.
My text is most certainly annoying but my stay was also very annoying to me and I think it is probably a good idea to inform about the hiccups, which were not 'one offs' as they continued throughout my stay till the day I left prematurely.
I had booked, confirmed the booking and re-confirmed the confirmation to stay at the five stars Ramada from the 18th of May till the 6th of June 2005 at 80 US dollars per night. The first offer was 150 US Dollars per night (on a personal visit in October 2004), which gradually went down, via 100 US Dollars to the final 80 US Dollars for May/June 2005. Presently their official published rate is 190 (!) US Dollars for the type of room I had requested. That is not cheap. An Internet search gave the rate 110 US Dollars, for just a standard room. The Ramada is thus by no means a cheap, '50 US Dollars hotel'.
I arrived from a cold Sweden to a much warmer Bali. My driver was waiting for me at the airport and drove me to the Ramada. We were both very surprised that the many guys at the security check-point did not stop the car for the nowadays very normal search. I later saw that the security at the gate of the Ramada (which is according to a Google search is a five stars US (!) franchise resort) let through all cars without inspection, no matter if the cars were to transport passengers to the lobby or just delivered goods there. Even worse was the sight when cars just were let to drive up to and by the reception and then straight back to the street without stopping. When I arrived by any transport, I was never, ever stopped, which I was at all the many other hotels that I visited. This is what I saw. Hopefully others have had a better experience as to safety issues.
I was also surprised because there had been several warnings as to travels to Indonesia and Bali due to some then imminent threats, where lobbies at international hotels could perhaps be a target. The warnings mentioned Jakarta but few things are what they seem to be in this strange place called the World.
Anyway, on arrival and having done all usual paperwork at the reception, I was told to sit down to wait and that I did for a long time (almost half an hour) without getting any attention at all, although I arrived at around 15:00, which is well after 14:00 when check-in officially starts. A couple was checking in just ahead of me and was immediately escorted to the room. Being completely ignored, the minutes felt very long after the tedious journey, when the only thing I wanted was to have a shower, shave and then get a refreshing drink. Instead I was able to experience a new side of life as a hotel lounge lizard.
Eventually I got some attention and was escorted to the wrong (!) room, at least 1209 was not the same as room 1231, for which I had earlier signed all documents. Room 1209 did not at all match the location or standard that I was clearly promised in the re-confirmation letter about a week before arrival. For those interested, the room 1209 seemed to be an interconnecting room, which is good when you know your neighbours but not very likely if you do not know them.
Finally, after a further delay, I was in room 1231. Location was OK. It was not an interconnecting room. The room did look ready despite what I first had been told by the bellboy, when directed to 1209. Once alone, and on closer inspection, I discovered that the room was 'fully appointed' with too few as well as some broken clothes hangers that could not be used at all. Shirts and trousers just fell to the floor as soon as I put them on the hangers.
Replacements as to hangers did appear after a few missions, spread over two (2) days, to the reception as housekeeping did not reply to telephone calls or, when they did, did not send anyone to the room. Unfortunately these replacements eventually arrived in form of a set of well used wire hangers. I threw them in the waste basket as they could not be used. Hanging shirts on the wire hangers first gave the shirts very sloping shoulders and eventually the shirts (and other clothes as well) fell to the floor. By then I had bought my own hangers as the outcome of my various missions to the reception were not looking bright. Then, suddenly wooden, proper and strong hangers appeared and mine removed permanently. As they were cheap (but usable) I did not mind having my hangers removed but I would still call it theft.
The room and the bathroom were 'fully appointed' with no soap(s), sometimes with no towels, never with any notepad or clean writing paper and there was hardly any useful, written information, in the in-room folder, about the resort as such. In the bathroom there were only one very small bottle with shampoo and a likewise small bottle with bath foam. I was 'lucky' to have some paper that a previous guest had left after using the sheets well, probably doing some shopping calculations. The only soap, that I had also acquired myself, was promptly removed and not replaced with hotel soap(s). The towels were from day one either removed completely or were left in a wet pile on the floor, behind the bathroom door, and not replaced. To get these missing items by calling housekeeping or reception was useless. Neither did the staff nor the missing items appear. I bought my own towel. Luckily it did not disappear the same way as did my soap and my hangers.
Many things were broken in the room upon arrival. The hose to the hairdryer was hanging and could not at all be connected to the dryer despite several attempts. The housekeeping/maintenance staff ignored it despite complaints until I made the front office manager visit my room on day six.
The cover of the safety water outlet in the bathtub had fallen off and could not be reinserted. The housekeeping/maintenance ignored it, too, until the front office manager had visited my room.
