My interaction with this motel and their owners was one of the most unpleasant and regretted…read moreexperiences that I've had. They proved themselves to be ruthless business people that do not take care of their property and are completely unconcerned with the comfort and contentment of the guests staying in their motel. In contrast, the many other local businesses such as The Roxy Hotel, The Cape Motel, Aubrey's Inn, Ann's Fisherman's Fare, the Cape Vincent Liquor Store and Belle-Epoque were friendly, helpful and a pleasure to deal with.
My fiancé and I reached out to the Buccaneer Motel to get rates and reserve rooms for guests that would be attending our wedding in Cape Vincent. We spoke to the owner Ellen Hickey and getting her to commit to a rate that we could send out on our wedding invites was like pulling teeth, and their rates seem to fluctuate depending on her mood. That should have been the first sign to stay away from this business, but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, so I reserved a few rooms for some family and friends. Ellen asked me to pay a $500 deposit by check. Guests BEWARE...they will ask you to pay a deposit by check so that when you arrive there, you have absolutely no recourse to receive a refund or to change your accommodations unless you're willing to take the financial loss (on a side note, paying by check is considered a legal binding contract, which we later found out after taking them to small claims court).
The first guest to check in was my mother, and unfortunately, this was my first opportunity to see the motel and the rooms as my (now) husband and I live about 7 hours away. Be forewarned, the rates are ridiculously high considering the substandard conditions that they offer. Not only is this place severely outdated and in dire need of a complete renovation, but it is the antithesis of hospitality and cordialness. The owners are unfriendly, rude and unaccommodating. If you're looking for cozy, inviting and well-kept, this is not the place for you. The rooms, furniture, decor and bedding appear to have never been updated in their many decades of existence. The entire motel is dark, dank and has a strong stench of mustiness. The shower had mold in the crevices. The bedspreads look like they haven't been washed or replaced in years.
On to the bigger issue.... That first night in the motel, my mother pulled back the bedspread on one of the beds and found a live bed bug in between the sheets. She called me right away and said that she didn't want to stay there, so we immediately made other arrangements for her. The next day, my fiancé and I went to the Hickeys to notify them of the situation, to advise them that the remainder of our guests would not be checking into their motel and to request our money back. They immediately became belligerent, accusatory and threatening. In addition to yelling at us, the husband Larry charged at and attempted to hit my fiancé and threatened to call the police. We left the premises with no resolution, and due to their confrontational behavior, we decided it was best to follow up by mail. We sent a letter to them requesting a refund of the money we paid and received no response. We then took them to small claims court, but unfortunately, our claim was denied because the actual witness, my mother (who lives in the Midwest), was not present to give her testimony about finding the bed bug in her bed.
In the end, we were treated terribly by the Hickeys and lost the $500 deposit, but thankfully the rest of the wedding was a huge success. The moral of the story is: (i) avoid this place like the plague, and (ii) never pay a deposit by check even in a small town where you would expect the owners to be concerned about the reputation of their business.
