WOW is all I can say- I cannot beleive the heater went out and they had no backup plan in place. Now people have complained to the BBB because the story said all hotels were booked within a 90 mile radius of CS, and these people were stuck staying in cold rooms. OUCH- sounds like bad management at the Plaza hotel there. I bet there were rooms, if they had just looked around hard enough. The places may have been fleabags, but at least they would have had heat. Was the hotel that used to be the Clarion/used to be the Holiday Inn booked as well?

[This message has been edited by 1984Consol (edited 12/12/2009 3:42p).]

December of 07 we came to town for a Christmas Party that was being held at the Plaza, we checked in and within seconds checked out. The guy at the front desk did not seem surprised. Let me put it to you this way - I can't imagine another hotel in this town which could compare in the "flea bag" category as this one. It was awful. We have since moved here and I believe that the food service at the hotel has been shut down at least twice for violations!!!!

Maybe this article will serve as a wakeup for the owners to clean it up as they have an excellent location and the opportunity to do some good business. Until then, I will warn everyone I know including teams from my University to stay away from The Plaza at all costs!!!

What a wasted building/prime location. You'd think some company could come in and make that a nice place.

I heard someone say awhile back the the Holiday Inn in Bryan, which became "The Forum" when I lived in CS, might be reopening. Let's hope whoever has taken over that property does some good rennovations to the place.

quote:

---

I cannot beleive the heater went out and they had no backup plan in place.

---

I have no idea what caused their heat to go out but I'm curious as to exactly what backup plan you think they should have had in place.

The units that serve a building of this size are huge. (The get put into place with enormous cranes.) You can't just run to the hardware store and grab a replacement. Few people in town know how to service them. And, since they have thousands of parts, you can't keep a back stock of every one either.

It's unfortunate for all involved. The people who run that hotel may be bad operators. I've never been there - and I'm not defending them. I'm just saying sometimes stuff happens and all you can do is react as quickly as possible.

I do not know what they could have done- stock up on blankets, comforters and the like would have been a start. I have never managed a hotel so I do not know what they could have done but I DO know that all hotels are supposed to have maintenance staff to keep up with these things. I mean from what I have read, that was a very busy weekend. I looked at TripAdvisor, the Plaza now ranks 27 out of 28 college station hotels. Howard Johnsons is 26. The majority of the reviews for that place are terrible. That makes management look very bad. Ever since they lost the Ramada flag several years ago, it seems like they have gone downhill. I am just speaking as someone who is in the hospitality business.


[This message has been edited by 1984Consol (edited 12/12/2009 5:29p).]

The average maintenance guy is not trained on HVAC equipment. I have 2 200-tons units at my building and we contract through specialists out of houston. I take care of all the maintenance needs where I work, but A/C/Boiler stuff, I leave to the professionals. Whenever I call them out they are usually never available the same day. why? They are working on hospitals in the area, they get priority. Any good one is available the next day.Whenever an HVAC or bioler unit fails, it is never an easy fix.

[This message has been edited by Sentinel08 (edited 12/12/2009 5:36p).]

Couldn't the hotel have had the heating units/boilers serviced before the cold weather hit? I would think that would have helped...

Couldnt have someone warned Kennedy?

Sometimes things fail, without warning. Chiller/boiler units are complex machines. They are inspected multiple times a year to pass inspection. In order to have occupants it had to have been inspected up to code. My building has 3 month and 6 month inspections. Which means up to 4 times a year the system is inspected to make sure everything runs. But of course you cant wrap your head around the fact that things dont happen the way you imagine them.

It was inspected, otherwise people wouldnt be allowed in the building.

Wait a minute? Dont you work in a hotel? How can you not know the regulations on safety and occupancy status?

he *does* live in another state.

I am just a front desk clerk- I do not work in Maint, HK, or even mgmt. I just smile, say hi, check you in, handle your minor complaints, refer you to manangemnt for big complaints, then say bye when you leave. Pretty much sums up my job.

