Since Adam is going back to school next week, we decided to go for a little vacation (staycation?) here right in the city centre. Yes the state borders are to open next Monday but by then, Adam had already checked in to his hostel and would not come home again until Christmas. So I looked up on Agoda for the best deals and found a pretty good one at Berjaya Times Square Hotel. Two bedroom suite with bath tubs and access to a swimming pool. Just perfect for the kids.
We actually went shopping for some swim wear in the morning because the kids have outgrown themselves and the adults have none to begin with. Don’t want to end up being denied entry to the pool just because we did not follow the dress code. In the end, we only got to the hotel around 4:30PM and were greeted with a long queue of hotel guests at the reception.
The queue itself did not bother me as much. It is the weekend and since the state borders are not yet to open, I half expected crowds in the city centre. It’s what happens next that shocked me. After checking a few times, the receptionist told me there’s no bookings whatsoever under my name. Apparently, the hotel started not to accept bookings from Agoda since last month because the hotel is already fully-booked but Agoda opened up the registration anyway because reasons. So at 5:30PM we were all packed, with luggages and swimsuits and snacks but nowhere to go.
Feeling angry and defeated, I was ready to drive everybody home there and then. But my wife, who rarely gives up without a fight, frantically searched online for hotels with any rooms left. We called about half a dozen hotels and finally managed to book one at Shangri-La just a few miles away. It will cost us double the price but at least we got two interconnected bedrooms, free breakfast for everyone and late 5:00PM checkout.
Needless to say, it was the most expensive and exclusive hotel that we have ever stayed at. All the facilities and amenities are 5 stars. The kids went from 😟 to 😃 in an instant. For dinner that night, we walked a little bit next door to Menara Hup Seng for a Burger King dinner. The plan was to go to The Weld further away but that mall was entirely deserted except for a pricey BBQ joint. Covid had hit hard for mall tenants. Back at the hotel the kids wasted no time soaking in the bathtub. It’s their favourite pastime when visiting pricey hotels.
The next morning, we had a glorious breakfast at the hotel’s café. It was a 5 star spread from a 5 star hotel. Later in the afternoon, we went to the hotel’s pool for a little dip. Following SOP, they have set a one hour limit for everybody at the pool. We ordered ayam gepuk for lunch and finally checked out at 5:00PM. It was one expensive stay but at least we enjoyed ourselves.
As for the Agoda fiasco, I managed to get in touch with their KL office and lodged my complaint. It was not easy getting their local phone number because it was not listed anywhere on their website. Since the booking that we chose have a no-cancellation policy, we also cannot request for refunds on the website itself. So unless we talk to an actual human being, I have no idea how we’re going to get our refund. The customer service agent was apologetic and blamed the mess on their “suppliers”aka middlemen who provide hotel rooms for them who overbooked the room for me and apparently 8 other poor customers. They promised to refund my booking entirely and credited 10 USD of Agoda cash into my account.
If you could see the faces of my children at 5:30PM that Saturday evening, 10 USD of Agoda credit is a joke. So I tweeted my plight regarding Agoda online and within a few minutes, an Agoda social media manager DMed me for more information. Long story short, they asked for some information on the hotel that we finally stayed at and promised to pay the difference that we had to fork out for the new hotel. I must say I did not expect that a faceless mega corporation would go above and beyond to accommodate me, a literal nobody but they did and I was pleasantly surprised. To tell you the truth, I will have trust issues with Agoda and all online bookings after that last fiasco but this gesture will go a long way in repairing that trust.
Moral of the story here, first, call up and confirm with the hotel immediately after you made that online booking. In hindsight, I did call the hotel in question but only to ask about breakfast and hotel facilities. Secondly, if you feel that you are wronged by a mega corporation, tweet or email to them to complain. It might not always work but sometimes they do respond and try to make amends.
