Holiday Inn Club Vacations Cape Canaveral Beach Resort, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Cape Canaveral

Overall I'm rating the stay a 2 star out of five for the crappy service. & it was all because my boyfriend refused to buy a timeshare. I feel like the people that pay the most, (orange wristbands) get the best service, versus the ones that don't, (green wristbands) get treated like the bottom-of-the-barrel . First off, the time it took to find our hotel at check-in was ridiculous. They don't explain things in a way for tired guests that just came off a plane to grasp. We drove around the vicinity FOUR TIMES to find the room. They give the crappier rooms to green wristbands. The showcase room decor looked NOTHING like the room decor we had. Ours looked straight out of a 70s-style TV show. Don't get me wrong, it was decent, but not as luxurious as what they were going on about. I was pretty confused during the entire tour. They certainly try their damndest, even if you refuse 4 times. Our family already pays for timeshare, there was no reason we needed one of our own. The rooms are alright. I do wish they provided scissors or something to cut bags /snip off plastic bits from clothes, etc to open with. They provide silverware, plates, cups, etc. but no scissors in sight. We had to use a serrated knife I found in the kitchen. There was black mold in the bathtub drain, but I didn't bother asking them about it, because I feel it wouldn't have mattered. This stay was during my birthday, and my boyfriend wanted to surprise me with a dinner on the patio, but I was with him the entire stay, so he thought a simple candle added would have been nice. He asked them for one at the front desk to which they replied "This is not part of what you paid for. We cannot provide any more added amenities." Like what?! You couldn't have put it on the tab or something?? You had his card on file, right?? It's a freaking candle. Probably only worth 2 bucks at most. Needless to say, he was pissed. Key cards would have also been better at getting into the complex, instead of the wristbands. The night we got there, they were incredibly fast at getting us out of the lobby, so they skimmed over the part where you had to use the wrist bands on the small box to raise the gate open. We sat outside for what felt like 10 to 15 minutes just trying to open the gate. We had to call the front desk and ask about it so we backed up and they told us to push the call button . Still not explaining the proper way to get it open. It finally dawned on us afterwards, but I promise you we didn't hear them explain it. Parking was always the worst. We had to park like two complexes away even though they said that the parking was great. The part where we had to pick which places we would keep the money on for the refund, I really should have looked up that nasty restaurant that's inside because it was probably some of the worst food I'd ever eaten. Cape Cove?? Whatever the name was, we were given a $200 card downstairs to use. On the card it said for food and drink only at the resort. So then why could we not use the card in the little shop that was in the resort? The tap water there that they kept giving us was atrocious and tasted heavily like chlorine. So it would have been nice to be able to buy bottled water with those cards. Unfortunately it was only specifically to the nasty Cape cove restaurant downstairs. We were informed only after the fact that it couldn't be used in the gift shop that had food and drink. None of that made a lick of sense. We ended up just giving the card to someone at the resort because we weren't going to use it again. If you look up Cape Bar you can find my review for the nasty restaurant as well & how shitty the service there was. The only thing I liked about the hotel itself was being able to walk outside and get to the beach fast. I do wish they had kept up with the dock a little better. It was covered in sand & it looked like it could have had splinters if you weren't wearing shoes. Most of it was blocked off to the left so you couldn't go down the pathway. Overall if the service had been better I think I would have...

I have mixed feelings about this location. It's a nice enough place with some fine amenities, and I feel like it could be amazing... except that with the prices they charge, it already should be.

Let's start with check-in. Arriving past the kids' bedtime with an overtired and hysterical kindergartner in tow, we had to bounce between two different check-in desks then shut down a sales pitch about a timeshare presentation before we could get our keys and put the screamer to bed. Read the room, folks. Then we got a follow-up sales call on the room phone the following morning.

