Canterbury Tales

[nitelife]

just thought id let other forum members know of my brief experience of the above hotel/guest house!

 

as im staying in pattaya for a month i thought id try and save a bit of cash on the accomodation front,but BIG mistake!

 

had heard about this place and it had got some good reviews and the pics on the website looked good too,but whoa! when i got to the room i wonder whether the pics were even of the same place? and if so they must have been taken a fair old time ago!

 

list of problems;

 

ceiling coming down in one part of room

ac leaking all over the tiled floor

no sheets on the bed other than mattress sheet!

bathroom very dirty

looked like it had been decorated by Stevie Wonder!

generally very run down

towels dirty with rust marks on them

 

i was actually embarrassed to bring anyone back the first night it was such a shxt hole! and also it is an area which isnt exactly quiet either,impossible to get any kind of sleep day or night due to the noise!

 

after 1 night i decided enough was enough so decided to check out and check into some proper accomodation,bit more expensive but well worth the extra thats for sure.this will be the last time i attempt to save any money on hotels!

 

packed up,in fact i hadnt even unpacked as i new i was going to stay more than 1 night and went downstairs to tell them i was leaving and heres where the fun started. had to wait for David Collier the owner to come back as his wife couldnt deal with it,he turned up and after telling him what i thought of his room he wasnt even remotely interested just told his wife to call the Police! as they wanted full payment for month in the room! thankfully i hadnt paid up front only a small deposit via paypal.

now we all now when it comes to Thai Police you can forget any kind of help as all that would have happened is police turn up,side with the owners and theres me forced to pay the whole lot up front so i made an offer to pay an amount just to save on the hassle and just to get the hell out of there!

 

i guess this is why the guy now runs a business in Thailand and not the UK as wouldnt get away with this kind of thing back home!

 

so all in all guys, BE WARNED! this place is a real dump but i guess if you like your accomodation crappy then by all means go for it

[muu]

Must have seriously pissed you off to make you repeat your post in two threads!

 

I'm quite surprised as Canterbury Tales generally gets fairly positive reviews and Dave strikes me as a nice, approachable guy. It will be interesting to see what he has to say in response.

 

One question though - you stayed one night, did you point out what was wrong when you were shown your room and ask for things to be put right (obviously not the decor)?

[JAI DEE MAK]

Must have seriously pissed you off to make you repeat your post in two threads!

 

I'm quite surprised as Canterbury Tales generally gets fairly positive reviews and Dave strikes me as a nice, approachable guy. It will be interesting to see what he has to say in response.

 

One question though - you stayed one night, did you point out what was wrong when you were shown your room and ask for things to be put right (obviously not the decor)?

 

I think he is very pissed off as he has also posted it on Secrets forum.

 

[JAI DEE MAK]

I have been following this on the Secrets forum and waiting for Big Dave's side of the story it would seem he has not done so on Secrets as he is no longer a member.

 

It will be interesting to see what he has to say here as clearly he is an active member.

 

as they say there are two sides to a story (I suspect there will be more to this one).

 

[benny31]

1st lesson - ALWAYS check your room first

[Luv2Phuket]

Sorry that you had a bad experience, but I gotta be frank: while I have never stayed there, Dave has pretty damn good reputation on this board, while you now have a total of 2 posts (basically, this same post repeated twice).

 

I'm not saying that you did NOT have a negative experience, but given the ease and anonymity with which one can attack the reputation of a business on the Net, comments such as these are always taken with a grain of salt by me.

 

A few suggestions:

- if there's a problem with the room, raise the problems and see if they can be fixed or you can be moved to a new room. Your description sound sl;ike you were unhappy upon seeing the room and just said "f*ck it; I'm outta here!"

- if you're going to go on the Net and claim that a place that has gotten fairly good reviews in the past was too embarrassing to bring anyone back, you might want to have a photo or two to post and demonstrate the problem

- you also might want to elaborate more on where you have stayed in the past, to put things into perspective. If you're usually in the suite at the Dusit 2, then maybe a guesthouse isn't the best option for you

 

Regardless, I hope the rest of your trip turned out great

[gitteyman]

I dont know dave or stayed at the canterbury.

But to join a foram. and blast a hotel on your first post.?

