Our group was booked into the WIP months in advance for a three-night stay, prepaid. On our arrival, we were told the hotel was overbooked and we were re-directed to the Hotel Ambassador where, we were told, rooms were waiting for us.

En route to the Ambassador, we were stopped and returned to the WIP with the explanation that it was not our group, but another that was to be sent to the Hotel Ambassador. Apologies were made and we were finally checked into our rooms. Little did we know that we would have been better off at the Ambassador!

Around 2:00 in the morning our first night, we were roused from our beds by a woman from our group whose room was on fire, ignited by flames coming out of the air-conditioner in her room. Smoke from the electrical fire quickly filled the hotel. There were no smoke alarms, no fire alarms, no fire extinguishers, and the management did not immediately call the fire department.

Half our group was trapped in their rooms above... more