Best Western Red Deer Inn And Suites

We enjoyed our getaway to Red Deer. We went to a local Casino, but typically didn’t win. Bought a lottery ticket and are hoping for it to be a winner. Overall, this was an enjoyable stay in Red Deer.

This was a nice nights getaway for a couple of old folks. We were very disappointed that the hot tub was closed down. We wish they had mentioned that when we made the reservation. Regardless, it was very nice to get away from Edmonton for a small break! We also appreciated the upgraded room with a king bed.

I am writing in regards my hotel stay on Dec. 24, 2024. When Best Western had reached out after my stay initially, I had left a good review because there had been no problems with the room, and the staff had been friendly. I didn't notice my problem until several days later. At check-in, I presented a $150 gift card, which would cover the majority of our stay. I was told they would still need to pre-authorization the total of $174.75 on my card. This did not seem unreasonable so I went ahead and did so. Upon check out I was told my total after gift card was $24.75 and that it would be taken out of my pre-authorization. I was emailed a receipt showing the night's balance, the use of my gift card and the $24.75 being charged to my card including the last 4 digits of the card number. Several days later I noticed that I neither saw the release of my funds or the final charge of $24.75 on my account. I contacted the hotel but was reassured that it can take up to 14 days for the bank to release a pre-authorization hold. That had not been my experience in the past, so I contacted my bank to inquire further. My bank informed me that no pre-authorization was done on Dec. 24, it had been a pos sale for $174.75, so there was nothing on their side holding back funds. I immediately called the hotel back and was told "That's not what the system shows so I'll have to escalate this to a manager" I was told to expect a call from the manager the next day. Hoping to resolve the issue quickly. I called the hotel the next day at 11:30 am, hoping that by contacting them after check out they would be free to offer assistance. The phone rang 8+ times before I gave up. I called back again at 3:30 pm hoping again that calling prior to check in I would be able to get through to someone. This time me the phone rang even longer but I was resolute to wait until someone answered. When the phone was finally answered I had the worst interaction I've experienced yet. The woman I spoke to on the phone told me that the system didn't match my story. That she wasn't sure if the manager had been in at all that day, because she has been sick the previous day and that she couldn't help me. If I wanted someone to help me I'd have to call between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm the next day when a manager *might* be in to assist me. At this point beyond frustrated I left a 1 star review on Google explaining the situation. Within hours, I received a response from the manager saying that they were on vacation but were working on my issue while they were away. This has been the only contact I have received up until this point. This morning when I went to check my bank account I found another charge from the hotel for $24.75, which at no point had I authorized. Where we stand right now the hotel has charged be $199.50 directly, and taken and charged a $150 gift card. Meaning this hotel has taken $349.50 from me for a one night stay. To say I am upset about this is an understatement. I understand that it is the holidays, but I certainly don't have that type of money to just be sitting in limbo, especially post Christmas. While my initial stay was pleasant, dealing with this hotel has been a nightmare full of misinformation, a lack of empathy, a refusal to take any accountability and just poor customer service