Several California delegates in Charlotte, North Carolina for the 2012 Democratic National Convention are reporting issues with the hotel that is hosting them. Many of the delegates are demanding refunds.
All 600 of California's DNC delegates are staying at the Blake Hotel in Charlotte and some have had several issues. Before the DNC began, inspectors investigated the hotel and found that seven rooms were unsafe. Some delegates that arrived to the hotel found that the rooms that they had booked weren't ready. Some delegates were given the wrong room keys and some walked into rooms that already had guests staying in them.
However, these things are minor compared to what guests have found in the rooms. Many have compared the rooms of what is supposed to be a luxury hotel, to rooms found in motels. One delegate sent a picture to Eyewitness News that shows a roach in her hotel room. Another picture showed an empty fire hose cabinet on the 15th floor. Others said that their rooms were infested with ants and the sink and tub were full of brown rusty water.
"From the hole that's about this size in my bathroom wall, and that's the second room I was moved to. The first room reeked of mold and mildew," Dallas Fowler, a California state party delegate told Eyewitness News. "The steel shower rod fell on my shoulder. I have been in a lot of pain this entire time. I filled out an incident report with them and they told me I would have to take it up with their insurance company."
According to the hotel's website, they remodeled over 600 rooms in April after they had code violations and safety issues. However, the delegates are finding that the issues weren't cleared up and they are hoping for a refund.
The hotel owner claims that the delegates never brought up the issue even though he met with them on Wednesday morning. He says that he first learned about the issues from Eyewitness News. The owner apologized to the delegates for the issue and sent bottles of wine to many of the rooms as an apology.
Earlier this week, a California was kicked out of the Blake Hotel and the DNC for causing a scene while intoxicated.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
