Rick M.
Yelp
The Creekside B&B looked very promising on the website and subsequent conversation with the owner made us feel like this would be a good choice for spending a long weekend in Paso Robles. Unfortunately, the reality did not live up to the expectation.
Creekside's website shows beautiful pictures and advertises a secluded scenic location located in the midst of Paso's wineries, luxury accommodations, and close to beach, hiking, and local attractions, the hosts promise to greet you upon your arrival, and to deliver a hot breakfast to your door in the morning.
The Good: The location is convenient, secluded and attractive. The accommodations (we were in the Room with a View) were attractive and featured a 3 sided fireplace, kitchenette, second bedroom for two more guests, dining table, etc. Hot breakfast was delivered to our room and it was very good. There was also a fire pit area below the deck outside the room.
The Bad: Amenities were a bit lacking. For luxury accommodations, we were surprised that routine maintenance and cleaning were not up to par. There was a broken towel rack in the bathroom, and dust and dirt in the corners or the room. There were only two towels for four people when we arrived, and nearly empty soap and shampoo dispensers (which ran out during our visit). Four coffee cups were supplied, but were taken during the day for cleaning and not returned until the next morning with breakfast. Unfortunately, four people were looking for coffee and tea two hours before breakfast. We had anticipated using the fire pit (and we did), but although logs were supplied with a butane lighter--there was no kindling. We found enough dried twigs around the property line, coupled with a newspaper in the car, to start the fire.
We asked for towels the next morning (and received them), but forgot about the soap and shampoo until the following morning when we realized we still had no soap or shampoo. That should be a routine maintenance item, not something that guests should have to ask .
Despite the web site's promise that the hosts will always greet you, we found our hosts were pretty much absent during our stay. On the day of check-in, we received a call from Amy asking if we could check in early (we couldn't) as she had an event to attend that night, We saw her when she delivered breakfast on Sunday and Monday, but no time other than that. We saw no one else at the Inn. It appeared that we were alone on the property most of the time, Phone contact is also difficult, always requiring leaving a message and waiting for a callback.
Finally, when we checked out (when Amy delivered breakfast,) I signed for the bill. Afterwards, my wife looked at the receipt and said that the bill was incorrect, as it did not match the reservation receipt.. I went down to the Office, but no one was there, so I called and left a message. When Amy called back she explained that the reservation receipt was wrong. At issue was an additional $25/person/day for more than two people. While we understand that business people need to cover their costs and make a profit, giving guests a reservation receipt that says "your credit card will be charged $xxx," and then charging a different rate is not good business. In addition, my wife had spoken to Amy on the phone specifically about the two additional guests. That would have been a good time to say, "by the way, your receipt is wrong"
We visit the Paso Robles area a few times a year. This was our first and last visit to Creekside.