There was always some fine, brownish dust on the area for suitcases (an area I did not use as the hand luggage fitted in the wardrobe), as if some insects were having a feast above. These insects probably received and ate the fruit basket with compliments of the General Manager, as I did never see such a basket that others did receive. Once removed, the dust reappeared after a while. It worried me that these insects would find my clothes and other belongings either tasty or a mode of transport from Bali to my home in Sweden. I told one of the receptionists about the dust but he said that it was just dust, not insect residue. I asked some of my Balinese friends and they all suggested it was trace of insects eating wood, and that it was not at all good to have these insects in a house. Perhaps one day these insect will have eaten the whole Ramada but I suppose that is wishful thinking.
The lights could not be switched off in one of the wardrobes. The door of the wardrobe was hanging somewhat loose on its hinges and gradually, automatically opened to the wide open position and thus I had lights on in the room all night. The bulb, having burned all day, was too hot to touch, although being one of those energy savers. No, I did not have either matches (not provided with the ashtray, as is normal in most hotels I have visited) or paper to get the door to stay closed. Had I used part of the folder, I am sure it had been added to my bill.
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There were open, live wires/switches in the wardrobes. I accidentally touched one of the switches when I tried to switch off the lights in one wardrobe. I have never experienced a switch without a cover for proper insulation. It took me a while to recover and as a 'souvenir' I got a slight burn on one finger and a probably permanent dent in one nail. Nobody bothered when I told the ever reluctant manager on duty. I was not even offered a Band-Aid or medical attention. The only reaction was a 'Yes, and?'
I realised that making an in-house telephone call to get whatever service was useless. I was either put on hold or the connection was cut after a while. Thus it was impossible to make any appointments with the front office manager, the manager on duty or the General Manager: I was constantly asked if I had an appointment, every time I wanted to talk to someone with authority to rectify things. If I did not have such an appointment, I was told to go back to the room and call the front office. Once I, however, managed to find a very reluctant manager on duty. He eventually followed me to the room and managed to get some maintenance staff to my room, some six hours after having had the discussion with me. These guys were hammering and banging for almost an hour and when I later returned to the room, I discovered that they had the easiest solution to the problems with the light: They had removed the switch and disconnected the power to the wardrobes! So now darkness was prevailing and I had to use my faithful torch light in order to find things in the built-in drawers. I love such expert repairs. Had it been a one only experience, I might have smiled but since it was not, I was very near tears of despair. And I went back to reception where I again met the same, still surly manager on duty, who promised to take care of the problem. I demanded a change of rooms but was told he had no powers to authorise it. Needless to say, nothing was done as to the electrical problems, or other problems for that matter.
A few days later I discovered that there again was light in the wardrobe. The maintenance staff had made an attempt to repair the faulty light, after the front office manager had visited my room on day six. Unfortunately the repairs were done only with some matches and Band-Aid and needless to say the repairs did not last long - once I had opened and closed the wardrobe door one time it was back to square one: Light on all night and the wardrobe door was still opening automatically. Great job, indeed.
On arrival to the Ramada I was given a coupon for a free welcome drink. At the bar cum restaurant near the pool (The Wharf?), I was asked to pay 10 000 Rupiahs for something that proved to be a very small glass of orange juice, which they called 'welcome drink'. Naturally I refused to pay for something that was supposed to be free according to the coupon, and asked to see either the supervisor or the manager on duty, of course to no avail. This obvious offence was mentioned in one of my e-mails to the general manager but that e-mail has not been replied to, at least not yet and it probably never will.
Early during my stay I wanted to talk to the General Manager but was denied it, because I had no appointment with him. After that attitude I went to a Wartel and sent him an e-mail. I checked for a reply the following day but there was not any. I sent him a second e-mail. There was no reply to that either. I sent him a third e-mail and the silence was still deafening. I found this a very strange way of handling a guest that is not satisfied because of problems created by the Ramada. Problems do not go away but guests will, eventually, and with negative reports to tell at that. Being an hotelier should mean that such a person is in the hospitality industry and should be able to serve and assist the paying guests. I think most people would feel aggravated by this nonchalant approach. The General Manager must be a man, therefore my 'he'. A woman would hardly act in this callous way. I have to provide service at work, and replying to e-mails is one important part of my job, as is providing prompt service.
I am not a girl in my twenties, having a body of a model and thus I did not get much attention anywhere in the resort. But if you were a girl, in your twenties and beautiful, the male staff would just fall backwards, give you extremely attentive service, spending lots of time keeping you company and run up and down to you, answering to requests for a menu, food, drinks or an extra towel, and thus completely ignore the other guests and their potential needs.
A few times I had members of the staff entering my room at all possible hours during the day, from early morning till the early evening. As soon as they had rung the door bell they just entered without any waiting to find out if I was in or not. It was an interesting cultural experience to suddenly face a male member of the staff when I naked was on my way to the bathroom. Just imagine if I had been a woman in the same situation but perhaps that was the point of the method of entering. I thoroughly disliked the ill-mannered attitude as to privacy of the guest.
