Calgary couple loses wedding hotel reservation in favor of curling event

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A Calgary couple are angry after saying they were cheated on why their wedding hotel reservation was canceled.

Sue McIntosh and her fiance Blaine Gray were planning to tie the knot this summer. She booked the Presidential Suite at the Four Points Sheraton in July 2020 for the first weekend of May 2021.

But in March 2021, McIntosh received an email from the front desk supervisor saying the hotel was now full by May 7.

“I was confused and I was shocked because it didn’t make sense,†McIntosh said.

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McIntosh responded by saying she didn’t see how that could happen given she had made the reservation eight months previously.

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This was followed by an email from the general manager of the hotel saying, “We cannot accommodate other guests until May 10.”

The manager offered a presidential suite at another Calgary hotel at a reduced rate.

McIntosh responded by saying she didn’t want a room in the other hotel and asked for an explanation of what had happened.

She received an email from the hotel, stating, “The hotel is closed to the public for health reasons as the Alberta Health Department has asked us not to accept any reservations nor to allow no public access. All current occupants are tested upon arrival, then after 24 hours, then every three days until May 10. “

“Including the tested staff as well. We have a medical team residing inside the property at this time. We cannot allow any access before May 10 for sanitary measures, â€he said.

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But something still didn’t seem right to the couple.

“It still didn’t make sense because I couldn’t reconcile how on March 21 they would all of a sudden know that May 10 was going to be okay,†McIntosh said.

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“Divert the real problem”

On Friday they went to the hotel where they said a security guard told them the hotel was booked for Curling Canada.

Curling events are now taking place at WinSport, across from the hotel. The players stay in the Calgary bubble.

“It’s wrong. They shouldn’t be able to do it,†McIntosh said.

McIntosh said she understands that a hotel wants to take the opportunity to book an entire hotel, but what angers her is what they’ve been told.

“Be honest and up front with us. I’m always going to be upset, and I’m still going to be upset, but don’t let me go. Don’t give the impression that it’s because of the pandemic that they can’t have anyone in the hotel, â€McIntosh said.

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The hotel manager emailed McIntosh on Friday saying he had stated the facts “honestly, clearly and genuinely without any kind of misleading information” but made no mention of Curling Canada. There was an apology for the inconvenience and an offer of two free nights at the hotel after May 10th.

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“He doesn’t mention Curling Canada at all, so as far as I’m concerned he just sidesteps the real problem,†McIntosh said.

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A statement from hotel management to Global News said, “There is a team of international travelers staying at the Four Points by Sheraton, and we are doing our best to comply with Health Canada’s advice on the importance distance and separation for these travelers. “

“Our priority remains to protect the health and safety of all of our customers, and in these unprecedented times, that often means we must choose health and safety over business,†he said.

The couple have since postponed their wedding for a year and said they were not interested in the hotel’s new offer.

© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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