La Rochelle Montréal
La Rochelle advertised itself on the Internet as an apartment hotel. My wife and I were unfortunate enough to book into this establishment in 2005. This was part of a special trip to Canada to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary. Detailed on this web page is our horrendous experience, and our attempts to ensure that no one else has to live through it themselves.
The following is an email that we sent to Tourisme Québec on August 18 2005:
In February of this year we found, on the Internet, a site advertising La Rochelle. This site no longer exists, but we did carry out further research into this property. We found another website [The Hotel Channel]. [In case it disappears] The description it contains can be found it the website1.txt attachment.
And another [Hotels Central]. The description it contains can be found it the website2.txt attachment.
After exchanging a number of emails with Ben Henri, on behalf of Daniel Giasson, the director, we felt that this was a wonderful find. These emails are available should you wish to see them. In March we confirmed our stay on 15, 16 and 25 July 2005. There were a few problems at their end with our credit card payment. They took a much larger deposit than they had said they would. We said we could sort it out when we got there. [You can read some these emails here]
Our flight into Montreal arrived around 9:45PM, which meant that we did not get to La Rochelle until 10:30PM. We had previously advised Ben of our expected arrival time.
Upon arrival there were two very unkempt men outside, smoking. They turned out to be "either the receptionist or the concierge who is always on the premises". They knew we were coming, but had a problem in locating any keys.
After searching for a while we were finally shown to Room 810. Mon Dieu!
This room had no air conditioning (or fan), no sheets or pillowcases on the bed, no cutlery, no microwave or coffee maker, no kettle, no shower curtain or bathmat, no glasses. The toiletries consisted of one bar of soap. There was a TV, but it was not connected to an aerial or cable, so there was no picture.
My wife went downstairs to the room they appeared to live in -reception/ security??
After discussing the problems we were given another room, Room 1009.
This room also had no air conditioning (You were having a heat wave at the time). There were no stools or dining chairs to sit on, no glasses, no clock, no bathmat, no plugs for the sink or hand basin, no toiletries, no tea towels, dish brush or sponge. The TV was not connected, so again there was no picture. There were light bulbs missing. The sink in the bathroom leaked. The toilet cistern continually filled up. Only one of the door locks worked and it felt very insecure.
These may not be issues if you are paying $40 or $50 a night. We were being charged
CAD$125 a night.
On September 10 2005 we had not heard anything and sent a reminder email. This was the response:
Bonjour from Montréal,
We did receive your complaint and thank you very much for your comments.
Tourisme Montréal is an association of members and each of them must pay an annual fee. Unfortunately (or fortunately!) La Rochelle hotel is not a member of our organization so we don't work with them at all and don't know them either.
We have transferred your complaint to Tourisme Quebec for a proper answer but from our side the only thing we can do is to wish to welcoming you again to Montréal soon and please the next time to not hesitate to consult our website: www.tourism-montreal.org where you will find more recommended hotels.
Thank you for your attention and best regards,
Sophie
Tourisme Montréal
On November 12 2005 we eventually received our reply:
Quebec City, November 11, 2005
Dear Sir and Madam:
We acknowledge receipt of your complaint of last September 21st concerning the quality of the equipment, services and maintenance in force at the La Rochelle Guest House.
Always aware of the importance of providing visitors with high quality services, we appreciate your bringing this matter to our attention.
Our verifications show that this apartment/hotel does not hold the required classification certificate in order to operate a tourist accommodation establishment. The ministére du Tourisme (Ministry of Tourism) will make the necessary investigations in order to ensure that the regulation is respected in this matter.
May we suggest that for future reservations, you contact our tourist reservation center at 1877-266-5687. Our counselors will be pleased to assist you in the choice of a registered hotel. You can also use our services through our website, www.bonjourquebec.com, for information and/or to make a reservation on-line.
Otherwise, the Loi sur les établissements d'hébergement touristique (An Act Respecting Tourist Accommodation Establishments) does not cover aspects related to the management of an establishment such as the quality of equipment, services and maintenance ; consequently, the ministére du Tourisme (Ministry of Tourism) cannot intervene directly in this case. Considering that this establishment does not hold the classification attestation, we cannot intervene at this time. However, we are keeping your comments in our file for reference at the time of the establishment's evaluation, once the registration is completed.
Please believe that we regret that this establishment was not up to your expectations and rest assured that it is not representative of the quality generally prevailing in the Quebec tourism accommodation industry. Moreover, we apologize for not having been able to process your complaint in a shorter delay, but rest assured that it has received all the necessary attention according to our standards of quality.
That would appear to be the end of the story. I want to add that the rest of our stay in Canada was wonderful, and the other people we met were friendly and helpful. We will not let this one bad experience spoil our memories of the trip.