A M.
Yelp
I will give you the facts first and save my opinion for the end.
My husband and I wanted to get away with our 9 month old daughter for a few days to Cape Cod. We used Expedia to look for a place to stay and after seeing many times "no children under 18", we were pleased to find this place which totes a "family friendly, pet friendly" policy.
Upon arrival we were greeted by a friendly man who gave us a tour. On the tour we were shown all of the common rooms as well as the gift shop which had a section dedicated to children's toys, as the owner is a child psychologist. We were shown to our room and asked if we had needed a crib set up for our daughter (we didn't as we had brought our own). Around 7:30 we put our daughter down to sleep but the banging from the doors of the disconnected bathrooms did wake her up a couple of times. The bathrooms are not connected to most of the rooms so you have to go down the hall to use the bathroom. Fortunately she was asleep by 9 and only my husband and I were awoken by the bathroom doors. Anyways, we slept well after a long day of traveling and headed down in the morning for breakfast.
While settling in with our continental breakfast of cereal and coffee, a woman who works there told us we needed to leave because they don't allow babies. We were beside ourselves. She said this is "the third time in 8 years" that someone didn't read the lengthy contract where it states "it may be inappropriate for children under 5". My husband asked rhetorically if we'd be refunded for our second night, fully expecting a resounding "yes". Instead the woman stated "a partial refund, if we can fill the room". Seriously. Ultimately we did get a refund for the second night we had booked but it didn't seem like she had any plans to had we not asked. We gathered our things and left, making sure to spread the word to everyone we come across who plans a trip to cape cod.
Now, my opinion:
If they don't allow babies, why didn't the man who checked us in say this? Why did he ask if we needed a crib? Maybe he was new, or maybe he just has a soul.
How can you call yourself "family friendly" when you are excluding children 5 and under?
What if our daughter was 5 years old, not 9 months, and we were kicked out. What would the child psychologist owner think of that? How would that effect her ego, her super ego or her id, Mr. Child Psychologist?
A woman, named Samantha, who asked us to leave was unnecessarily cold and rude. We didn't do anything wrong and her "hospitality" skills are severely lacking. She could have explained things to us or offered some kind of apology. We are reasonable people.
How is a place that is family friendly AND pet friendly making us leave because we have a 9 month old? What does family mean to you? A couple in their 50's with a teenage son?
Your breakfast is weak. Don't call yourself a bed and breakfast if you are just going to open a few boxes of cereal and a store bought container of lemon poppy seed muffins.
Fix your doors. If you are going to make people leave their rooms in the middle of the night to use the bathroom at least make it so they don't slam. Does your neighbor have to pee at 3 am? You can expect 4 slams from a door for that.
The beds are very creaky, too, so hopefully your partner is a heavy sleeper if you do have to get up during the night.
Be careful using your sink. The water is turned on from individual faucets and comes out boiling or icicle temperature.
I give this place 1 star because it is nice at first glance and the property seems nice.
UPDATE: I just thought I would mention that I read a review for this place on trip advisor, someone else complaining about their lackluster breakfast. Samantha responded and goes on to list the different types of sugar available (sugar in the raw, equal, etc.) LOL! Thought you might enjoy a chuckle :)
Thanks to the good folks at Expedia we did not have to pay for our first night at the Inn at the Oaks as we were refunded. They also said they would encourage the place to remove "family friendly" from their website. Because they just aren't.
The very defensive Samantha (you'll see what I mean by the way she responds to other people's reviews) should work on her people skills. In the hospitality business, it is essential to be hospitable! What a concept, right? For her sake, I hope she finds her calling someday, because this business isn't for her.
We would never consider going back because of the lack of hospitality, above anything else.