Ester Lee Oceanview Inn — Attraction in Lincoln City

In my recent stays I had an amazing time but sadly from this last stay we will not be returning the Ester Lee Motel again. It started from the time we got there till the day we left. We paid over $500.00 (which was fine as we brought our pets and more people this time) and we were there from 3 nights. When I called to make my reservation weeks in advance, I stated that this time I needed something that was handicap accessible as we were bringing an elderly family member with us and we were making this trip to Lincoln City (a 5 hour drive) to visit a close family/friends mom who has Parkinson's Disease and that she would also be coming to our room for one the days so we could all hang out and have dinner so we would have 2 handicap at one point going to our cottage When I got there I was rudely told they would NOT honor my AAA discount since I couldn't give them the # when I made my reservation (even though I just got my card in the mail before we left and made it clear on the phone I would bring the card with me as I was waiting for it and was told that was fine) the girl when checking in then said maybe next time I will remember to tell them and there was no way to apply the discount as it was too late and she had no way to do it. Which is a LIE, she could and should have applied my AAA and for whatever reason she just didn't want to. So I was then pointed in the direction of our cottage, I asked about parking as we had a handicapped with us since I could clearly see we couldn't park in front of our cottage we rented as all the spots directly in front of it were full. I was told to park where ever there was an open spot even though I asked about the handicap accessibility when making my reservation & stressed it was an extremely important factor on deciding where to stay this trip and was told there was parking in front of the cottage. I went to cook dinner and the dishes were ALL dirty so I had to wash ALL the dishes before making dinner for my family as well as the WATERED down soap. The very next morning after arriving I was told we had didn't have the choice to refuse maid service, I never been told anywhere we couldn't refuse maid service and we stay a lot of places. our last night there, we planned to have fire on the beach so we went and bought everything for a fire and s'mores. I then drove to drop everyone down to the beach access that's for the guests to get the beach JUST so I could drop off our elderly mom & THERE handicap guest and a man came out of no where as we were getting her out of the car he started screamed and yelling profanities at us telling me I couldn't park there, mind you my car was running as I had NO intentions on parking in the middle of a dead end public road that everyone gets to the beach on. I was just dropping someone off and parking back up the hill at the hotel/cottage. So he starts cursing at my 12 year old daughter when she said she was sorry and we didn't mean to upset him as she was closing the tail gate. He said "FK You, you little BH". to a 12 year old CHILD then proceeding to ask us if were staying at the hotel and telling us we will be sorry we came down there and to back up the F*KING hill and get outta here, which I wasn't going to do as that is EXTREMELY dangerous.. I immediately went into the office to see what we could do and was told "He does that all the time to people who drive down there and just don't drive down there and walk down". what part of handicap guest did they not understand and the time of reservation? So how fun for us on our last night there, after spending over $500 to stay there I got to stay up all night checking on my car and I wasn't sure when the guy meant when he said "you will be sorry" and I didn't need my car messed with when I had my child and family in there. So after staying up all night I then got to do a 5 hour drive home just think about how baffled I am by the lack of customer service and the "we don't care" attitude we revived the WHOLE time...

