My stay at the Hotel ibis Strasbourg Centre Halles started off on a rather turbulent note. Upon arrival, I was greeted with the sentence: «You're already checked in». Naturally, this could not have been the case. It turned out that a guest with a similar name had mistakenly been assigned my room.
Instead of calmly resolving the issue, the situation escalated: more and more staff gathered behind the already cramped reception desk – four in total. For about 15 minutes, I had to listen to internal discussions that could have taken place behind the scenes. A simple gesture, such as offering a welcome drink or a seat while resolving the matter discreetly, would have been appropriate and appreciated.
Eventually, the staff settled on the obvious solution: I received a new room in the same category, and the guest who had been checked in by mistake had to re-enter their details. The resolution itself was fine, but it took far too long, the apology felt insincere, and no courtesy was offered to make up for the inconvenience.
That said, the rest of the stay was perfectly fine. The room was clean and quiet, and the location is excellent. Had the check-in been handled more professionally, my impression would have been significantly better.
