Sol Cypress, San Antonio Service Issue

I have a crazy story to share with you. One that just happened over Valentine's Day weekend at this brand new property. The joke about being Bonvoyed has been tossed around since Marriott's horrible rebranding several years ago, and this is more of the same. Even worse maybe. Sit back, relax and be prepared to be flabbergasted by this Sol Cypress, San Antonio service issue.

*This experience is being shared by team member Veronica.

Backstory On The Stay

We made some last minute decisions to cancel a stay in Omaha, and part of our goal for that trip was to use a 35k free night certificate that expires in a few weeks. Since we weren’t going to fly we decided to go to San Antonio and I came across a new Marriott property called Sol Cypress, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. From the photos online it appeared to have a bright open lobby and patio access to the Riverwalk. The location was within walking distance to a few restaurants we enjoy in the area too.

The hotel was 51k or $305 for the night, plus $45 valet or $40 self parking (+tax). We arrived shortly after 5pm on Friday February 14th, the valet was available and no other cars were behind us. At check in we were helped by a staff member who mentioned that there were no suites available but there might be some later and we opted to accept the room that was ready. We thought the property was in great condition and the decor and furnishings in the room were nice. 

Whose Champagne Is This Anyway?

When we entered the room we noticed one of the tables had a bottle of champagne, a glass bottle of orange juice and a small plate of 6 strawberries dipped in chocolate. As a new hotel, and it being Valentine’s Day, we thought it was a nice touch for the hotel to provide this for a couple checking in.

That positive impression faded just a few moments later when our room phone rang and the person asked if we had champagne and strawberries in our room. I said yes, and that it was really nice and very much appreciated. He said someone made a mistake and the items were for someone else. Then asked if I had already opened the champagne. I was pretty stunned at this point, because we just had a conversation at the front desk with someone who assigned us the room and this was a different person calling. Now he was saying they were coming right up to get the champagne. What the hell?

A few minutes later someone knocked on the door and said he was here to “pick up the stuff”. I asked why they didn't just leave it, since it wasn't an expensive bottle of champagne. We are talking about a total cost of like $20 for everything included. The person didn't reply at all and just took the champagne and left.

The next morning around nine at check out we asked if there was a manager we could speak with and the staff member at the desk said it would be another 20 minutes before one got there. We decided to leave to head to breakfast. 

Finally Tracking Down A Manager

Later that day I called the hotel and spoke to a manager named Robert. I told him why we were calling and said we were curious why a manager didn't reach out to us to apologize or explain what happened. He said he wasn't sure because he didn't work the night before. He said when he came to work he wasn't told a guest name or a room number, so that's why he didn't call.

What he would say was that he was told we should have been informed that the champagne wasn't ours. He also asked what would make us think why the items in the room were ours. I explained to him that the Grand Hyatt down the street often provides us similar gifts so it didn't seem that unusual. I said that it wasn't expected, but it seem like a nice surprise, only to be awkwardly handled by staff a few moments later.

Ultimately he offered to give us points for the situation. We saw that yesterday 5k points were added to the Bonvoy account (which cost them more than the entire set up was worth).

Sol Cypress, San Antonio Service Issue: ToP Thoughts

This is maybe the cheapest thing I have ever heard coming from a hotel. A new hotel, in a super competitive area, that needs to build a name for itself to boot. Why would you ruin a guests entire experience for like $20. It makes no sense. If you legit had to have that champagne back because you didn't have a replacement for the guest then come upstairs with a resolution. Say that we apologize for the mix up and here are 2, or 4, drink tickets to enjoy at our bar as an apology. Handle it any way other

The managers response was just as bad, if not worse. They should at least know better. This is likely why Sol Cypress, San Antonio has a service culture issue. They take their directions from the top. Asking how you could ever think that champagne is yours is a wild thing to say. It was Valentine's Day, a new hotel and she had some mid tier status. The only reason you would automatically think it was a mistake is because it was a Marriott property. People need to stop collecting points in their program and giving them their loyalty. It is a horrible company all around that actually has disdain for their customers.

Let me know if what the Sol Cypress, San Antonio hotel did is the cheapest thing you have ever heard of a hotel doing over in the ToP Facebook Group.