The Fairmont Heritage Place Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco

We booked a 2-bedroom suite at the Fairmont and later extended our stay by booking directly with the hotel for 2 additional nights. Well in advance—months before arrival—we confirmed several times that the reservations would be linked so our family wouldn’t have to move rooms. This was especially important with 2 young kids and a refrigerator full of groceries. A week before our trip, Fairmont emailed and offered an upgrade to an ocean view which we took and paid for (as it is Fleet Week). When we arrived, the hotel checked us into a fantastic room (one of their residences) and all seemed set. But 2 days later, we received a confusing voicemail saying that we needed to move. When we called that night and spoke to the staff, they stated a “priority guest” needed the room and we would have to move. The staff members we spoke with didn’t acknowledge the mistake or the notes already attached to our reservation. Only after pushing for escalation did we get on the phone with the acting GM (since the GM was away at a conference). That manager admitted the hotel had “messed up” because the unit’s owners were arriving—meaning we had to pack up and move despite all prior confirmations. While the team attempted some service recovery, the disruption was already done. This experience forced us to interrupt multiple plans to deal with logistics—exactly what you don’t expect on an expensive, luxury trip. Unfortunately, Fairmont has lost our business forever.