Black Angus Inn, Motel, Anchorage, Alaska, AK , DECEPTIVE rude Dong Joon LIM

Black Angus Inn (Motel)
1430 Gambell Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
President-Owner:Dong Joon Lim

QUICK SUMMARY:
1. Hotel failed to provide airport transportation causing taxi fare of $20.00 & phone charge of $1.00
2. Rude and nasty treatment from manager and employees
3. Claim that hotel was in a safe area was false.
4. Claim that hotel had been recently remodeled was false.
5. No elevator provided for guests to reach second story rooms.
6. Failure to perform services as claimed - put family at risk when an armed robber held up the hotel.
7. Black Angus Inn advertises that it has security, but none was present during a robbery.
8. Black Angus Inn video surveillance system was not functioning.
9. Black Angus Inn advertises and reserved a No Smoking room however it was unavailable on check in.

A reservation was placed online and followed up with a phone call to the Black Angus Inn. By phone the friendly male clerk at the Black Angus Inn stated that the hotel had been recently remodeled and also it was located in a safe neighborhood. The attached web site printouts also show that the hotel was recently remodeled and provide free shuttle service. Both statements were later proven false.

When we arrived in Anchorage on August 7th at approximately 1:00 A.M., we immediately checked into the hotel. The male clerk who took care of us laughed when we told him about the statements made to us about the recently remodeled rooms. He said that the remodel was back in 1995 over 6 years ago. Also after viewing the rooms we would have hated to see them before the remodel. However at that late hour it was too late to look for another hotel. We also noticed that the hotel was across the street from the McKinnell Salvation Army Shelter, at 546 East 15th Ave. (a homeless shelter) We also inquired about getting the hotel van to take us back to the airport in the evening and he said it was no problem.

On August 7th in the evening, we notified the oriental female clerk at the desk that we needed to drop off our rental car at the airport and the shuttle was needed to transport us back to the hotel. The clerk told us that the shuttle driver was just leaving for the airport and we could get a ride back from him. When we tried to communicate with the oriental man we found that he spoke very little English. It was impossible to let him know that when he picked up the other person he should meet me at the car rental area where I would need to be picked up. The clerk was very rude and abrupt and was not helpful. She said that their priority was to pick up the guest at the airport. Her attitude was that we were of not a priority as we were already checked into the hotel. I then followed the shuttle driver to his pickup at one area of the airport and communicated the best I could to let him know to pick me up at the car rental area at baggage claim. My wife spent at least 15 20 minutes talking to him to get him to understand. After returning the car the shuttle driver was nowhere to be found.

I then phoned the hotel and spoke to the clerk. She didn't even try to be civil and said I was wasting my time talking to her as I was out of luck. I then took a taxi to the hotel and paid $20. The taxi driver asked my how I ended up at the Black Angus Inn. I told him and he advised me that the neighborhood was unsafe due to being in a high crime area.

Upon arriving at the Black Angus Inn, I found that the taxi could not pull into the parking lot due to the numerous Police cars including a K-9 Tracking dog unit in the lot. The taxi driver was happy to leave the area and I approached the Police. They said that an armed robber had just held up the Black Angus. I found my wife and daughter in the hotel lobby along with the Police. My wife and young daughter had come down to the lobby when they had observed that the shuttle had returned without me. My wife was very upset as she did not know where I was and the clerk (who I later found out was actually the manager) did not tell her about my phone call. The clerk told my wife that the shuttle driver had waited for me, but a Police Officer had overheard the conversation the manager had with the driver who acknowledged that he had made no attempt to pick me up. Being caught in a lie, the manager had no comment. When my wife and daughter went down to the lobby they must have missed being there when the robber came in by just minutes.

The Police asked me how I had chosen to stay at the Black Angus and I told them. They said that local clients of poor caliber frequented the hotel and that the neighborhood was definitely not safe to be in at night. Again, after all this commotion, it was about 1:00 A.M. on August 8th, and we had to get up at 6:00 A.M. to leave in the morning!

I might add that the manager did not seem at all upset by this robbery, and the Police said that the hotel's security camera never worked. It was just on the wall for decoration, I guess. We have traveled all over the world and we have never stayed in such a bad hotel, especially where the manager and workers were so rude and obnoxious.

I have received a refund through the Visa dispute process but only for $21.00 for services that Black Angus should have performed. A complaint was filed with the BBB of Alaska.

http://www.alaskan.com/blackangus/
http://www.alaskan.com/blackangus/blkangus.htm
Also listed at http://www.Yahoo.com travel section and others. You judge if their sites have accurate information.

mvr211(no_spam)@ hotmail.com