You know the feeling; payday at the end of January, seeming like you haven't had money since the days of panicking about the "millennium bug". The urge to splash the cash is insatiable, so that's exactly what I did.
The same day the money went into my account, I made the decision to treat myself to an overnight stay at a luxurious five-star hotel in Knightsbridge with the mrs. The lure of spending the night in a deluxe hotel room was too hard to resist. Needless to say, the king-size bed and whirlpool bath helped us wind down after a January that seemed like it’d never end.
The next morning I logged on to the hotel's Wi-Fi to check my emails, as the reception for mobile data was, quite frankly, rubbish. The display on the monitor instructed me to enter my room number and surname and then I was in. Upon check-out, I went to the hotel reception and was asked if I'd used anything from the fridge or mini-bar. As I'd drank a bottle of still water, I was more than happy to pay for something that I was pre-warned I’d be charged for. What I wasn't expecting, however, was to be told that I'd have to pay £16.99 for the use of the hotel’s Internet!
When I informed the receptionist that I’d used the service for approximately 90 seconds and there was no mention of this charge when I logged on, I was met with a stern shrug that suggested there was no room for negotiation. In the true name of customer service, I was charged without hesitation. Needless to say, I plan on staying in a serviced apartment in the future where Internet is included 95% of the time, and when it isn’t at least they let you know. The hotel was a great way of spending one night of luxury, but paying £11 a minute for Internet isn’t something I’ll be doing in the near future.
- By Rob Hanlon
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