Extreme skin irritation and hair damage from pool—pool permit suspended by city inspectors
While all the reviews I’ve read are true—both the good (nice rooms, clean, accommodating service) and the bad (dismissive management, nickel and diming, lobby construction noise)—the real measure of a good hotel is how they handle a problem. And since we went to the Langham primarily for the pool, if I had read about this, I would have definitely stayed somewhere else. Even though we have never had a problem at any other pool—including the indoor water parks where you can barely breathe through the chlorine fumes—one of my daughters had such extreme skin irritation from the pool water that she later sobbed in the shower from the pain. Both of my daughters’ hair completely changed consistency into a dry and brittle mess. My husband’s swimsuit bleached in the pool water. And when I called to alert the hotel of the severity of the situation so they could protect other guests, I first got complete unresponsiveness and then a flat denial that there was any problem. Other than watching my children suffer because of my unfounded confidence that a five star hotel would have completely safe pool conditions, my ultimate conversation with the hotel manager was the worst part. He was completely dismissive and condescendingly “assured” me nothing was wrong with the pool, but he also refused to give me the chemical levels during our stay. (Although the spa manager did tell me that the pH was “on the high side” at 8.0, which is coincidentally the upper legal limit and the CDC says healthy pool water should be between 7.2 and 7.8.) I could not believe the general manager’s failure to accept there was an issue he needed to resolve and told him he left me no choice but to report the situation to the city authorities. Several days later, the Boston pool inspector called me to report on their inspection. He told me that there had been a mechanical failure and that the chlorine levels were “off the charts,” so the city suspended the Langham’s pool permit and closed the pool until the issue was resolved. Truly unbelievable. The pool was kept open for at least four days at illegal levels, and for two days after I had reported the “chemical burns” in my child (and yes, that was the exact terminology I used). Either the Langham’s pool maintenance system left them incapable of knowing they were operating at illegal levels, or they lied to me and kept the pool open despite knowing how high the levels were—either way the situation is completely unacceptable and unsafe. And even if their testing protocol was flawed, they should have done more to protect their other guests after I reported the chemical burns from the pool. Both managers told me they received no other complaints, but my initial complaint at the front desk was not given to them. If you’ve had a similar problem, please leave a review so other people will know whether this was an isolated incident. Finally, I reported the entire incident in a lengthy email to the corporate offices of the Langham chain and was not even given the courtesy of a response. I am truly stunned at the complete failure at every level of Langham management.
Good luck choosing a hotel. Needless to say, we won’t be going back to the Langham. Next time we want a Boston hotel with a pool, we’ll try the Marriott Long Wharf, the Copley Weston, or the Boston Harbor Hotel.
If you want the full story, here it is . . . . My husband, two children, and I stayed at the Langham on February 20 and 21. Our goal was to spend the night in a fancy hotel in Boston with a great pool. The room was beautiful and the service was great, with special touches like very early check-in and complimentary chocolates sent to the room for my daughter’s birthday. The pool was also beautiful, as nice as it looks in the pictures. After just one swim, though, my daughters’ hair completely changed consistency. It was with no exaggeration like straw and could not be brushed until it was washed and conditioned, and then it was still completely dry, brittle, and stiff. (Can you imagine if a to-be bride at the hotel had gone in the pool!) My husband’s swimsuit was also ruined, being bleached from blue to spotty gray. Still, we were there for the pool and I trusted that in such a nice hotel, everything was safe. So, they went in the pool two more times, but the swims were short for my kids (who usually have to be dragged out of the pool) because the water was too irritating. After the third swim, one of them had a red rash around the goggle area on her face, so we left the pool. Because the stay was otherwise so nice, I just wanted to make the most of it and not complain. But when we left, I did mention at checkout that the pool caused these problems so they would be aware of the issue. 
