"We very much enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Park Ave. The rooms, amenities & staff were great. However, we will not be going back due to their dodgy billing practices.
First, be warned: if you use a debit card you will get screwed (had they warned me, I'd have used a credit card)! Usually, one essentially pays for the room at check-in + deposit (usually around $200), which generally gets reimbursed upon checkout if there are no outstanding fees/damage. This hotel withdrew the funds for the room rental + deposit from my account via debit, but did NOT apply the funds to pay my bill. So, upon check-out, they required me to pay the room fee AGAIN, reporting that the total withdrawn (2 nights plus a $450 security fee!) would be returned in 5-7 days. They informed me this is "standard practice" in the hotel industry. Really? I stay in hotels frequently, I've never experienced this. (I have occasionally had the security deposit held for a week before being returned, which seems to be a NYC thing). But to have the room fees withdrawn but NOT applied to the bill is absurd.
Suffice to say this was very frustrating. So much for the great rate I got through Expedia, by the way! It doesn't feel so great when they're holding almost $1000 hostage for a week. So, despite an enjoyable stay otherwise, I won't be staying at the hotel in the future due to their dodgy & inconvenient billing practices. Definitely left a bitter taste after an otherwise great weekend in NYC."
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