Best Western Downtown Phoenix

I was harassed by a Best Western front desk clerk named Pamela. I recently made a reservation for two rooms at the Best Western Hotel located in downtown Phoenix. I arrived at around 4:00 p.m. and proceeded to check in with Pamela. Unfortunately, she informed me that the rooms were not yet ready and that the cleaning staff was still working on them. I was disappointed as I needed to prepare for an event that I was attending that evening. Pamela gave me the option of waiting for the originally booked rooms or choosing new ones. However, the new rooms would not be together. After considering my options, I decided to take the new rooms with the option of a late check-out. This way, I could get some rest before heading back home the next day. I forgot to ask what time the late check-out would be, though. The next day, I woke up at around 11:45 a.m. and started getting ready to leave when the cleaning staff knocked at the door. I answered and told them the room would be ready for them in 25 minutes. The cleaning staff left and 20 minutes later (12:05 pm), I received a phone call in my room. The person who called me was very aggressive and said, “You need to get out of the room now!” I was surprised by her rude tone and caught off guard. I politely responded that we needed about 5 minutes to finish packing. But she insisted that we leave immediately. According to her, check-out was at noon, and it was already 12:05. I offered to pay for the extra time, but she would not reason with me. Instead, she threatened to call the police if I did not leave immediately. When I told her that I was waiting for my wife to finish packing, she suggested that I leave her there and go down to the front desk alone. I was in shock at what was happening and quickly helped my wife. At around 12:10, we left the room and headed downstairs. While walking towards the front desk, I noticed Pamela in a small office, pacing back and forth in a distressed manner. As she walked out of the office, I approached her to inquire if she was the one who had called me to the room. She confirmed it, but her tone was very aggressive. I asked her what the problem was, to which she raised her voice and said: "You are late". She then proceeded to argue with me about being late, despite my repeated requests to charge me for it. Pamela's behavior was completely unacceptable and it is concerning that someone like her is representing a national chain of hotels.

I am probably not the most widely traveled person leaving reviews but I have traveled a lot over a lot of years. I read other reviews of the Best Western downtown Phoenix before staying this past week. The reviews cause me some trepidation. After staying there the better part of a week the negative reviews I read, in my opinion are not at all accurate. The hotel is in the middle of the University of Arizona campus it has a very safe feel. It is comfortable walking to the nearby restaurants and I was never bothered or felt a risk. After hours the hotel is locked and requires the desk manager or a room key to be let in. I like the security and never found an entrance door unlocked. That's as it should be. I found the staff very pleasant and helpful and even asked one of them how he managed to remain so cheerful having to deal with people who are sometimes unreasonable or pushy or irate. The hotel was very clean and the breakfast very good. It consisted of the traditional cereals and waffles and bagels and yogurts, but included such things as biscuits and gravy and eggs and crisp bacon and sausage. My room was very clean and I don't tolerate dirty rooms. It was very comfortable and I think I might have slept better than I have for quite a while in a hotel room. This hotel does a lot of things right and if I'm ever in Phoenix again I'll be back. If you're a crabby person by nature, how about you don't leave a review.