I have stayed at Ivey Spencer one weekend a month for the past couple of years, and my experience has generally been goodādepending on the room. Unfortunately, today when I went to check in, I was assigned a room with an overpowering smell of mildew. It was so severe that my ears started popping and I felt a tightness in my head. This is not the first time I have encountered this. The grounds of this hotel is beautiful but it is an old renovated building that is renovated; the smell cannot be masked. The last time this happened I was assisted and got a new room that did not have this smell.
Today's check in was appalling. When I went to my room and started experiencing these symptoms and smelled the overpowering smell of mildew I immediately requested a room change, but was told the hotel was fully booked. While I understand it was a busy weekend, as a frequent guest, I expected at least some effort to assist me. Instead, I was met with indifference and zero empathy from the front desk staff. She told me concern has been raised by past guests and it has been escalated to upper management. However she could not change my room this weekend.
Left with no choice, I had to cancel my reservation. I had to take my bags, sit in the parking lot, and scramble to find another hotel in Londonāsomething Iāve never had to do before. The complete lack of concern for a regular guest was shocking and deeply disappointing.