[capricorn]

I stayed at Canterbury Tales twice in 2010 for short periods of time between trips to other Asian countries. I didn't have anything to complain about: sheets were changed everyday, the room was also cleaned everyday. It's true it's not the fanciest place in Pattaya (some walls may need repainting etc.) but it's also one of the cheapest options in town.

 

You get what you pay for and I was pretty pleased with what I had considering what I paid.

[Daveo]

I am surprised at this post, as you did not talk to me only to be rude and even offensive to my wife then arrogant to me.

I have never taken the course of action I had to take with you before but when you deal with a situation like you did I had little option, basically the rooms are as the pictures portray, the totally full bookings over the high season clarify this.

I rarely take an offensive stance re a guest but I have to admit you were totally out of order from the word go.

In the past I have had very few guests who have not been totally satisfied with the room, if a guest has a complaint for one reason or another I get it sorted if there is a problem I ALWAYS come to an amicable arrangement which suits both parties and I have never had cause to complain about a guest in the past.

You however from the word go was rude to me wife before I came on to the scene and was very arrogant towards me at the first meeting, had you said you were not happy with the room we would have come to an arrangement but insulting my wife is not a good start.

She and I work hard to maintain a good relationship with guests and this is the first time I have had to take an offensive stance towards a guest in 6 years of business.

Threatening me with banding it all over the internet if I didn't give you a refund is a is a daft way to deal with it, had you had a valid reason for complaint I am the first person to sort it out amicably, you book a room for a month in the high season and then change your mind over nothing then expect to pay nothing is unacceptable, if your not sure why did you book for a month.

Anyway I have had Canterbury Tales Guest house for 6 years now and had very few problems & rarely come across a guy like you who are so arrogant and threatening but IA guess it has to happen to us all eventually

 

Had you have told the truth and been gentlemanly I would have listened to you and taken the proper course of action towards the booking, I will welcome anyone to see the room and compare it to the pictures and then say they are not the same room, this room as all the others have been fully booked all through even the low season and had NO complaints as the price reflects on a room in a guest house in this area.

If you were not sure about the room why did you book for a month, if you were worried/concerned about anything why did you not show your concerns before booking, if you were truthful at the outset I would have considered your concerns but no you lied and was arrogant so what do you expect, the sheets are in the wardrobe, idf the staff forget the toilet paper is very easy to remind the reception, if the A/C is leaking is easy to let me know and I can get it looked at, if the bathroom is not clean, let me know and I will get it sorted, that's why you have me to deal with this sort of thing.

I sometimes have guests ask me or request something or other and I am on hand to deal with it but just being arrogant about it is not a good way forward.

[cheaptrick]

well said Dave. you have been in business long enough to know you cant please everyone.

[Daveo]

Incidentally I asked you to cover a few days as you had booked a month and your words were you were paying nothing and wanted your deposit back, your attitude stinks mate.

[PandaBear]

Shouldn't this thread be killed off. Sounds like the OP is a tool and has only joined the forum to rubbish what is a reputable business.

 

My experience in business tells me this kind of person who threatens actions instead of trying to sort the problem out, are just looking for everything for nothing in life. Better they just fuck off and stop bothering everyone.

[Luv2Phuket]

Kudos on your response, Daveo! It is pretty much what I think we all expected to see.

[memoose]

Nitelife

 

all you are doing is trying to down grade some who never professes to run a 5 star establishment. If and I quote " abused Daves wife" that is a real way to resolve a problem.

 

Yes I am biased I stay at Canterbury Tales

[Kangarooted]

I stayed at Canterbury Tales twice in 2010 for short periods of time between trips to other Asian countries. I didn't have anything to complain about: sheets were changed everyday, the room was also cleaned everyday. It's true it's not the fanciest place in Pattaya (some walls may need repainting etc.) but it's also one of the cheapest options in town.

 

You get what you pay for and I was pretty pleased with what I had considering what I paid.