I worked at University Tower back in the late 90s. It was a craphole at that time as well. Granted, it was a private dorm, but from the sounds of it, they didnt renovate much. And 1984, the same company that owns the Plaza owns the Forum as well.

Consol---the heating was up the very next day at the Plaza. (yes , it is a sh*thole, but they did get it running)
Also , you lived in Texas long enough to know that you never know when the "cold weather hits". I work in a building with probably the same old crappy HVAC system--the heat can be up one day and down the next. And like other posters said, you can't run to the hardware store to bet boiler parts for an obsolete system.

I am sure you speak the truth BUT the average guest does not care about that. Speaking as a front desk clerk, I can tell you that all the guests care about is that they were inconvenienced enough that they may not return. I am sure there were weather forecasts as well, predicting a large drop in temps. I know things happen but still they should have been more prepared so the whole hotel (or at least most of it) was not AS inconvenienced.

nm, found it on the eagle site...

[This message has been edited by Cole97 (edited 12/12/2009 9:29p).]

The Forum appears to be turning into a Travelodge.

The Plaza is a piece of ****e. Have you never stayed there? Class of 77 had their 30 year reunion there 2 years ago. The Former Students Assn apologized, saying there was no other place (something going on with Hilton.)

BCS should force the owner to make some changes. It's embarrassing.

anyone stupid enough to even consider staying at the Plaza after reading the reviews on line deserves what they get. END OF THREAD. Move on folks, nothing here to see, move along.

Went to a wedding reception at the Plaza this summer and the air conditioning was out then. Guess their "temporary" HVAC disruption continues...

Oh, by the way it was nasty then and they only had a one-stall men's room to serve the entire 200 person ballroom. Can't comment on the ladies facilities, but all the restrooms for the ballroom were marked with out of order signs.

The Forum was once owned by the same people that own the Plaza. That is why it was shut down.

quote:

---

The average maintenance guy is not trained on HVAC equipment.

---

They should be. Almost all apartment/condo communities require this. Why not hotels?

A two page thread now has only 24 posts

AGnCS,

Thought you caught the ban?

[This message has been edited by TexAgs staff (edited 12/14/2009 2:06p).]

I worked at another hotel in town...and I can say that I'm surprised the Plaza is able to stay in business. When all other hotels are full or near full...the Plaza would be at about 20% occupancy. The only time it fills up is game-days.

The Travel Lodge in the old Forum location is owede by the same owner of the Plaza so dont expect much from that place either.I know someone who worked there and said he takes the cheapest way out,they have limited staff and cut corners everywhere...its amazing they can make payroll.

FYI, the owners name is Steve Ross. His brother owned a huge chain of Ramada Inns in Texas for a long time. Guess he couldn't quite keep up. They also owned the Best Western at Chimney Hill and an apartment complex on Southwest Pkwy in College Station.

please keep replies to this thread on topic -staff/ooshwa

[This message has been edited by TexAgs staff (edited 12/14/2009 2:06p).]

It's a safe bet that the owner is just waiting for someone to offer him the right amount of money so he can steal silently away into the night while they spend the money tearing down that eyesore. Doesn't the same person also own the old tattoo shop and the broken down Kettle building?

Its a nice thought, but its highly doubtful the City can "make" the owner do anything to improve his property. As long as its kept up to safety codes and the like, he's probably protected under a grandfather clause when it comes to anything else. Safe to assume we're all stuck with that piece of blight until the owner decides to sell.

Perhaps the CoCS could purchase it for like a.... CONFERENCE CENTER!

SumAggie,

That'd make too much sense for the City Council.

Ha, too much sense?? I'd be willing to bet that corner property will fetch at least 10 times what the CoCS paid for the chimney hill property, if and when it ever sells. Can you imagine the public outcry if that were actually to happen? Keep dreaming SumAggie and AgFan1999...

quote:

---

Safe to assume we're all stuck with that piece of blight until the owner decides to sell.

---

Informed Ag,

You are mostly right. I think we are stuck with it until the owner gets an offer for twice what it is worth....and the COCS just might go for that

Informed,

what it means if the owner wants $25 million, the city'll have the land valued at $50 million.