Tolovana Inn — Hotel in Cannon Beach

My husband and I booked this hotel for a late honeymoon gift to myself, and for me to get away for my birthday. We arrived early, as we were told we could check to see if our room was early. Wasn't expecting it to, but I was put down on the list for a call for early check in and told that once it was done, I would receive a call. After we had finished exploring and returned to our car to wait, we watched the cleaning crew be done an hour before check in, with no call. Not the worst thing - we check in, get into our room wanting to rest after a long drive. We got a queen studio with a view of the beach - it was perfect! A single piece of trash on the floor, but mistakes happen, the rest of the room is clean and well stock.

There is easy access to the beach, a laundry facility, a saltwater pool and a hot tub with a sauna. Our Queen studio came with a kitchen with a full oven and stove, and lots of countertop space, which is perfect as we brought our crockpot to make soup for ultimate cozy vibes on the beach.

We planned for that on Tuesday. An hour left on the crockpot when we get a call from the front desk - there's an issue with electrical in a nearby room and we might lose power for an hour. Not great, but things happen, it's the coast, we both know the power can get funky along the coast. The power breaker, though, was in OUR room. The maintenance men have a job to do, I get that, but the front door is left open, people coming in and out with little information as to what's going on besides the breaker box tripping and they can't get it on. They can't figure out what's wrong with it. This is clearly going to take more than an hour. While they're messing with some electrical work, the fire alarm goes off and doesn't stop until turned off. Which then turns back on not even five minutes later and needs to be turned off. My husband and I decide to head to the store across the street when they need to start messing with the light switches in our bathroom. We head down to the front desk to let them know we would be gone, and I complained about the fire alarm, and tried to get some information. I was told they were running around the entire building and "I had no idea that was happening."

After some deliberation at the store, we decided to cut our losses. Between the small issues of the hotel and no offer of anything for the trouble, (and the not so great food around town) we wanted to head home. When heading to the front desk and stating so, I was IMMEDIETLY told I could get a partial refund and a room upgrade. I wasn't interested. She told me I should "check in with my husband." I stated I was the one making the purchases, and didn't need my husband's permission to make decisions. There were some issues with the system with getting me my receipt showing the refund, but after giving my email, I left to pack up. I did receive my email stating I would be getting a refund in, at most, 7 business days - this is the day after at the time of writing this review. This happened all within the first 24 hours of being here.

The hotel was lovely, the beach front was perfect, but I don't believe we will...

Bait and Switch Reserved a specific room months in advance but was assigned a smaller unit at check-in. I was charged the amount of the larger room I originally reserved. I have been vacationing at Tolovana since 1992. For the last several years, my family books an August stay. My husband and I treat our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter to a nice getaway before the school year starts. When I make reservations I always say the same thing. "I would like an oceanfront studio with the Murphy bed and the attached one bedroom." That is exactly what I said when I made this reservation several months ago. I am specific in my request because I know this unit has two bathrooms, which is important for us. Then a few weeks ago plans changed and we wanted to take the back bedroom off our reservation for just one night. When I called to make the change I was told that Tolovana no longer rents the back bedroom separately and that I would have to rent the back bedroom even though it would be unused. Honestly, I was fine with that. So, let me be clear: I was told by staff on two separate occasions that I had secured the room I intended. When we checked in we were assigned Room 118 in Blg 3. It is a one bedroom unit but doesn't have a second bathroom like the room I reserved. One person in our group has a medical issue that requires a separate bathroom, which is why I make it a point to be clear when I made the reservation. I was told that Room 118 is coded in the computer the same as the room I requested, which explains why I was assigned a room different from the one I reserved. Not having that second bathroom resulted in half our group having to return back to Portland, which COMPLETELY ruined the trip. As an aside, I spent the first hour or two of our stay negotiating unsuccessfully with front desk staff. I currently have a broken leg so going back and forth between Room 118 and the front desk was challenging and frustrating. Our family came up with a number of possible solutions (e.g., a shifting to a larger unit, two units, etc.). The phone in the room doesn't have "front desk" as an option. Using my cell phone to call the front desk sent me to a voicemail loop because the understaffed front desk was besieged with guests trying to check in. The only way to communicate was for me to hobble over to the office several times, which carried additional frustration (and pain) because of my broken leg. I was hoping to resolve this privately with the manager before posting a negative, public review. I reached out directly and repeatedly to the manager, Scott Shepard, but he has...

This place is a washed up has been dump. It used to be the Shilo Inn of Canon Beach but now it’s just an expensive Motel 6. 7:30 in the morning on a Sunday and I’m listening to dog fights. I’d close the window but of course there’s no AC and these antiquated buildings are hot. Not sure why when their HVAC units are running around the clock and drowning out any noise from the ocean.

We stayed 2 nights and already our stupid door key card has been demagnitized two times which means we have to go all the way to the office and explain ourselves. Maybe just use keys if you can’t get the magnet thing to work. You know, for your customers.

Our room has a coffee maker. Yay! It even has a couple packs of coffee. Woo hoo! But of course, as is the case with any has been property…there are no coffee filters. They offer coffee but you can’t make it! So close but so fail.

The buildings are close to falling down. You can easily feel the waviness in the walkways. The elevator in our building has an uneven floor which is quit unsettling.

The tech here is just…old. Sure there are HDTVs but of course they’re still using 1980s cable television. Remember that? Ask your parents. No streaming abilities on the TVs. OK, you can just check out a SD DVD from the front desk….at $4.50 each!! That was neither a typo nor a joke. Not only do you have to pay to borrow a movie but you have to pay more than you could likely buy it for in a Wal Mart bin because you know they aren’t renting out new releases.

And what is it with these tiny beds? I had to have my wife go sleep on the couch because we can’t both fit on this ridiculous bed. And we’re not even overweight (well, I could lose 5 pounds but chocolate.). People go to hotels to sleep. Beds should be large and comfortable enough to do that. Full stop. And note to management: when a pillow case turns yellow, toss it. These pillows are disgusting.

And the thing that really got me riled up is their smoking ban. Yeah, nobody wants to smell cigs in their room, me more than most. But if they “feel” like maybe I stepped OUTSIDE and smoked my vape so that I can actually sleep in this jacked up hotel room, they will charge my card $250!?!? That of course is wire fraud and I would see that they are charged and I end up owning this nice parcel of land…but the point has been made that they think they will control their customers with threats.

With so many newer and much nicer properties on the north coast, it no longer makes any sense to stay...