Hotel reservations canceled

I made reservations for two rooms at the Hotel Chedi Bandung for the night of Sept. 7, through its reservation office in Jakarta. The booking was confirmed.

Just before leaving Jakarta for Bandung, I called the hotel and spoke with the front office staff. I advised him that I would be arriving before 4 p.m., and that our guests -- Mr. and Mrs. Robi Sularto Sastrowardoyo -- would be checking in earlier. The front office staff assured me that he would take care of Mr. and Mrs. Sastrowardoyo well.

I was surprised to find Mr. and Mrs. Sastrowardoyo at the hotel lobby -- they had been waiting for two hours -- when I arrived at around 3 p.m. Mr. Sastrowardoyo was not in his good health, and was in dire need of a place to rest. Our reservations were denied. The manager in charge advised us that a certain Miss Vin had cancelled our reservation the day before.

This is absurd! We never cancelled our reservations. And why did not the front office staff advise us about the fact when we called several hours prior to our arrival at the hotel? I agree, things like this happen. But, only at lousy-managed hotels!

BONDAN WINARNO

Jakarta