The Maverick Inn — Hotel in Alpine

We take no pleasure in criticizing a small-town hotel where some staff members are evidently trying to do good work but — as a Hotel Expert for TripAdvisor — it is our responsibility to report accurately on our experiences, for the benefit and well-being of future travelers. The management at this property (these properties) is clueless. The first thing to know is that at the time of our visit, the Maverick was an UNSTAFFED hotel. You read that correctly; there is nobody there. So, much like Dave Bowman encountering the planet Jupiter in the classic film "2001" you will arrive at the Maverick alone and unassisted (after an inconvenient detour to check in at an entirely separate hotel building), without even a murderous computer for company. We were NOT notified of the unstaffed nature of the hotel when making our reservation. On the day of arrival we received a text telling us — very surprisingly — not to go to our destination, the Maverick, but instead to report to the Holland Hotel in downtown Alpine, in order to check in. We were somewhat confused by this. We were also given an online form to fill out (which required sharing a government ID via an unknown network which we prefer not to do), but the form failed twice so we gave up. We are tech experts and were on good WiFi, so it was likely not a problem at our end. Upon arriving in Alpine around 6 pm, we had to (with some difficulty) find parking on the town's busiest block and then walk into the cavernous Holland Hotel. Check-in went smoothly and the desk clerk was friendly and courteous. We then returned to our car, and drove some blocks to our ACTUAL destination, the Maverick. Upon arrival, our first sight was a flower pot of used cigarette ends beside the door to our room [pictured]. As our best friend had very recently died of lung cancer, this was not an ideal greeting. The pot of butts remained there for the duration of our stay and was not emptied by the nonexistent staff. Our room was very small and furnished in a Southwestern or Wild West style. The rough wooden chair and desk were, we imagine, intended to be "rustic" but were so brutally uncomfortable that they would be deemed inhumane in a penitentiary. To be fair, the room was extremely clean and housekeeping had made a real effort to make it welcoming. The tiled shower stall was also quite charming, if rather worn. The biggest problem was as follows: We had made a point of requesting — in writing and at the time of reservation — a quiet room away from the main road (for medical reasons). Instead of granting this request, the staff put us in the noisiest imaginable spot — in one of the very few rooms at the property that are DIRECTLY on busy Route 90. And when we say busy, we mean it! We went to the trouble of taking some measurements, and our bed was situated approximately twenty feet from Route 90. We don't mean the building or the wall of the bedroom were twenty feet from the main road, we mean the bed itself was twenty feet from the main road. With traffic thundering by, we immediately called the front desk (in the other hotel as, again, there is no front desk at the Maverick), explained the situation, reminded the clerk of our specific reservation request, and asked politely if we could please be moved to another room. We were given a "no" to that request. We then asked if we could possibly be moved to the main hotel and were given another "no." We then said: "Given the circumstances, could we please have a refund, no hard feelings, and we will find another hotel?" We were told there was NO MANAGERIAL PERSON AVAILABLE at either hotel to authorize such a request, but we would be given a decision THE NEXT DAY if a refund were possible! Does this sound as absurd to you as it did to us? What kind of offer is it to be told you will maybe receive a refund the day after you have been placed into an unacceptable situation? We were further informed that town was "very busy due to local special events" and that the Maverick had been "booked solid for weeks." That was a lie, as we had seen multiple rooms available for booking on their website just a few days earlier. So, management … if town was so very busy and there were multiple events going on, how can you possibly justify not having a single decision-maker available at 6 pm for either of TWO allegedly sold-out properties in the same town? We feel we made multiple reasonable and friendly attempts to find a solution but the hotel was not willing to bend or compromise any way. The hotel appeared to us to be heartless and uncaring and it was one of the most useless management failures we can recall in many years. We reluctantly spent one night at the Maverick, listening to traffic pound past our room, but departed the next day even though a second night had been paid for in advance. Management made no offer of a refund, compensation, or reconciliation but still had the audacity to send a survey the next day asking how our stay was! You have to laugh. It was our worst travel experience of the year and it's a shame, because the rooms are cute — if small — and the predominantly older guests staying there appeared quiet and respectful. Here we see an example of how professional or experienced management with an understanding of how to actually treat guests could probably easily turn these two seemingly-connected hotels into a desirable destination. At the moment, however, it is very...

FILTHY floors and absentee, rarely-visits-the-property Manager. Though we liked the room layout there were a number of things that made this a less than pleasant visit. Upon arrival they failed to honor the rate we were quoted during two phone calls two days earlier and the 'absentee' manager wasn't interested enough, or polite enough, to return my pleasant but questioning phone call to her within 10 minutes of our arrival, explaining what happened and asking why my rate changed. We stayed three days at a cost of $483. and never saw or heard from her. Two desk attendees, who were pleasant, told us that she, the manager, rarely visits the property. Cleaning rags were not re-supplied until we asked after the second day, but worst of all we discovered that the tile floor was FILTHY when my wife spilled a bit of water and used a towel to wipe it up, and I mean FILTHY! The towel was Black! Our used coffee cups were not cleaned or replaced, and our pizza and salad boxes were not taken! Unreal. When I complained about the filthy floor I was told by the desk attendant that the floors really needed deep cleaning but our room was one of a number they hadn't gotten to! The place really needs a better, more interested manager and a cleaning staff that cares and doesn't try to fool people by making the beds, trying to make it 'look' like they cleaned the room, and skipping the cleaning part. I'm sure the shower floor, which is dark tile like the rest of the floor, was filthy as well. What else isn't being cleaned? I'm sure plenty of things. I hope my wife and I didn't catch anything. They don't have breakfast, fine, they don't clean the rooms and they have filthy tile floors, YUCK and that is not fine at all! Add to that the absentee manager leaves everything to the desk attendants and doesn't care! A neglected property for sure. Our visit was in mid...

Our first stay at the King’s Courtyard, amenities were very functional and pleasant. We did have a hard time finding our room at one a.m. as the room entrance was completely obscured by a bush. The balcony door was clearly visible but it wasn’t that obvious that it was our room. Meaning that the bush needs a trim so the door can be seen from the courtyard entrance. I’m giving five stars as that room was comfortable, spacious, and pleasant. The bathroom layout and decor were great, practical and functional. Do wear your ear plugs though as the train tracks are about 75-100 feet from the balcony. Would have been nice to have a list of hotel rules and emergency/helpful numbers or codes in the room as found in another room we stayed in the next day. There was also no ironing board but did have an iron which we appreciated. However, the next day, when we stayed in a room with double queen beds it didn’t have an iron at all. We noticed a lot of dust in both rooms we stayed in. The tapestries were a tell-tale sign that not much dusting had been done in at least a year so it seemed. The bathroom with the double queens was totally uncomfortable in layout and space. The sink was too high making me feel like I was 3 years old that I needed a step stool. Cleanliness was also an issue as the sink needed some scrubbing. Towel rack was too high and the shower head can’t be adjusted more so one is completely underneath the water stream. The angle of the shower head is set to an uncomfortable stream that only your head and shoulders receive water while your back is against the wall. But all in all we liked staying there as it was...