What an experience on the Islands this was. WOW! Wow! Wow! Wow!
First, and foremost, let me just say this... DO NOT STAY HERE. If you get nothing else from my review, or if you don't read past the first few lines... at least get past this... DO. NOT. STAY. HERE.
We booked this place last minute. Literally.... Last. Minute. j
We have a house we're renting for a month in St. John, and had to come to St. Thomas to do a little business, and decided to make a day of it. Then we decided to make two days of it. Little did we know that our days would consist of swapping cars and hotels only. :(
As I was saying, we made last minute reservations here through Hotels.com, and as I was driving to this hotel, my mind was thinking, "OooooomyyyyyGhandhi"!!!! Seriously! This hotel is not in the best of locations~ at all. You have to drive past the ghetto of the town, up the hill, and into the ghetto of the hill. It's really a dump of a place. But~ I hadn't seen the place in person when I booked it, so I was kinda committed. Ugh!
I first stopped by at 1pm, and the front desk/check in was closed, with a sign saying to come back at 3pm. So... we went to have lunch. We returned at roughly 4pm, and still nobody was at the front desk, although the door was open, keys were on the counter, the A/C was on, and it looked as if there 'should' be somebody behind the counter. I called out to someone... anyone... but nobody came to my assistance. I called out again, and again. And still~ nobody came. This is an office that looks like it's attached to a home, so there 'should' have been a quick response.
I went to my car for about 10 minutes, then returned to the front desk where a very UNFRIENDLY, Unhappy looking woman was already writing my name on the check-in. How did she know I was there? How did she know it was 'me' who was checking in, and not another customer? OOOOH.... I know!!! She heard me, and chose to ignore me 10 minutes earlier, and there would be nobody else to check in that day!!! Later I would understand all of this!!!
We checked into our room, and almost immediately hit the pool. Side note~ I didn't notice the ants upon arrival, although my son says they were scattered along the kitchen countertop.
The Pool: I have NEVER been so disappointed by the condition and size of a hotel "swimming pool" (more like the size of two hot tubs put together). There was so much chipping and cracking along the pool, and walkway of the pool area. It was all a hot mess waiting for an stub-toe injury, or laceration.
The bathroom: Smelled like mildew, and had mold along the entire circumference of the shower head. The shower itself was a very tiny space with poor water pressure, and the bathroom door was made of wood that had clearly expanded from the steam, that it didn't close properly.... it took force to actually close the bathroom for privacy.
Livingroom/Kitchen: Gross. The living space has an oversized couch, a mini-fridge, full-kitchen... and then there's that coffee-pot. All of it.... Gross. Even walking on the floor was gross... with sandals. The couch looked filthy, I had my daughter go to the front desk to request a sheet to lay over the couch. When she requested a sheet, she was asked, "Why do you need one", after a little resistance from the manager, she was given one. When we put it on the couch, we noticed it was full of holes, and stains. The freezer had ice that was left over from the previous 'tenant', as well as previously used salt/pepper that was 'moist' from the humidity. The kitchen sink has a 'bottle' of water... but wait! It's actually dish soap.
And then there's the 'coffee pot'. My daughter told me there was 'dirt' in the coffee pot. When I finally looked at it, I noticed the 'dirt' was moving. OMG! this wasn't dirt! It was worms! Later we found out it was mosquito larvae sitting in stale discolored water!
I immediately called Hotels.com to request a refund, and a cancellation of my reservation. I wanted OUT of this hotel! Hotel.com called the hotel, who refused to refund me the money for the room. Therefore Hotel.com gave me a 'complementary' $50 certificate for my trouble, and apologized on behalf of the hotel. I took the video of the worms, and took it to the front desk, ready to tell them I was leaving, and would dispute the charges with my credit card. When I showed the manager the video, she immediately said she would refund the money....
I couldn't believe it took the VIDEO to convince her that there were worms in my coffee pot, and to grant a refund! REALLY????
Customer Service: BAD. VERY VERY BAD!!! From before check in, to check out... this was a bad experience all the way around. Sooooo happy to have CHECKED OUT.
Again... DO. NOT. STAY. HERE. read more