I checked in to the Carolina on Thursday May 17 and everything was as you'd expect in a 4 Diamond Resort. The staff was friendly and the hotel is meticulous about every detail to ensure the "wow" factor is exceeded. This being my 6th or 7th time staying here I still get the "wow" factor. Me and my friend decided to head to the course to practice for our upcoming date with #2 before having dinner. After sunset, we ended up eating at Longhorns (really good alternative 5 minutes away) because the Ryder Cup room was full and we didn't feel like waiting.
Friday morning we had an amazing breakfast in the Carolina Room (I always enjoy it) and then spent a couple of hours doing nothing much. Finally head to the course, check in (staff is incredible) and head to the range. Our caddie meets us and we are on our way to the 10th hole to tee off (we started on the outward nine). As always, the course is flawless and our caddie John was very good. We finished our round and did some shopping in the pro shop before heading back to the hotel. We had dinner reservations in the Carolina Room and this is where the 1 star was born!
Upon being seated, everything seemed to fit the hotels meticulous standards of perfection. I had ordered a NY strip the night before at Longhorns and decided to double down so I could compare the 2. About half way through the steak, I bit down and felt a sharp pain in my tooth. There was a bone in the steak and there shouldn't have been a bone in a NY strip. I informed the waitress and she informed her manager. He came over to our table and apologized. He attempted to get the manager of the hotel to come talk with me but the manager was busy. No worries from me because the restaurant manager comped our meals and I left no worse for wear. Later that evening my tooth began hurting more and more. To a point where I really couldn't sleep and the thought of playing #7 was a little less exciting.
The next morning I spoke with Tyler Herbst (Front Office Manager) and he showed great concern along with dissatisfaction in how the incident was handled the previous night. He assured me the issue wasn't going to be "shrugged off". I asked Tyler to comp one night (because I didn't sleep because of a damaged tooth caused by their restaurant) to which he said, " give me a minute and I will see what I can do". I sat waiting for about 15 minutes and grew anxious because I had a tee time in about a half hour. Tyler returned only to tell me that Ed Peckels (Director of Food and Beverage) would call me. Considering I made it fairly simple for Tyler and myself, I was disappointed that I was having to speak with someone else. Ed did call and I told him what happened. He seemed concerned for my health and said he was going to call Tyler to discuss options. Ed called me back as I was heading to the first tee. He told me he was going to turn it over to their insurance and they would be contacting me. Majorly disappointed that I had to deal with an insurance company and I felt I was "shrugged off". I played an uncomfortable #7 and while playing found out my playing partner was a local attorney. I told him what had happened and he advised me to write an email to Tyler, Ed and the GM (Scott Brewton). When I left the resort (on Saturday), I composed an email and detailed everything for the 3 of them. Also, I told them I would consider the issue closed if they would comp the one night I was unable to sleep. I actually believed that one of them would respond to me. Hell this is a 4 Diamond resort and their manager said the incident wouldn't be "shrugged off".
As of today, Tuesday May 22nd 2018, I have not heard from the hotel or it's insurance company, the full balance of the bill has been charged and I have had my tooth repaired. I can't say that I will return to the Carolina or Pinehurst. There are too many nice resorts who actually treat their guests as they should be treated when something unfortunate happens. Had Tyler not assured me the incident wouldn't be "shrugged off" and Ed hadn't of made such a grand appeal of concern, I probably would have accepted the free meal and moved on. Instead, I thought about how I didn't sleep well, I did play terrible golf and I didn't enjoy anything after cracking my tooth. The whole idea is to get away and enjoy perfection (it's not cheap to visit Pinehurst) but instead I got one day of perfection followed by a day of dealing with a toothache while being assured by the staff things would be made right. I feel my offer to comp the room was reasonable and something simple to do. In the end, I was a number to them and my total satisfaction really didn't matter. This review will not hurt their 4 Diamond rating and will probably not be read by them but it does make me feel a little better that I wrote it.
D. Young read more