Then we went home and the kids showered again to try to get their hair to a manageable condition. In the shower, I could see the extent of my younger daughter’s rash and the water hurt her so much she was sobbing. As much as I wanted to let the whole thing go after a tiring stay away, I decided I had to call to alert them to the severity of the issue so they could do something to protect other swimmers. I assumed that I’d be thanked for letting them know and told that they would get right on it to make sure no one else had that reaction, but that is not the response I got. I called at 4:45 pm and asked to speak to the manager. I was told there are many managers and asked what my issue was—so I told this person that my child received a CHEMICAL BURN from the pool. Then I was told I should talk to the spa manager, who may have left for the day. The person on the phone told me she would have the spa manager call me back or she would call me herself. I waited an hour, knowing other people were in the pool, and I got no call back! I was flabbergasted at the lack of response! I really wanted to make sure the right people knew about the issue so they could correct it without anyone else suffering, so I called again and got the same person on the phone who told me the spa manager had left. In desperation and frustration, I again expressed that this was a safety issue—A CHEMICAL BURN IN A CHILD. So I was asked if I wanted to be transferred to the spa. I couldn’t believe it was on me to continue to communicate this issue, but what else could I do? I was transferred and there was no answer, so I left a very frustrated message. Then, a security person called me back, and he was responsive, but I still got the feeling that no one was checking that the pool was safe and getting people out of there if necessary. The spa manager called me later that night and assured me that the levels were safe. Before this, I was just trying to be a good citizen and let them know they had a problem, but once they started trying to minimize the situation, I became angry. While a place like this should have the pool water at ideal levels at all times, I know pool chemistry is variable (we have a pool). Things can get out of whack. But to insist that levels are normal when people have that kind of reaction to the water led me to the conclusion that either: 1) there is something wrong with the pool testing protocol and the Langham is incapable of knowing if the levels are safe, or 2) they knew levels were off and did not address it promptly and were not admitting it to me. Neither conclusion leaves me feeling comfortable.
The next morning, the spa manager called me again to say she was investigating and to tell me that the levels had been acceptable, although she did tell me that the pH was “on the high side” at 8.0. So, I looked that up—8.0 is the highest allowable level for public pools in Massachusetts (and for summer camp pools the highest allowable level is 7.8). OK, now we were getting somewhere. Also, at high pH levels, the chlorine is less effective, so they have to add more. I was not given a chlorine level, but it was likely high too given the legal requirements based on the pH level. According to the websites I checked, the combination of high pH and high chlorine is particularly irritating to the skin. 
During this morning call, the spa manager told me she had spoken to the general manager who said he would call me. He did not call until that night, and his call was the worst experience of the whole ordeal. He apologized for our situation but very condescendingly “assured” me that the pool levels were normal. Truly, I lost it with that denial. Things happen. Pool chemicals get out of whack. But to not own responsibility for the issue and pledge to immediately address it for the benefit of the other guests is unacceptable. I told him that I was very concerned that this would happen to someone else if they did not accept that there was a serious issue and he angrily and pompously insisted that they had always had everything under control. In anger and frustration, I asked him if I needed to get a lawyer to get him to understand the seriousness of the situation and he challenged me to do it. At that point, I knew the conversation was useless and just asked for the complete records of the chemical levels during our stay. He told me he would only give them to my lawyer! If there’s nothing wrong with the levels, why not give them to me?
So, the next morning, I called the City of Boston pool inspectors to report the problem.
Oh, and five days after that first swim, my other daughter came down with swimmers ear, something she has never had before. This is the only time she has been swimming all winter. Swimmers ear is very rare in the winter and is a sign of poor pool conditions. 
But it gets even more insane! The Monday after our visit, I got from the pool inspector. We stayed at the Langham on Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday night is when I called to alert the hotel of the chemical burn. Tuesday night and Wednesday morning is when I was assured by the spa manager that the levels were safe. Wednesday night is when the general manager refused to admit there was a problem and give me the pool levels. Thursday morning I reported the problem to the Boston pool inspectors, who I believe went out that day. They found that there had been a “mechanical failure” in the pool system and that the chlorine levels were “off the charts” and “suspended the permit” for the pool until the issue was resolved. So, despite all of the denials, this pool was operating at illegal chlorine levels for at least four days! I wish I reported it to the city right away, but honestly, I felt like things would be resolved more quickly and safely if I went straight to the hotel. But instead, they stuck their head in the sand and ignored the problem until the city forced them to address it—and unsurprisingly, I have received no apology from them.
After I heard from the Boston authorities, I emailed the Langham chain to report the situation. It has been more than two weeks, and I have still not even received a response form them.
So that’s the long sorry tale.