We reserved a room at the Emerald Iguana Cottages, in Ojai California, for 2
nights (September 16 & 17, 2006). At the time of the reservation, we were
charged for the first night of September 16, 2006. At the time of check in
we were charge the tax for the room, for the first night, plus the room and
tax for the second night.

We stayed in the room that first night, and we awoke to a city covered with
ash on the morning of the September 17th. There was a large fire in the
Ojai Forest that was growing and approaching the city of Ojai, where the
Emerald Iguana was located.

After returning from breakfast, it became apparent the fire was getting
closer, so we watched the local news and they were issuing a voluntary
evacuation notice for Ojai residents. We contacted the front office, told
them our concerns and clearly stated that we were checking out and would not
be staying the additional night.

Because the Emerald Iguana was unable to provide us safe accommodations for
the night of September 17th, I requested a refund for the second night
charge at that time, when we checked out. The desk clerk informed me that
she could not authorize a refund, and I would need to contact the manager on
Monday, September 18th. When I contacted the Manager, she acknowledged that
we had checked out a day early, but she would no issue a refund because it
was their policy to charge guests for the full stay at the time of check in
and not issue refunds if they had to leave earlier.

When I tried to address this unreasonable charge with my credit card
company, the Emerald Iguana Cottages provided both misleading and
disingenuous to my credit card company. They distorted the facts and gave
inaccurate information in order to skirt addressing the issue. Because the
Emerald Iguana had me sign off on the second night charge upon check in, my
credit card company could not reverse the charge.

If we had chosen to check out a day early on a whim, I would not expect a
refund. But we were understandably concerned for our safety because of the
proximity of the fire. There were only four highways out of town, and two
were already blocked by fire, and a voluntary evacuation notice had been
issued. I find the fact that the Emerald Iguana would place the desire to
make money over the safety of their guests to be reprehensible.