The rooms haven't changed much since I was little but they were always clean and a warm place to lay our head after a day of adventures. This time the room wasn't as clean as previous years but we were not going to let that ruin our time. We had a great day of fishing, shopping and watching movies. Around 8 pm we went out to get food and bring it back to continue our night of movies and laughter. At around midnight when we couldn't laugh anymore or keep our eyes open for another minute, we decided to go to bed. I tell you all of this because it was then our room started to get chilly and it was then we decided to turn on the fireplace. Unfortunately, to our realization, the fireplace didn't work. The office was closed, there was nothing for us to do but go to sleep in the cold room. While laying in the cold trying to sleep, the people above us were up enjoying their time loudly, not only with their voices but more so with their loud foot steps walking across the floor the entire night. At checkout we told the desk clerk about what happened. Her response? "You ladies are all set, we have emailed you your receipt this morning." No apology, no acknowledging of what happened. I asked if they were going to do anything for us due to us not having any heat. She looked at whom I assume was the manager and his response "what do you expect me to do?" I told him a discount on the room would be sufficient. He replied "I have money in my wallet." I asked can't you discount the room some for our experience, I don't want to take YOUR money. He again said "I don't know what you want me to do, I don't control the people above you and you waited too long to turn on the fireplace!" I stated I know you don't control the people but even if you take that out of the equation, we stayed in a room with no heat and you are telling me my comfort had a time limit? That is asinine! That is when we started getting cold! When you stay in a hotel/motel you are paying for the necessities. We walked out very upset. We will not be going back. I don't know if there are new owners or just management but it is not the same place with the fond memories of excellent customer service and pride in their property. We did nothing wrong, we were not trying to work anyone, we deserved better than how we were treated. We deserved to get a discount or the room comped for lack of heat. I am hoping the owners will see this so they know who is working in their office and see how they are treating their patrons. When we were getting into our car a woman came up to me and asked about our room and told us of her horrible customer service experience as well. She has the owners info at home and will be writing a complaint to them personally. So it was just not an isolated incident.

In response to the owner, I am an honest person who never had a ploy to get compensation. I said I would be sure to do a review about the way we were treated because you did treat us as if we were lying. The funny thing is, I had no clue there was any other heat source. I was under the impression that the fireplace was it because the baseboard heaters looked as if they hadn't been turned on for a long time. Had you asked me if I attempted that I would have told told you, embarrassingly, no and accepted my responsibility in the error and been on my way. The fact that you immediately jumped to the conclusion that we were out to get something for free and the way you immediately were rude and pissy towards us, that is the reason for the review. Don't downplay your part in this. Noisy people and my misinformation of the heat source put aside, you were rude and judgmental and didn't even try to talk to me about the other heat options, if they were an option why not ask. My review is based on your poor customer service skills and the fact that I honesty didn't know there was another heat source. I don't go to hotels looking to get a deal by finding things wrong. This was the first time I have ever had something like...

(I originally left this review on Trip Advisor, the management responded with an attempt to spin it in their defense, to make it seem as if they offered a world of amends, that I was in some way asking for too much. They proceeded in stating policy instead of admitting fault and denying miscommunication on their part. The bottom line is they could have covered an upgrade fee for a single night knowing that they had an unhappy customer that they mislead during reservation and check in. Clearly they value the bottom line over customer satisfaction or integrity )

The amended review is below.

These rooms have a nice view. The noise level from the highway that is less then 80 feet away is deafening. When I made the reservation I asked if the room was quiet and was told it was. If I would have left at check in they would have charged me a nights stay plus a $10.00 cancellation fee (possibly a second night's stay due to not cancelling 24 hours in advance as their policy states) not to mention the entire area was booked so there was no where else to go. I also have a minor mold allergy that acted up while in the room but nowhere else on the property. Upon checking into the room I asked the owner/manager "if the road noise would be a problem" and he replied "your upstairs, all alone, it's quiet". The trucks shaking the room as they drove past and every movement from the neighbors below heard and felt, apparently he had never been in this "quiet" room . Although the room was very clean, the bed was not, human hair was found on the bed, between the sheets and under the fitted sheet (that we chose to change after the management brought up new sheets with the apology of "it happens"). We stayed three nights, on the first day of our stay I mentioned the room noise to the front desk staff, while speaking of it the owner/manager who was present during the conversation walked out of the room saying nothing (older reviews note this same behavior), the front desk person said there where no other rooms available and to check back tomorrow and she would "leave a note". After another sleepless night I checked back, they offered me a room above the office, I previewed it, being it was as close to the road and as loud as my current room (they where clearly aware of this being it was above their office) I mentioned the noise was the same, I was then told there was a "quiet room" available but it would be a 30 dollar upgrade. Being this was my last night I did not feel that packing up all our belongings as well as the kitchen supplies moving it all and paying an "upgrade fee" was a fair outcome (call me old fashion). I mentioned this over the phone when I arrived back in my room to confirm we would not be moving in hopes they would see the indifference they where presenting but to no avail. Upon checking out I was not asked how my stay was. I called from my room with the final statement of a noisy room and was told they would...