Day 8 West Coast again ;-) Strip St Patricks Day, Road trip to Phoenix..
 

Day 8

Up 8.30 am got ready, finished packed and checked out by 9.30am and headed to Dunkin Donuts..

The day started off a lot better than it finished.. ! Originally we were going to leave early and go to Bearizonia but the kids realised it was St Patricks Day and asked if we could stay in Vegas a bit longer so we did.

After Dunkin Donuts, We went and had pictures taken at the Vegas sign something we do yearly and then we drove to Jimmy Johns to get me a sandwich as i had a gift card to use..

Then headed to the strip and parked in the Flamingo self park, We had all the luggage with us but you can't help it when travelling so we don't worry.

Strip was heaving and very green :-) Had a really good atmosphere though and we saw no trouble. Found a Pandora shop to change Chloe's ring as it was a little big, sorted that and just wandered around ended up at NYNY where we had pretzels and candy apples. Sat outside to eat them watching the celebrations.
Wandered through Crystals which was as dead as usual I often wonder how this shopping centre stays open. By now it was almost 3 and getting time to leave :cry:

Hadn't yet seen the Bellagio fountains so we headed off there, We followed a woman up the strip pushing a wheelchair, it was around 100 degrees and she was not struggling.. She gets to the Bellagio plonks herself in it and holds up a sign begging for money !

3pm comes and the fountains didn't start which was odd.. For some reason we decided to wait and about 15 mins later they struck up and we actually saw 4 shows in a row, never seen that before :-)

Now we really had to go as we had 298 miles to drive ! So we fetched the car , stopped at a nearby garage for fuel and headed off .

Passed the Hoover Dam but didn't stop we've seen it so many times.

A bit further on there's a picture point for the Colorado River so we stopped here for some pics then carried on to Kingman.. Ended up stopping here for Golden Coral which was nice and then carried on.

We've done this route many times and it bores me silly I hate road trips.. looks very different in the dark though..

Finally at 10.30pm we arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn Avondale and that's when it all changed !

We come every year and there aren't many hotels near the track and what there are get booked up by teams. The one we stayed in last year was booked up over a year ago.. So last May I booked this Hilton $680 for 3 nights. Connor was happy because a big race team stops here.

We pull up and go to reception Connor came with us and bumped into a NASCAR driver he was happy :pgig:

Then ! Go to the desk hand over confirmation and $680... receptionist says we don't accept cash payment on check in ...bit confused by this... she explains she will take it on check out but they need a credit card for $780... I explain I don't have a credit card, we use cash never had a problem before and I offered a $200 deposit.
Nope can't accept it. She calls a manager who was the rudest most vile woman ever. She didn't want to listen just said no card no room !
She them claimed to ring someone higher up but she never did she was gone 10 secs maximum. Apparently every single guest worldwide stopping in a Hilton hotel has to use a credit card.. I don't believe that for one second.

I was getting really upset by now... I explained we had nowhere to go all hotels were sold out and we had 2 kids . They could have as much deposit as they wanted.. Our friend who drivers the NASCAR hauler was in a hotel 10 mins away I asked if I fetched him could he pay on his card and I'd pay him. Nope the room's not in his name !
She then said room cancelled go ! I was pretty upset explaining we had 2 kids and literally nowhere to go ..

What the hell were we going to do ... Kids were pretty scared by now.. I decided to go to Best Western nearby that we had used before and see what she could do.. Drove there and the manager was so nice, She had a room for the next two nights and would reduce the rate for us but nothing that night, however she rang around and found us a Days Inn 20 miles away at Buckeye. It was $220 but we had no choice.
Extremely grateful we headed there and said we would be back tomorrow.

Days Inn well think low rate motel... on a truck stop.. But it was clean and they helped us out and it was safe for the kids.. Around 1am they finally got in bed. I actually slept very little that night.. I was so angry and upset tbh..

I went on twitter that night and spoke to Hilton group they couldn't of cared less... I've since had many conversations with managers etc not one will admit its wrong to turf a family out with no where to go. I honestly thought we'd be sleeping in Walmart car park ! I won't let this go though. They have sent me a voucher to use for a night in a Hilton Garden Inn but I don't want it..
My opinion is this...Hotel rooms that weekend were going for $500/600 per night.. she knew if she cancelled our booking she'd fill the room easily and for a lot more money.

Steps..15897 / 8.12km

I have read all your trip reports and watched your "kids" grow up. Chloe is turning out to be a beautiful young lady. You are now the smallest one in the family. Doesn't stop you worrying though and what happened was horrendous.
Regarding the room I think you are spot on and your room had probably already been let at a premium price.
Was there anything in writing saying that only cards were acceptable?
Have a chelp about it on Trip Advisor. They hate getting a 0/5 rating.
I have a feeling that free hotels for the rest of your life won't suffice because NOTHING can compensate that fear in a mother that her children are in danger.

Thank you, I've just told Chloe and she also said thanks.

The hotel never even asked how old the kids were obviously they saw Connor but I could have had a baby for all they cared. Nothing in writing anywhere to say we couldn't pay in cash.
I have asked multiple times now why they accept cash on check out and not check in.. I've not had a answer to that. In fact I've not had a answer to anything I've asked.
I did get a very patronising email from someone who said " As a father of 6, I understand how frustrating the situation must have been when you attempted to check into our hotel (obviously travelling away from home) and were told the hotel would only allow a credit card. We do allow guests to pay by cash on departure once we know the total cost of the stay, There are times such as this one that I wish the policy weren't in place "

That is utter rubbish .. the bill was for $680.. I said turn off all incidentals we won't charge anything to the room and offered as much cash deposit as they wanted..


Oh and they sent me a voucher for a free night, must be used in a Hilton Garden Inn.. there are 4 in England.. but its only for a standard 2 person room.. its not even like for like.. as we had a family room booked..

Wow, I think this is pretty appalling. There have been many times in the past we have pre booked and paid cash on arrival and not had a cc with us as we didn't have one.
And to make matters worse with children. She should be ashamed.

Disgusting behaviour, I can understand why you were fuming. Would you consider getting a credit card for future visits for 'just in case'.

I travel a lot, stay in lots of hotels from 4* in Vegas to cheap and cheerful and we've never had a issue..

She didn't want to help that was clear when she refused my offer of any deposit she wanted and when I offered to fetch my friend.. He works for one of the top NASCAR teams, There would have been no issue with him paying and me giving him the cash..

She knew that room would sell per night what I was paying for 3 nights.. I have the Hilton app on my phone and she actually cancelled it before I walked out of reception..


I've never had a problem elsewhere .. I did have my debit cards and a Caxton card with me... but as I explained to her a hold on a debit card takes up to two weeks to drop off .. If she had accepted the $680 cash and put a $100 hold on my debit card that would have been fine. But she wanted to put a $780 hold on my card that night and then take the $680 cash when we checked out.
She simply didn't want us there that was clear.. I booked when it was cheap she knew she could sell it for 3 times as much..

That must of been a terribly upsetting night for you all, shame on Hilton hotels. I'd of been beside myself especially if it was my first visit...lucky that you knew the area having visited before. I think I'd of cried!