Furman L.
Yelp
Allow me to establish my credibility as a seasoned traveler and a professional with a deep understanding of business practices. As a retired combat vet with 23 years of service, I have had the opportunity to travel extensively, staying in various hotels and accommodations during our many permanent changes of stations both overseas and in the continental United States. Furthermore, I hold an MBA and am a doctoral candidate, which has honed my ability to evaluate business practices.
As someone with a keen understanding of business principles, I must express my profound disappointment with our stay at the Sandbar Hotel in Myrtle Beach. The management team's lack of transparency and failure to address the numerous issues we encountered was disheartening and a stark departure from the service we expected from a Wyndham franchise. The following were encountered during our stay:
* Numerous verbal and physical altercations among people outside of our hotel cottage. For example, two suspects assaulted a victim outside our cottage at 3 am, and the police were dispatched. An ambulance responded and transported the victim.
* Upon Our return to the cottage after dark, we noticed a grocery buggy on our front lawn and a person on our back patio. Considering we were sharing the patio with our daughter, staying in the adjacent cottage, we were startled as no one should have been hanging out there. We asked him if he was maintenance, and we got a response that he was recharging his phone. Therefore, we expressed our concerns to the management, who, despite calling the police and issuing a trespassing warning, seemed unconcerned and offered no resolution. The cumulative effect of these incidents left us feeling anxious and uncomfortable, necessitating our decision to leave. We then went to the front desk; thankfully, the clerk was empathetic. Without being able to consult with management, the clerk decided to move us to one of their smaller main hotel rooms.
* During our stay in the smaller hotel room, we dealt with the presence of roaches. Also, fights broke out in the motel across from us. Additionally, we noticed someone passed out on the bench next to our room when taking our dogs out around 1 am, and they were still present on the bench when we checked out at 10 am.
* When leaving, we noticed that our room charges per night were the same as our daughter, who stayed in a 3-room cottage beside us, compared to our 1-bedroom cottage. We complained to management and were told that we were somehow charged a 3-bedroom rate, yet because we acknowledged the reservation, we had no recourse to receive a refund for the overcharge. The response was: "You decided the rate you booked, and the hotel is not giving you a discount." Therefore, either the management team condones charging the same rate for each cottage regardless of size, or their business practice allows no compensation for mistakes made on their part.
* When reserving our reservation, the website noted they offer a continental breakfast. However, there was no breakfast, and the clerk advised us that the continental breakfast had been discontinued months ago. While we understand that the hotel is under new management, a confident management team would have contacted guests who had booked before the decision or offered refunds.
* Additionally, my daughter also had a negative experience with similar issues. We both complained to management. When contacting the manager, I relayed my dissatisfaction with his response and noted I would complain to Wyndham. He remarked that Wyndham would refer to the hotel's management team for a response. Whether intended or not, I felt this was a way of them alluding I was wasting my time. My daughter and I complained to Wyndham and received an identical cookie-cutter response stating they had addressed all our issues. This is not accurate. For example, management did not switch our rooms. Instead, a concerned clerk, after attempting to consult with management with no response, decided to change our room. Also, our trouble was a cascading waterfall as more issues were encountered. While not all these issues were identified during our stay, they are essential and should be considered after the facts are presented.
If we could render a 0 rating, then we would. My recommendation is if planning a trip to Myrtle Beach, you avoid this hotel at all costs.