The Redlands Hotel — Attraction in Palestine

Brought my wife down to celebrate her birthday with a weekend getaway, yea I know Palestine doesn’t sound like the “Get Away” destination for most folks, unless you are my wife and me. We absolutely love the small towns here in Texas and we love the little specialties/nuances they have to offer, the attractions, the food and accommodations and that is exactly what we discovered at The Redlands Hotel. |Walking into this building (built 1914) you will immediately be taken aback to a simpler time and immersed in all this buildings history. As soon as you walk through the large double doors you will be captivated by the “honor case” a tribute to the late husband of the widowed owner. It’s a must to take time and read and see all the tributes to an extensive Naval career from his humble beginnings to serving at Peral Harbor to winning Congressional Gold medal. Then as you Check-In you will get a Texas sized smile and welcome from either Tracie or Celest (sorry if spelled them wrong). These two ladies will answer any question you might have and probably one or two you have not thought about yet. They are fantastic. We came upon Tracie doing all sort of jobs at the hotel and each time she had a smile on her face and willing to talk. |The rooms have full kitchenette equipped with fridge, stove, oven, toaster, microwave, and coffeemaker. Plus, the hotel has some modern-day features like code key entry on door after 10pm for safety. The rooms are code key updated with the guest. There is Wi-Fi in the hotel with plans to segment Wi-Fi per room which will allow streaming services but to me if you’re worried about streaming services then why come on getaway weekend. Currently they have 2G to the building with plans for expansion. These suites are perfect for the long weekend or longer. We were so pleasantly surprised when we opened our fridge and found some wonderful cherry turnovers (suspect they came from the bakery up the block) plus a couple bottles of water. They say it’s the little things that make all the difference and The Redland Hotel does exactly that. Each of the floors has a story to tell, unfortunately I can’t capture all of it here. This is not one of the cookie cutter box hotels, but each room (suite) has a personality of its own. |This Historical hotel sits almost in the middle of downtown Palestine which makes it a great place to stay for a getaway weekend. You can walk to so many different things, there is a bakery within a block, there is a steak sandwich, burger place within couple of blocks, a wonderful Tex-Mex breakfast place down the street and then an adult beverage store around the corner. Plus, other attractions like the Farmers Market on Saturdays and my ultimate favorite The Texas State Railroad Heritage Museum, this is a must for anyone that likes...

Brought my wife down to celebrate her birthday with a weekend getaway, yea I know Palestine doesn’t sound like the “Get Away” destination for most folks, unless you are my wife and me. We absolutely love the small towns here in Texas and we love the little specialties/nuances they have to offer, the attractions, the food and accommodations and that is exactly what we discovered at The Redlands Hotel. Walking into this building (built 1914) you will immediately be taken aback to a simpler time and immersed in all this buildings history. As soon as you walk through the large double doors you will be captivated by the “honor case” a tribute to the late husband of the widowed owner. It’s a must to take time and read and see all the tributes to an extensive Naval career from his humble beginnings to serving at Peral Harbor to winning Congressional Gold medal. Then as you Check-In you will get a Texas sized smile and welcome from either Tracie or Celest (sorry if spelled them wrong). These two ladies will answer any question you might have and probably one or two you have not thought about yet. They are fantastic. We came upon Tracie doing all sort of jobs at the hotel and each time she had a smile on her face and willing to talk. The rooms have full kitchenette equipped with fridge, stove, oven, toaster, microwave, and coffeemaker. Plus, the hotel has some modern-day features like code key entry on door after 10pm for safety. The rooms are code key updated with the guest. There is Wi-Fi in the hotel with plans to segment Wi-Fi per room which will allow streaming services but to me if you’re worried about streaming services then why come on getaway weekend. Currently they have 2G to the building with plans for expansion. These suites are perfect for the long weekend or longer. We were so pleasantly surprised when we opened our fridge and found some wonderful cherry turnovers (suspect they came from the bakery up the block) plus a couple bottles of water. They say it’s the little things that make all the difference and The Redland Hotel does exactly that. Each of the floors has a story to tell, unfortunately I can’t capture all of it here. This is not one of the cookie cutter box hotels, but each room (suite) has a personality of its own. This Historical hotel sits almost in the middle of downtown Palestine which makes it a great place to stay for a getaway weekend. You can walk to so many different things, there is a bakery within a block, there is a steak sandwich, burger place within couple of blocks, a wonderful Tex-Mex breakfast place down the street and then an adult beverage store around the corner. Plus, other attractions like the Farmers Market on Saturdays and my ultimate favorite The Texas State Railroad Heritage Museum, this is a must for anyone that likes...

I do not really like going this route, but feel the need to do so.

Hotel was okay, it has some history, the clerks seem to be fine (many locals work here I assume, unless they are all family). A veteran couple owns it.

Rooms are descent, now the real issue I faced: Their site, their reservation system, and the assistance I did not receive on my issue.

An extra night was charged on the booking, I notified them a bit late unfortunately, I checked out a night before but unfortunately the full reservation was already paid. When speaking to one of their assistants in person, she was humble and empathic enough to tell me they were going to try to refund me for the extra night “if they sold the room”. Checked out refreshed, took the road to Dallas to take my plane (mentioning this as there is no airport nearby, it is a small town).

Price per night was a bit expensive for what they offered, however. Even an Airbnb about the same size and amenities is cheaper. So that extra night costed me almost $220 USD. Guess what? They did not even announce said room and they never refunded for the night. Asked for the receipt, they provided it. Did not offer any explanation or apology regarding said night. After disputing it for the missing night with my CC provider, they just provided proof I left before the check out date and justification from their end to keep the charge regardless.

I do understand they might have a “cancellation policy” but they did not even consider refunding me for the issue on their website. If you try to book, it will add one additional night automatically. Left distasted with the fact they did not even consider refunding and how they simply denied the chargeback claim. They only started to call me from random numbers based off Texas after I had created the dispute, maybe in order for me to take it off? Once a chargeback claim is made, usually it is up to the merchant to discuss it with them, not the customer. I had the chat with their assistant in person and they did not deliver. I assume her name was Abby or Amber,...