Leonardo Hotels
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Worst hotel I've ever stayed in. Poor Health & Safety. Sewage leak. Oct 2023
I'll try to summarise first. Raw sewage leak from the bathroom into the bedroom, cigarette smoke coming from the next door room, no sleep, promised refund that never transpired, check-in beyond slow, service shockingly bad, inefficient, passing the buck, never resolving, 'computer says no approach', charged extra for breakfast, charged extra for parking, staff did not communicate properly to me or between themselves meaning I had to repeated the problem to five different managers, managers did not resolve the sewage problem efficiently. Would give zero stars if I could, 1 star is doing the hotel a very positive service Was told I'd be issued a refund, 28 days later still not received despite them saying they had issued it. Was moved to alternate rooms so slowly it ended up being midnight when I was finally provided a replacement room, shortly afterwards was violently sick, likely due to contact with sewage. Missed my client workshop meaning I lost a days income for the following day due to being so sick, wasted travel time and travel costs as a result too (ferry, petrol etc) Waited c. 20 minutes to check in at 9pm (not even peak). Arrived in hotel room to a very strong sewage smell, after 45 mins it became unbearable, I went to explore where it was coming from, having taken my shoes off I walked towards the bathroom only to feel my sock was wet through. The carpet all around the edge of the bathroom (bedroom side) was sodden wet. Having built my own house, it suddenly occurred to me that the smell was in fact a damaged sewage pipe that had leaked sewage into the bedroom. Called reception three times, no answer, 4th time rang and rang, eventually someone picks up, tell them the issue, they say we'll be there within 5 minutes. 20 mins later nothing, call again, different person, explain issue again, someone is on the way. 10 mins later someone arrives "oh yes that is a very strong sewage smell, we will move you straight away, let me find a suitable room & I'll be straight back" 20 minutes later, nothing, feeling nauseous. Call reception again, finally after c. 60+ mins of sitting amongst the vile sewage smell I'm taken to a room right near the lift with a constant 'ding' noise and people coming in & out of the lift. At this point I am exhausted, feeling sick and beyond over the lack of speed of resolution, another 20 mins passes & finally I get into an average room, shortly afterwards I start being violently sick, so sick I don't sleep at all and am still very ill the following day so cannot make my client workshop with the loss of a days income. Hotel manager says I will be refunded for my stay, go to check out & ask for refund, am told the manager knows nothing about it, despite me asking the prior two managers I spoke with to ensure the notes were communicated so I'm not waiting further in reception whilst being very ill. Comms did not happen! Am told I need to wait for another manager (4th manager) and they will be with me in 2 minutes, 15 mins later, on the verge of being sick again I ask where they are, manager is very rude 'I told you she'd be with you soon'. Finally the manager comes and tells me they will refund me. I go to hand my payment card and she says "no it will be done through your Agoda booking" I didn't book through Agoda, I booked through Booking.com - this did not fill me with confidence in receiving a refund, and the poor service & comms to date did not bode well for likely delivery of the payment, so I asked for an email confirming i'd be issued a refund. 28 days on, 14x emails chasing the refund with the hotel, 4x further phone calls chasing payment with the Leonardo Heathrow, as well as multiple Insta messages to Booking.com, further emails to the MD of the Leonardo chain (Jason Curruthers), zero refund has been received, my bank confirms no payment has been made. I've now wasted around 8-10 hours of my time, lost a days work, wasted travel expenses, was made incredibly sick and they continue to dishonestly claim they have issued a refund. The irony (and anger) I felt when despite the above, their shocking health & safety, worst service I've ever received, their manager offered me a free stay in a premium room, I'm assuming by premium he meant a room that didn't come with raw sewage included, I'll never find out the answer because there would be no way I'd enter their hotels without a hazmet suit. Jury hotels used to be great, now they're Leonardo it's akin to going from a new Mercedes to a thirty year old, trashed Rover. Avoid at all costs.