Tamarind Garden Hotel in Rayong City

Subject: Formal Complaint – Tamarind Garden Hotel, Rayong (Severe Negligence and Discrimination)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to file a formal complaint against Tamarind Garden Hotel, Rayong, where I booked a single suite via Booking.com for October 8–9.

Upon arrival around 1:00 PM on October 8, I was given a room on the 4th floor, only to find its door wide open. The front desk explained that “the housekeeping lady forgot to close it,” which shows a lack of basic management and hygiene control.

After changing rooms, I went for a swim on the second floor. When leaving the pool, I used the nearby elevator — which suddenly shut down with a loud bang. All buttons went dark except the emergency alarm. I was trapped for nearly 20 minutes, pressing the alarm continuously and calling the front desk over five times. Their repeated response:

“Please stay calm, rescue is on the way.”

No one asked for my location or condition. When the elevator was finally opened, I was on the verge of suffocation and collapsed on the floor. Yet the staff simply stared at me. When I asked for dry clothes, they replied:

“Sorry, we don’t have any.”

Still wet and trembling, I went to the front desk to question their delay. They admitted searching other floors instead of the pool level. Their excuse — a citywide power outage — cannot justify the lack of emergency response in a four-star hotel.

As a foreign traveler, I called the 1155 Tourist Police Hotline (translation only) and 1166 Consumer Protection Hotline (no response), then finally called the police myself. The hotel even made me pay for transport to the station. Police later mediated at the hotel; the manager agreed only to upgrade my room, refusing my request for triple compensation (3,900 THB).

During the mediation, staff and officers ignored me, laughed among themselves, and even accused me of not pressing the emergency button. When I defended myself in English, one officer snapped:

“Since you can speak Thai, stop showing off your English.”

This was blatant verbal and racial discrimination. As a 23-year-old solo Chinese traveler, I was terrified, humiliated, and left crying in the lobby — and staff even told me to “cry in the meeting room.”

Although a marketing manager later apologized and waived most charges, I have not received any refund to date.

I hereby demand compensation equal to three times the room rate (3,900 THB) for the severe emotional distress, safety negligence, and discrimination I suffered during my stay.