The newlyweds were locked in mediation, but thankfully not with each other.

"My husband and I booked a block of rooms at the Sheraton Hamilton to accommodate our Saturday, May 10, wedding party and visiting guests," Danya Konrad told us.

"We sat down in the hotel lobby with a member of their reservations team and booked our own suite for that night. They asked my husband if he would like to book the Friday before the wedding and he declined, seeing as he lived nearby.

"I have multiple handouts regarding our room block and the date it was booked for (May 10) and other registration information. The hotel even printed out cards for us to put into our wedding invitations, detailing the reservation information."

Sounds good so far.

But read on.

"Before we got to our wedding, some guests reported they were having issues with their rooms," Konrad said. "When my brother called their reservation number, he received a confirmation e-mail quoting a rate of $210, instead of $129."

Another couple who phoned to reconfirm their booking was told they had no reservation, Konrad claims.

Although they did eventually receive a room, other wedding guests encountering similar problems chose to stay at another hotel, she said.

But the worst surprise was waiting for the bride and groom when they arrived at the hotel following their reception.

"I watched one of my bridesmaids go up to the check-in desk and collect her room key. Next it was my turn. I gave the girl my name and watched as she checked the computer.

"After awhile, she looked up and said they had no reservations under my name. I said, how can you possibly have no reservations when we booked seven months ago and the rest of our wedding party is booked here? She said there was nothing she could do because the hotel was full. How can someone tell a bride and groom that at 2 a.m. on their wedding night?"

In the confusion that followed, the couple was provided with a room, but they found it less than satisfactory.

After some of Konrad's bridesmaids offered to give up their rooms, another room was provided to the newlyweds.

About 109,000 guests stayed at the 301-room Sheraton Hotel in 2007.

The hotel also hosts about 150 weddings each year.

Sheraton Hamilton general manager Mike Flint, and sales and marketing director Laurie Ham had both written letters of apology to Konrad, offering compensation.

They acknowledged the hotel had slipped up, but they explained the confusion by stating the Sheraton had expected the bride and groom to arrive on May 9.

If a guest fails to show on the first day of a multi-day stay, their reservation is automatically cancelled and their rooms resold, Ham stated.

Staff is supposed to follow up with a phone call to determine why the guest never arrived, but that didn't happen.

The Sheraton had offered to waive the cost of the newlyweds' room, give wedding guests a 10 per cent discount ($12.90) and provide Konrad and her husband with a two-night stay at a Sheraton hotel in Toronto, Niagara Falls or some other destination of their choice.

But the hotel eventually told Action Line it had no proof to show the wedding party had booked for both nights.

"You can't be a Sheraton hotel and not take this kind of complaint seriously," Flint told us.

"As a result of this, we have tightened our operating procedures and reminded our staff (to be particularly sensitive) when dealing with wedding parties. We've also initiated a newsletter, which will be issued to all wedding guests. It tells them how to find their church and where Hamilton's hidden gems are located. It's something tangible that shows we've learned from the experience and are moving forward."

Konrad indicated she was more interested in compensating her guests than a two-night stay in another Sheraton hotel. So Flint submitted a new compensation offer on July 25, stating the hotel would waive her May 10 room fee and provide a 50 per cent refund ($64.50) to her wedding guests.

He placed the value of the offer at $1,100.

Konrad told us it sounded fair and said she would contact the hotel.

If you have a consumer problem, call 905-526-4665 or e-mail amacrury@thespec.com. Not all calls and letters can be answered.