Bad experience and lack of communication
I want to first start off by saying that I've been coming to Hotel ZaZa now for several years and have always enjoyed my stays there. I go there to celebrate a special occasion or just when I feel like treating myself. I only live 2.5 miles from the hotel so all my trips to ZaZa are for leisure and relaxation. In short, it has become my favorite "go-to" hotel when I want everything to go smoothly and feel pampered. I have stayed in the Fantastico Suites, Splendido Suites, Pool Villas, and even had the privilege of staying in the Black Label Suite last September. So, I chose to stay there for my birthday on May 7th. I booked a Pool Bungalow King room since I had not stayed in one of those yet and really wanted to enjoy being outside and in the pool, but still have easy access to my room.
The first of many problems I had started at check-in. When a friend and I arrived at the front desk to check in the representative excused himself to the back office and left us waiting for around 5 minutes. When he came back he told us that my room was not ready yet, but he had contacted housekeeping to get the room ready. It was around 5:30pm and check-in is usually at 4pm... He did give me a $25 certificate for the delay to have drinks in the bar while we waited. My friend and I began walking toward Monarch when the representative called out my name and motioned for us to come back. It seems he had refreshed his screen and the room was now ready so we wouldn't have to wait and he let me keep the $25 certificate for the confusion. So far not too much of and issue.. Until, he informed me then that the pool was closed for maintenance and assigned me room 312. I was disappointed that the Hotel ZaZa website did not mention this (I checked) and even more so that he didn't mention it when we first arrived knowing I had booked a Pool Bungalow room. The pool was the main reason I had booked that type of room! He assured us that we would be able to use the pool in the morning and gave me a 1:30 check-out so we could enjoy it the next day. He was nice, but never did acknowledge that it was my birthday even though my friend mentioned that's why we were there a couple of times.
Once we arrived in the room I liked the interior (I never doubted that I would) and the layout of the room. I loved the tall sliding doors and large balcony as well. However, once I saw the empty pool, the yellow police tape, and the orange cones surrounding it, I decided it was not the view I wanted to spend my birthday looking at all evening. So, I pulled up the ZaZa website and it showed there were Splendido Suites still available for booking that evening. Since I had stayed in them before I would rather upgrade and stay in one of those knowing the view would be great. So, we go back down to the front desk and back to the same representative. We explained the situation to him and asked if we could please move to a Splendido Suite even if it cost more. He again excused himself to the back office for around 5 minutes. When he came back he said that unfortunately there were no more Splendido Suites available for that night. I pointed out to him that it was still showing as available on the website. He said that he had just spoken to reservations and the website was incorrect and the best he had to offer was a Grande King room. That seemed like a downgrade to me since I know those rooms usually cost less than the room we were in, so we decided to just make the best of it and stay in 312. By the time it was all said and done it was around 6:45pm before we settled into the room. 
Once we settled in, we tried to relax a bit and wait for the welcome amenity (white wine) to arrive. After about 30 minutes we called down to find it had not been ordered, but they would send it right up and it arrived about 20 minutes later. We spent a couple of hours in the room and on the balcony, although it was a bit noisy on the balcony since the water was flowing into the pool to refill it the whole time. We started getting hungry so we then called room service and placed an order for dinner. I was told the order would be up in 30-40 minutes, but it didn't arrive until an hour later. The man bringing it up was very apologetic for the long wait and after he left we began eating. I had ordered the pizza and my friend ordered some "can't make up your mind" dinner with steak, a scallop, and some fish. The pizza was honestly the worst I had ever had because the crust was as hard as a rock and it was cold. My friend's gazpacho was good and his entree was as well except that the scallop wasn't fully cooked in the center. We were so hungry and tired at that point that we didn't bother to call down. It was after 10pm by then anyway and I was just still trying to make the best out of everything and enjoy the room and what was left of my birthday... We watched some TV and went to bed which was very comfortable as all the beds are. I had no problem sleeping..
The next morning we woke up and were looking forward to using the pool since we had been assured that the pool would be open by morning. We went out on the balcony only to find that the pool was full, but the yellow police tape and orange cones were still surrounding it. So, we waited in the room and watched more TV until the 1:30pm check-out time arrived and the pool still never opened! We went down to the front desk to check-out and the same representative that had checked us in was still there. He asked how our stay went and at that point we just said that it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as our previous stays and told him that the pool never opened as he had promised. He just said "I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your stay." He never addressed the pool issue. He printed out my receipt and said that he hoped we would have a nice day and return again. At this point I was just ready for the whole ordeal to be over and couldn't wait to leave. It was the first time I was ever actually happy to be leaving Hotel ZaZa!!
I'm an easy going person and I rarely complain about anything, because I realize things happen sometimes. Honestly, if just one of these things had happened or if the pool had not been closed I wouldn't be writing this review now. My experience this time was anything but seamless or even enjoyable. I am now going to have to think twice about returning and that's sad. ZaZa was my favorite hotel in Houston until this happened.
I even emailed the director of room operations after my stay to let him know of the issues and did not receive a reply. So, to add to the bad experience during my stay, it seems as if management doesn't care either...