Vacation buyer’s remorse?

[Anonymous]

DH and I just returned from a 4-day long weekend trip to a far-out, isolated resort. Reviews were great, amenities seemed great, food/drink menu looked delicious. We were looking to completely escape and this seemed to fit the bill, but once we got there we realized we were mistaken. Already too far committed (non-refundable hotel at that point, plus a 4.5 hour drive away from home, and no close alternate options) we just decided to make the most of it. There were fun moments, but now that we are home and I’m looking at our CC statement, I am just sick that we spent good money on *that*.

Ever experience this before? How do you cope? I’m so annoyed and it’s all I can think about.

[Anonymous]

Oof I'm sorry OP! Haven't experienced anything that bad before - would be very interested to know the resort and/or the specific things that you didn't like.

[Anonymous]

OP: Please share the resort name so that others may be better informed. TIA

[Anonymous]

A resort 4 1/2 hours drive from DC. Where was The Greenbrier in WV?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A resort 4 1/2 hours drive from DC. Where was The Greenbrier in WV?

That’s the one.

Ugh. It came so highly recommended. I feel bamboozled. I understand what they are going for, but for that kind of money, the place is a major dump. The rooms need major renovating. Like, major. The pools were disgusting. The food was barely palatable. The drinks weak. I was so disappointed.

I eavesdropped and overheard a manager complaining they they were experiencing major turnaround with waitstaff and in the kitchen, so I’m sure this was part of the problem, at least with the food and horrible service. But no excuse for the condition of the room and the grounds in general.

[Anonymous]

Ahhh I felt like that one Labor Day weekend at the Homestead. Our first suite had wet, peeling wallpaper and bugs, we couldn’t get meal reservations anywhere, etc. They gave us a new room but had no one to help move us (I was pregnant with 3 small kids and dh had not yet arrived), etc. I see people on here recommend that and the greenbrier all the time. I’m all for classic resorts but these need the service and maintenance to go keep their reputations and they aren’t doing that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A resort 4 1/2 hours drive from DC. Where was The Greenbrier in WV?

That’s the one.

Ugh. It came so highly recommended. I feel bamboozled. I understand what they are going for, but for that kind of money, the place is a major dump. The rooms need major renovating. Like, major. The pools were disgusting. The food was barely palatable. The drinks weak. I was so disappointed.

I eavesdropped and overheard a manager complaining they they were experiencing major turnaround with waitstaff and in the kitchen, so I’m sure this was part of the problem, at least with the food and horrible service. But no excuse for the condition of the room and the grounds in general.

Sorry to say but if you had read on this site you'd see that many do not find it upscale and in fact its quite dated.

[Anonymous]

Hershey Lodge. We went for two nights back in March. The indoor pool area was a ZOO. It was too crowded to be enjoyable and a waste of time and money.

[Anonymous]

So sorry to hear about your experience. I have become obsessed with reading current reviews and looking for photos taken by actual guests before I book hotels these days for all the reasons you mention. Personnel turnover and poor service seem to have hit the hospitality industry - but staying in an old and fading hotel room is just awful.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, OP. I feel that way about pretty much all of the “higher end” options within a few hours of DC. All the posts looking for weekend getaway options on here make it so clear that some hotel brand needs to swoop in and build another option close by. I used to think Salamander fit the bill, but their prices are so beyond absurd now for what it is, I no longer feel that way. May as well fly somewhere else for those prices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP. I feel that way about pretty much all of the “higher end” options within a few hours of DC. All the posts looking for weekend getaway options on here make it so clear that some hotel brand needs to swoop in and build another option close by. I used to think Salamander fit the bill, but their prices are so beyond absurd now for what it is, I no longer feel that way. May as well fly somewhere else for those prices.

This is exactly what I wish we would have done. What we spent on dusty accommodations and crappy food and drink we could have spent on airfare. Now I’m mad all over again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hershey Lodge. We went for two nights back in March. The indoor pool area was a ZOO. It was too crowded to be enjoyable and a waste of time and money.

I came here to say this. It was like a Motel 6. Every time the A/C came on, it sounded like a jetliner taking off. The pits.

[Anonymous]

Plan another vacation. Even if you can’t afford one for awhile, having a date on the calendar and researching it will take the sting out of this experience.

[Anonymous]

Yep, we've definitely had this happen to us before. Not at the Greenbrier but other places. Just to name one experience, we booked a place at a low-key, yet quite expensive, cattle station in Australia once, which was supposed to have x, y, and z. Not luxuries, mind you, but specific things to do and, well, food. It didn't have those things and it had some additional things that were NOT to our benefit. We did have to stay one night but then we just ahd to leave. We had two kids and we really had no choice but to leave.

At any rate, losing the money was painful and there were regrets all around.

[Anonymous]

I read tons of reviews (I have anxiety) so this doesn’t really happen to me. I feel like the mediocrity of the greenbrier and the homestead is well known.