Twice during one afternoon/evening I was locked out from my room and had to go all the way to the reception to get the electronic key-card re-activated in order to get back in. At reception I was told that it was my fault that the key-card did not work because the key-cards were very sensitive. I did never carry it together with coins or the hand phone as I know these may affect a credit card and besides it all happened on a particular day and with an interval of four hours. I suggested that due to my complaints someone must have used the front office computer to change the code. To that I only received a wry smile so I guess I was correct despite all their verbal denying. On both occasions I eventually got a replacement but it was time-consuming.
I cannot but consider all members of the staff and management exceptionally rude at all times in all possible ways you can imagine. I have never, ever come across such manners from hotel staff in Bali, and nowhere else for that matter
There is a karaoke lounge behind the reception. This lounge is not separated from the rest of the resort by either sound proofing material or doors. The lounge provided loud music and so called singing until well after midnight (according to one member of the staff there, the lounge closed at 0:55 in the morning) which made it impossible to fall asleep early, necessary at least the first nights after the long flight from Sweden. The lounge is probably made only as a money-spinner and nothing else, to fill an empty space, but without thoughts about the comfort of the guests.
At the Ramada I got the feeling of Singapore, less all the fines there as there were many signs on the premises telling guests in quite a rough tone not to do this and not to do that. I think that the management at a resort with many tourists on vacation should instead try to create a carefree, pleasant and positive holiday atmosphere. There were, for instance, white lines beyond which you were told in an offish tone (there was a notice board near the lines) not to take the pool towel(s). Try to take the towel beyond that line and you were in for an interesting experience if you happened to meet a member of the staff. The towel was just removed, as he/she passed. This was done to me without a word on my arrival day. I protested as I had left the special towel card at the pool counter and thus had a personal responsibility for the towel, as there was a fine of 120.000 Rupiahs if such a towel was lost. I could get a similar towel at Matahari at around 40.000 Rupiahs, and new at that. At my remark the guy just dropped the towel on the ground - of course on the correct side of the white line and continued his walk, again without a word but with a hand pointing at the signboard, that I had not seen yet. No mistakes from the guests were allowed at this hotel but as many as possible from the staff were obviously OK.
The front office manager eventually tried to soothe me by suggesting that I should get an upgrade (of course she had to call the GM first for approval). There was an eerie feeling within the hotel from day one. Staff was not having any authority to rectify anything on their own initiative as there seemed to be a very, very strict hierarchy as everything seemed to have to be approved by the General Manager, who like a puppeteer sat behind closed doors and pulled people hither and dither like robots.
I later happened to find out that the new room, i.e. the upgrade, was next to one of the elevators where a bell sounded as soon as the elevator reached the various floors. If the karaoke lounge had not kept me wide awake most of the night, surely the elevator bell and people coming and going would have done the job. Such sounds are like torture. I cannot understand the stupidity to try to put me in such a location.
I had at least once suggested to the front office manager about the impact of the Internet and travel forums but not even that seemed to sink in.
I left the Ramada after only one (1) week because the resort in my very honest opinion was far from being a five stars establishment as to anything. As many things as possible went wrong already from the day of my arrival. Most probably I should have left even earlier. And I left despite being offered an upgrade to, just to show how I disliked the location of the upgrade.
When I was at the reception telling the staff to prepare my bill before leaving prematurely, the front office manager suggested that if she really asked the GM for a meeting with me, would I then reconsider my departure? I told her that it was way too late for that now, after a week of him hiding in a cocoon behind the staff and locked doors, as well as not replying to my many e-mails to him. I then, somehow, wondered if the word 'Internet' finally had started to sink in.
The constant, deep mistrust of the guests at the resort was there till the very end. It was a first, after 40 years of travelling all over the world and staying at hotel with different amount of stars, to be ordered to sign a special, extra paper upon departure to prove that the bills were paid although I had earlier already signed the credit card slips as well as the receipt at the reception, so the Ramada did have all necessary records of my paying. This special paper I should show, I was told, at some kind of check-point. I was told that if I did not sign this special document, of which I could not understand the contents, I was not allowed to leave the premises of the Ramada, at least not with my belongings. I told the front officer manager that since I had paid all my bills and had proof of that, they could not keep me from going anywhere and with that I walked out - without the special paper - and found my transport and eventually left the Ramada for good.
This is how I experienced the Ramada. The staff, including the general manager of the Ramada, although only from my humble experience, could obviously not care less whether a guest stays or leaves because to them you are worth less than thin air.
Upon returning to Sweden I have sent the General Manager yet another e-mail. Needless to say I have not heard one word from him, not even a simple apology. I am, however, sure that he has read all my letters. Hopefully my criticism will make future visitors getting a better stay at the Ramada. I wish all those who decide to stay at the Ramada a much, much better luck and stay than I had.