Meryl M.
Yelp
PART 1 - Gotta say we REALLY wanted to love this place but I/we have been coming to RB for over 25 years and have stayed in 11 of the hotels in RB. This was the first time at the Canalside Inn and unfortunately, we will be booking elsewhere next time.
To start, the majority of snacks that were placed in a basket in the room and for sale (VERY pricey) were outdated....some of the snacks it seems were in the room PRE-COVID. The popcorn which costs $3.00 expired in August of 2020, the majority of the other overpriced snacks had also expired months before. There was dust on all of the surfaces (luckily, we had some cleaning supplies and took it upon ourselves to dust the room prior to unpacking). We found the cover to the light over the bed in the night stand drawer, and the light bulb was out. Didn't the Room Attendant see the cover in the draw (or the expired dates on the snacks) when she cleaned? Maybe not since the inside of the draw was also filled with dust.
The shower has a rain shower style head and is therefore installed on the ceiling, because of the way the nozzle is positioned (cannot be adjusted because of location) and the 2-3-inch gap between the shower floor and very flimsy shower curtain (see pic), the entire bathroom floor gets wet and VERY slippery and DANGEROUS when you use the shower. Additionally, there is a sign over the sink stating that if the towels are stained the guest will be charged??? Really??? Never saw this in any other hotel in Rehoboth or anywhere else for that matter. When I am staying in a room that costs $250+ I don't want to have to worry that if I get a stain on a towel from a spill or whatever, that I am going to have to pay for the towel. I would think that a stained towel is the COST OF DOING BUSINESS.
There is one OVERSIZED chair with stained upholstery in a very small room. If there are 2 people one has no place to sit, and there is no table or desk in case you had to do work or wanted to eat in the room. There wasn't a microwave (or coffee maker) in the room, although the pictures on the website show a microwave in the standard king room.
We checked in on Friday and on Saturday we received a text from the hotel asking about our stay. We relayed the information above via text and within 5 minutes the owner of the hotel called my cell phone and attempted to address each issue. He did apologize about the snacks, said it was an oversight and he would speak to housekeeping, and said they could be swapped out. No thanks not paying $3.00 for a bag of popcorn that cost less than $1.50 at the Royal Farms. This wasn't a onetime oversight...I would bet the cost of my stay that every room was exactly the same, with the majority of snacks being expired....NO ATTENTION TO DETAIL.
The owner NEVER addressed the shower. As for the furniture, I was told that the hotel was taking a minimalist approach because of COVID and that the owners would prefer that guests eat in the outside seating area. Also, the reason there is only one chair in the room, is because the owners found that guests would move the furniture and hurt themselves in the process. REALLY??? First of all, it was cold out, but REGARDLESS if a PAYING GUEST wants to bring food back from a restaurant and eat a warm meal in their room, instead of having to be uncomfortable in the cold and have the food get cold outside, they should be able to do that (what happens if it's raining?) IT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE AT ANY OTHER HOTEL at the beach. If they did not want people to eat in the room and there was no space for that, it should have been STIPULATED prior to making the reservation. Possibly in the same place where they should have mentioned there were no longer microwaves in the room AS ADVERTISED/PICTURED As for the excuse about guests hurting themselves while moving the furniture...I would be more worried about the shower and slippery DANGEROUS bathroom floor.... which again was NEVER addressed. Lastly, the minimalist approach/COVID was the excuse for not having a microwave in the room. However, it would be just as easy to disinfect and wipe down the microwave as it is for them to (supposedly) clean the remote control for the TV (which is not covered in "changeable plastic" for protection during COVID, as was the case in 2 other hotels where we have stayed). If the room is NOT AS ADVERTISED/PICTURED, then let the guest know that before the reservation is made AND charge a rate that is less than PEAK/PRIME/NORMAL!!!!
THAT IS NOT THE END! On Sunday morning we received a text asking us to rate the stay...I gave it a 2 out of 5. In less than 5 minutes BEFORE 9:30 IN THE MORNING, my wife and I hear a VERY LOUD/STERN knock on the door. After asking who it was, we hear "It's the owner I want to have a discussion with you about your rating" needless to say it was quite disturbing. When we declined, he persisted to knock and ask again!
SEE NEXT REVIEW PART2 FROM MERYL M FOR CONCLUSION