Complaint Review: The Grove Hotel Boise - Boise Idaho

Yes, the staff and the view is fabulous. And the bed is top notch. But, the Grove cuts corners in the wrong places and ignores the most important needs of its customers.

 Let's start with some small issues that should be easy to fix:

Even though everything in the bathroom area looks fabulous, the fixtures for supplying water do not work well.

The sink was scalding when the smallest amount of hot water is added to a fully opened cold water valve.

The shower mixing valve is poor quality. The handle felt like it was going to fall off during each use, even though the Allen screw for the handle was secured.

 The hotel Engineers, who are certified by the State, should be the ones maintaining and treating the pool and hot tubs at the Grove hotel, not the health club "staff."

The pool was a yellow/ green. It is not properly maintained and cleaned.

The spa had too much foam when used. The foam covered the entire hot tub and was over a foot high.

The internet service was too slow.

Some of the computer equipment for guest use in their "Business Center" was poorly maintained. Some of the boards were greasy and damaged. One of the three computers was not working.

The food at the hotel was pricey and poor quality. My tasteless omelet was tiny and rubbery, not lite and fluffy. My “Swedish potatoes” were stodgy and stale.

The food provided in the meeting rooms was also poor quality and not fresh.

 The biggest issue inside the Grove Hotel, which will be more difficult to fix, is the indoor air pollution:

 Carpets cause many airborne contaminants.  Cleaning and vacuuming the carpets only improves about 50% of the indoor environmental Quality problems caused by carpets. And the Grove hotel has too much carpeting!

 Also, the small meeting rooms were poorly ventilated. The HVAC could not handle the load when the small meeting rooms, especially on the third floor, were about half filled with people. The rooms that were packed with people were agonizingly hot and stuffy.

 Let me be clear that I do not have any respiratory conditions. However, I found it difficult to breath at the Grove hotel and was unable to stay at many of the meetings held on the third floor. The public spaces felt oppressive.

 I missed 70% of my meetings, because of the poor indoor air quality. This defeated the purpose of my visit.

 The private rooms are better. But, even when the exhaust fan in the bathroom is working, it is too weak. The small vent near the bedroom window for ventilation is inadequate.

The best part of my stay was being outside of the hotel in the mornings.

 The Final issues involved the hazardous and detestable walking area around the Grove Hotel:

During day time business hours, there are a lot of disaffected people within ten feet of the hotel that are harassing the guests of the Grove.

 The homeless are causing problems around the Hotel. They were leering at the women walking by and many were begging for money. They usually occupy the public benches that are five feet from the hotel walls.

 Motorists are driving too fast and aggressively around the hotel.

 The roads are not safe for cyclists. This forces cyclists to use the pedestrian walkways.

 Most of the cyclists are riding too fast and too close to pedestrians. It is not safe for guests, especially children and elderly, walking around the Grove hotel.

 Many of the Cyclists are disaffected and appear to target pedestrians who are dressed in business attire.

 The disgruntled young cyclists, and homeless who are walking, appear to be playing a game of “chicken” with anyone around the Grove hotel who is dressed in business attire. They have little respect for others and seem to enjoy terrifying hotel guests.

Outside remedies:

 The park benches around the hotel should be removed, especially the ones between the hotel and convention center.

Bike lanes should be made in the roads around the hotel, and cyclists should be prohibited from riding in pedestrian areas. If this is not possible, then some type of bicycle speed bumps or obstacles to stop cyclists from racing in walkways.

 Perhaps the park benches around the Grove hotel can be replaced with large bike racks.

 The Grove hotel should collaborate with the convention center to find solutions to these problems, since their customers are also abused.

 Inside remedies:

 Increase CFM on toilet exhausts.

 Fix water supply issues in rooms.

 Providing some carpet free rooms for guests.

 Use Hotel Engineers for pool and spa maintenance.

 Increase internet speed for guest use.

Increase CFM and AC capacity for meeting rooms on third floor.