 

I agree 100%. And clearly the OP had a bit of a brain explosion according to Dave's post which I believe to be the reality - and the request to pay a couple of days seems more than reasonable considering the OP booked for a month

[Daveo]

Yes I received a call from my wife to say customer bad man, I arrived 5 mins later and the guy was swearing and saying the room is nothing like the photo;'s, I offer anyone to come look the room and compare, this is a large room with separate bedroom and lounge etc as big as any big hotel room, ok no fine furnishings but the price reflects it, initially I said to him the room is exactly like the pics he then started swearing at me and said he was off and would pay nothing and if I did not return his deposit he would spread it all over the net, what would you do guys, well I just said to my wife, call the police because leaving a hotel without paying is an offence.

This guy was very obnoxious and anyone that knows me knows I am a fair guy, normally if a guest decides to leave early from a booking we always come to an amicable arrangement where I just ask for a couple of days to cover our arse hoping to find another guest for the room but this guy was the most ignorant guy I have met in all my time here.

I guess out of 100's of guests per year I am going to come across the odd guy like this.

[Ohyesuare]

I don't blame the OP for booking a month sight unseen if Canterbury Tales has an ok reputation. Daveo isn't really denying that the room had some issues which should be taken care of before a customer is given the room. He shouldn't get the deposit back because he took that chance by booking the room for a month, but I don't believe he should have to pay any more then that. Anyway, sounds like he was being rude about it which doesn't get you anywhere. I guess he was pissed because he would have to find a new room for a month in high season.

[Dia]

Nitelife

 

all you are doing is trying to down grade some who never professes to run a 5 star establishment. If and I quote " abused Daves wife" that is a real way to resolve a problem.

 

Yes I am biased I stay at Canterbury Tales

 

Ok Dave Logan Memoose

[Daveo]

Ok Dave Logan Memoose

 

Hey Ivor where you been

[Dia]

Hey Ivor where you been

 

Ivor few names but that's not one of them.

[HowieD]

I'm not saying that you did NOT have a negative experience, but given the ease and anonymity with which one can attack the reputation of a business on the Net, comments such as these are always taken with a grain of salt by me.

 

Very well said and so true.

[602trooper]

not really sure what the op is trying to achieve by trying to run down a respected board member and business owner like daveo.

there are better ways to lodge complaints and the op should have given dave a chance to sort the issues.

 

sounds like ops' expectations prior to arrival might have been a bit too high . i have stayed in a couple of rooms at CT and the pics are a fair reflection of the rooms. of course pics show rooms in their best light and CT is not the ritz, but the rooms are fantastic value. Its not for everyone but it is a well run good value guesthouse and restaurant. Never had any complaints about the rooms or towels or sheets from any girl that came back with me - but then they did have my company as compensation. In fact girls quite like the big ct rooms as they have the seperate living area.

 

I did experience bar noise problems on my second visit but took the decision to leave a couple days early and book into a hotel, nothing dave could have done about the issue and it was not a reflection on the CT. Did not feel the need to aks for a refund as it was my choice, daves wife was very apologetic about the situation but it wasnt caused by CT

 

not really sure what the op is trying to achieve by trying to run down a respected board member and business owner like daveo.

there are better ways to lodge complaints and the op should have given dave a chance to sort the issues.

 

Mrs canterbury tales is a lovely lady so hope op was not too hard on her or upset her too much.

 

Only spoken to Daveo on a few occasions but in my opinion is a very fair and friendly guy who I am sure would have tried

to resolve the problems the OP had.

 

the net is a powerful tool to diss or big up a business but word of mouth is even more powerful.

 

Hope ops trip is now progressing smoothly and Daveo is back to being his jovial self and puts this rare incident behind him.

[Nak Muay]

while i may agree some things in the rooms at canterbury could be a little better maintained/serviced. This is not the point and we all must remember that this is Thailand and daves standards are way above the norm for the price.

 

may i also say if you insult my girlfriend/wife regardless of any small comlaint you may or maynot have getting your money back would quickly become the least of your worries.

 

I think dave handled the situation right and also know daves character and know he would of gone that extra mile to reach a professional and fair solution for the OP so posting this has really made no difference what so ever. I would still stay at daves again and eat his breakfasts daily!

 

Hope you enjoyed wasting your life posting this.

[PepeLePew]

Topic locked.

 

Dave's replies plus the support given him by the PA members says it all really. I can see no point in allowing this thread to run any further.