3 drinks cost £22 @ Park Sheraton

kugan551

Shame!

My wife and I went to this hotel last night. I ordered a double whiskey (Indian make - black and white) and a single baileys, and offered to pay at the bar. The barman said Rs 900. I produced my credit card. He said he will take it later and asked us to be seated. After the drinks we wanted to settle the bill. They took Rs 1700 (which is £22).

When asked why so much more than the original value, the man said 'taxes' . We did not argue and got out.

They certainly spoiled our evening.

capt_mahajan

The taxes should be marked on the bill they gave you.

Day before, I had a drink or two at the Sheraton (ITC) in Hyderabad. IIRC, a Smirnoff was around 650 without taxes.

Baileys (if it is the Irish Cream) will be considerably more expensive. The 900 may have been only for that one.

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Hal

If you don't argue, this might happen to you again.

If you're sure you were ripped off, I'd call the manager and tell him how you'll call head office in New York if he doesn't make it right. Maybe you'll get a free night out?

But as the Capt says, the high end hotels can be pricey, imported alcohol especially so.

ronsaik

Calling the head office in NY? Why should they care a damn unless OP is some reaaally big shot?

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PeakXV

Imported drinks are a very pricey (tasty) slurp in India. However, the 5-star/deluxe hotels can make horrendous errors on bills. We would routinely catch tens if not hundreds of dollars in errors each month on our bill - rarely in our favour. The onus is still on you to check/scrutinize the bill & know in advance(if possible) what price you are paying.

Here's what I would do - take the receipt back to the food & beverage manager at the hotel & have him go through it with you to make sure there was not any tabulation error. Then, if necessary, tell him that the 'total' price was never conveyed properly to you upon ordering and that you are very disappointed & not accustom to this rather deceiving sales tactic. I think then that you will be more than compensated in one way or another(hiccup!) for this 'misunderstanding'.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

kugan551

Thank you for your useful comment.

The clever thing they did was not to give a breakdown even after asking for one.

So, what do we do now?

The Head Office!

Will they believe us?

Hal

First I'd try to find out if you really were ripped off. Then I'd follow Peak's suggestion of speaking with the hotel manager. If you get nowhere, then you could try head office. Make sure the manager knows you intend to take it up with them.

I was bamboozled once by a sleazy "Tourism Manager" at a large Indian hotel (Rhymes with "Raj") He wouldn't budge until I asked for the phone so I could call head office.

ronsaik

@kugan....they HAVE to give you a bill which states base price + taxes + service charge.If they did not, even after you insisted, then you can take their case by just speaking to the F&B manager or the GM of the hotel.

Nick-H

Not exactly an expert at five-star-hotel bars, as in I've never been to one --- but I'd expect there to be a menu or tariff, if not printed, then on display. I'm sure there would be in the restaurant.

I can say that, when eating in a Chennai Italian restaurant a few months back with some friends who had a bottle of wine between them, that it cost them Rs1500.

Just... don't expect alcohol to be cheap here. Unless you go and drink it on the street at a government "wine shop"!

jituyadav

Sorry, but I will be blunt about it.... How naive can you get? First, you do not check the prices that are on the menu, which shows the taxes part too. If you did not bother to see the price list in a five star then I suppose you should not be bothered about 22 pound. Even then, if you thought that the prices are too much, you did not argue and went out when told about taxes. So, who is to blame, just think about it.

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Nick-H

It does rather come under the If you need to ask then you can't afford it heading

thejag

tax on imported liquor was upwards of 70% the last time i was at the bar at the taj connemera in chennai and im not sure it has changed since then.

you should have received a bill before them charging you and being told a rate not including tax? hardly done. btw the bacardi and coke was only 400 at the taj, which is the cheapest rate in chennai. its a whole lot more expensive everywhere else in chennai.

kugan551

A comment on Jittu Yadav's. There are so many people like me who think that creating a scene in a public place when you are with a female frinend is most embarassing. Women, althopugh they themselves are furious at the scandal, want to be out of the spot quickly.

Maybe the bar sales people know this well and make extra earning from it.

Haylo

You do not have to make a scene or raise your voice to query a check, you simply have to be quietly firm. Take an assertiveness class or three when you get back!

I am a woman and I am perfectly happy to say "This seems expensive, I need to see the price list so I can check that it is correct"

If you had paid cash, I would have said there is a chance that you had been deliberately overcharged, but the money has been debited from your credit card and credited to the Sheraton's account, so I fail to see how the barman who served you could gain from this.

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thejag

hes had a drink himself and changed it to a customers bill????