Wharf — Attraction in Orange Beach

I have already posted part one of my review of The Wharf, which was terrible. I ran out of space and could not finish the details of the beginning of our horrible experience. After being bumped out of the condo that we originally booked and paid for and after going back and forth with the office there, they did eventually come around and offered us another unit, to which we had to pack up everything that was unpacked by others in our party, to move our belongings to the opposite side of The Wharf. We had a 2 hour window to do this, which was difficult to do, as some had unpacked and gone on to the Oasis, while our remaining party had to move everyone's stuff into the other unit.

I have to say though, that things got much better after they moved us from the 4th floor corner unit to the 8th floor corner unit on the opposite side.

This condo accommodated all of us and was so much nicer. It was clean, had a bigger table which fit all of us, had a better seating arrangement, plenty of seating for us inside and outside on the balcony. Although, both the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms had queen beds, they were very nice, clean and nicely furnished.

We were so much more comfortable there and IF we ever went back, we WOULD DEFINITELY book that unit again. 825! The other two.... at the other end, on both the 4th and the 9th floors, we will not ever book again. Although we didn't get the unit we originally booked on the corner of the 9th floor, we were very happy with the unit we got on the opposite end of the 8th floor.

The only other complaints I have was that none of the amenities were in service. The tram to and from the Oasis was out of service, the concession stand at the cabana was closed and the wave pool didn't run the entire time we were there, Thursday thru Monday. We always book this same week, so the excuses that we were given that it's usually closed for the season, us unacceptable and a lie, as that is simply not true.

The light show at night was inconsistent and only half lit up. It was shortened and the lights on the main strip were only halfway lit up along with most of the ferris wheels lights not working.

Had we known that none of these amenities were not going to be in service, we would have chosen a different destination, as we settled on squeezing into a 3 bedroom with a tiny bonus bunker room BECAUSE OF THE AMENITIES THAT THE WHARF OFFERS.

I have to add in though, that unit 825 had 2 bunkers with furniture and was set up in such a way to make it tolerable and more comfortable for the adult with child who ended up in that tiny room.

It's all about how the owner chose to make the most use out of their limited space. We were able to share the master bathroom and closet in this unit and we were all very comfortable and happy once we moved from 401 to 825.

Be very leery when booking your future stays in room 401, as it has a locked master closet and is not up to par in keeping it up. Also be leery when booking 901, as the owners can suddenly decide to come up and bump you out AFTER YOU HAVE BOOKED AND PAID FOR YOUR STAY IN THAT UNIT.

That EXPERIENCE will REMAIN WITH ME as a TERRIBLE ONE! I MEAN... WHO DOES THAT? Why even put your unit on the VRBO to rent out to guests if you're going to pull an irresponsible and disrespectful move like that on those who are paying to rent your unit?

This was booked 5 months ago and you chose to pull the rug out from under us, 2 days before we arrived! You inconvenienced 4 separate families for pulling a very selfish act on your guests.

Then the unit we were bumped to, (which was a big downgrade)... that owner decides to NOT EVEN GIVING GUESTS ACCESS TO THE MASTER CLOSET is RIDICULOUS! I NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING EVER IN MY LIFE...

BOTH OWNERS of BOTH OF THOSE UNITS SHOULD RECONSIDER EVEN RENTING THEIR PLACES OUT IN THE FUTURE, if you're going to treat your guest as second class citizens.

For that reason alone, I will make sure NEVER TO BOOK THOSE TWO UNITS AGAIN!

As for Unit 825, my hat is off to you. THANK YOU FOR SAVING OUR TRIP! YOUR...

Use to Love this place, we go every year. From the shopping and dining to mini golf, the oasis, zip line , ferris wheel and all the events they have it use to be a perfect destination. We just got back a few nights ago and I am sorry to say that the staff doesn't seem to care like they use to. We returned every year because of the staff. They would always make you feel as if your their top priority but I just didn't get that this time, even went talked with the manager while there and was promised a call about my issues, but nothing. Was already disappointed upon arriving because I was promised 2 free nights for booking 7 (since Feb and now end of june). Not only did they keep giving me the run around on that, while we were there the lack of privacy was unreal. Came back from the beach with workers in our room with no notice, then a day later were getting dressed and the pest control guy walks in on us. Why do all these people have the key to our room? Why was there no prior notice about any of it? Anyway like I said I went spoke with the manager who said she would address it and look into approving our free nights but never heard from her. We are actually really sad to be looking for a new vaca spot but they confirmed that they are just about the money now that its different people running the office. Very sad that we just dont feel like a valuable...

Took my daughter and her cousins to the ice skating rink for her birthday, apparently they are having issues keeping the water frozen, but the guy said they were going to close down for 30 minutes to let it freeze since they restarted the machine. Fine, took them to a restaurant for dinner and checked the Wharf website and Facebook page to see if there were any updates. No updates, so we made our way back from Foley and was disappointed that they had closed. Would have been nice to let the public know in social media. A bunch of other people were showing up and walking up to the entrance only to be...