The Gateway to York Hotel

This is the letter my boyfriend was forced to write after our dreadful stay at The Gateway to York Hotel. Needless to say we still have had no reply to the letter and after 3 telephone calls to the hotel we are still waiting for the manager to get back to us!
Dear Mr. Webb
I have been compelled to write to you in order to draw your attention to a series of unacceptable, unprofessional issues which occurred during the course of my stay at The York Gateway Hotel on 22nd July 2006.
Upon arrival, my girlfriend and I were informed by reception staff that our allocated room (number 31) would not be available for occupation until 3pm, but we should deposit our luggage there and return to the hotel later in the afternoon. Arriving back at 4.30 pm, a full hour and a half after the specified check-in time, we were shocked to discover that not only was the room yet to be cleaned but also, to our utter incredulity, the front door had been left wide open, leaving our unattended belongings on full public view and accessible to anyone who should wish to enter the premises. The fact that there were no cleaning staff to be found working on the deserted corridor merely increased our anger.
We attempted to report these failings to staff but, despite making numerous attempts to locate a suitable individual, were forced to wait a full fifteen minutes before anyone appeared at reception. Eventually, your duty manager agreed to relocate us to a room on the ground floor (number 9) and we duly returned upstairs to collect our belongings. Imagine then our sheer disbelief when, attempting to walk downstairs, we were confronted with a staircase strewn with dirty laundry which blocked our path. I enclose a picture of this farcical scene to highlight the hotel’s blatant disregard of health and safety legislation; negligence which put at risk the welfare of guests and staff alike. Unbelievably, the situation on the ground floor corridor was no better and, again, I enclose pictorial evidence of this carelessness to draw your attention to how this wholly unprofessional behaviour could easily have resulted in serious injury.
To make matters worse, by the time my girlfriend and I eventually relocated to our room it was well past 5 30pm, forcing us re-arrange our early evening commitments in York at no little inconvenience and cost. Moreover, after settling in the room and attempting to shower, we were yet further inconvenienced as we discovered that no bath towels had been provided by your staff. Once again, we were forced to complain to reception and wait in our room for ten minutes, only to receive one stained bath and two stained hand towels.
Finally managing to depart from the accommodation for the evening, we returned from to the hotel at around 1am expecting at the very least to enjoy a comfortable night of sleep following the problems of the day. However, at around 2am we were unceremoniously awoken by a group of guests in the rooms opposite our own, who proceeded to shout vulgar obscenities, attempt to have intercourse, bang on doors and smoke in the corridors for over three hours. Unbelievably, this disgusting behaviour was left unchallenged, since there was no night porter, nor members of your staff present to confront these individuals. Needless to say, my girlfriend and I were extremely disturbed by this incident and left so distressed that we were unable to return to sleep for the remainder of the night.
Our irritation was further compounded over breakfast in the morning, when we were unable to locate a table that was not covered in used plates, cutlery and left over food and waited half an hour to have our order taken despite the fact there were less than ten fellow guests present in dining hall.
I trust that you are as appalled as I am by this succession of failings and agree that such poor standards are wholly unacceptable in a hotel which claims to provide three star accommodation and, according to your website, believes in “offering both a very professional and personal service”.
I expect to receive an immediate, full and frank apology, compensation for my trouble - including a refund of £59 - and assurances that such failings, in particular the blatant disregard of health and safety legislation, will not be tolerated, nor reoccur in future. Should you refuse to accede to these reasonable expectations, I shall have no alternative but to report your conduct to The Independents Hotel Association, articulate my dissatisfaction on internet hotel review sites and forward this complaint to The City of York Council’s Health and Safety Enforcement team.

Potentially, this hotel could be excellent. In fact it is anything but! The exterior from the front gives the visitor great hope for having chosen the perfect spot but, on arrival at the room, having searched for a receptionist to check in, and having journeyed through corridors stacked high with laundry - hopefully fresh, but the dreadful smells would give rise to other speculations - you are forcibly reminded that you have booked budget - low budget!
The room itself was passable save for rotting and breaking plaster above the main window, though, as a room for three it was small and cramped with services such as cups, coffee, towels etc for only two.
The bathroom was appalling and in desperate need of cleaning. The lavatory bowl was soiled and stained; the floor had not been washed as evidenced by marks and body hair; the fittings were unclean and mould was growing in every corner and crevice.
One of the glasses was unusable as a drinks container, looking, as it did, as though it had been used to store toothbrushes, the bottom of it being coasted in a white scum. The towels smelled as though they had been dried after use and not as though they had been washed and dried and they were small and well past their sell-by date, being holed and frayed and though purporting to be white were rather dark grey.
We arrived for breakfast at 0925 and were eventually seated at 1003, there being tables un-cleared and no one attending to them. When we were shown to a table it was cleared and cleaned only on request as we sat there and while it was being set with fresh utensils. The youth who was laying the table can only be said to have 'pawed' the cutlery laying everything at random and in the wrong places with little attention to hygiene requirements.
No condiments were provided and we had to scavenge our own from other tables. We were left to wait with no one taking our order until we asked. The degree of service continued to deteriorate and we eventually ended the breakfast experience at approximately 1045! It did, however, give us time to take in the extensive collection of dead flies and dust which adorned just about every surface in the room, the unwashed floors and badly hoovered carpets.
Needless to say I did not enjoy or complete my breakfast, and I was glad to leave, especially after having had to queue for 15 minutes or more in order to settle my account. As though I need add to my comments about dissatisfaction, the bar, in a tourist hotel on the edge of a tourist city, closed at 1045! I sincerely wish I had gone for a city guest house which would have been more welcoming, better organised and certainly much cleaner.