The room itself is a good point. King bed and fold-out sofa, and unlike many hotels, there's actually still room to walk around with the sofa in bed mode. Kind of a pity that there's not much of privacy divider between the two parts of the room, and the TV is only convenient from the couch side. Bathroom looks somewhat old, but also has an excellent large tub in addition to the shower. Again, plenty of space, though having only a single window makes it a bit dark.

We booked a rate that "included breakfast" for the four of us. It turns out that "included breakfast" means we get a $90 credit toward food and beverage charges that occur before 11 AM. Problem is, breakfast at the on-site restaurant is so expensive that our first morning came to $65. (Including a mandatory 18% "gratuity" on all purchases.) As of the second morning, we're paying out of pocket for something "included." (And that's also a sales hook, since they offer you additional F&B credit if you'll just come to the sales presentation.)

The mini-golf on-site is a nice perk. Not the most inspired mini-golf course, but passable. Pools are likewise excellent and worth your while, "generally amazing" in my wife's words. Small movie theater is a nice touch, and if you're like us and none of the movie options are terribly appealing, they have a respectable library of movies to check out from the front desk and Blu-Ray players in the rooms.

There's a game room! But all the games take quarters/tokens. Makes sense for the ones that give out physical prizes, but the video games and air hockey feel like an amenity that ought to be included.

Did appreciate the talk from the "rocket guy," Chris, who gave a short presentation about the upcoming launches from the nearby launch sites and gave several suggested viewing locations. He periodically leaves voicemails with all the rooms highlighting upcoming talks and launches. His talk was a pleasure and his voicemail appears to be a pure service rather than an attempt to raise revenue. (Except that he's been asked not to leave guests too many voicemails because... it interferes with the sales calls.)

In short, it's a somewhat pleasant resort experience that would be much more pleasant if they didn't feel the need to nickel-and-dime everything and turn every interaction into a timeshare sales event. Amenities should be included, and the sales pitch should be limited to a flyer inviting you to get additional information if you want it. Hand it to me at check-in, leave a copy in the room, but don't...

Let's start with the good: Chris Catrill's rocket talk was very fun and informative. His genuine enthusiasm for the subject had us really looking forward to watching a launch. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas so both planned launches were scrubbed until after we left. The adult comedy show was good! The rooms were decent, touched surfaces seemed mostly clean, though there were dust bunnies on the walls from ceiling fans and vents. I went to ceramic painting one day and that was fun because I love arts and crafts. The main pool was warm enough some days that I got in, and that is unusual. They gave you bracelets with RFID room key cards on them instead of credit card style key cards, so you didn't have to worry about where to put it while you swim.

Now for the bad: Not all the key card readers on the pool gates worked so you had to reach over and open them from the inside. Not so bad at the signature pool area where the fence is shorter, but i couldn't reach the higher gate at the main pool area so I always had to walk to a different entrance. The large hot tub at the main pool area was broken down while we were there, and according to several different timeshare owners we talked to, that is normal. According to my husband it was 368 steps from the back gate of the main pool area to the back gate of the signature building swim area, so we made that trek numerous times to sit in that smaller hot tub. Speaking of that hot tub, apparently their chemicals are off because my swimsuit was visibly bleached after sitting in it ONCE! Others complained of the same. Also, that path is listed on their site as "lighted", but it is only lit by some amber glowing post tops every so often. I wouldn't let my kids walk down there alone if they had been along! Heck, I was even a bit nervous walking alone in the dark! We tried the on-site restaurant the first night we checked in. I ordered a pizza (I'm vegetarian) and my hubby ordered wings and crab cakes. The kitchen brought us 2 orders of wings and an order of crab cakes! We pointed out the error, so they took an order of wings back and made my pizza, so I got to sit there hungry and watch my hubby eat until mine was ready. It was not worth the wait. The crust was tough and the whole thing flavorless. The rooms had gates on the patio you could pull closed, assuming for hurricanes, but there wasn't anything to lock them open so with the wind while we were there we heard constant clanking from them banging against themselves. We had a two bedroom unit because that was what was available through our RCI exchange. Glad it was just the hubby and I though because I don't think the kids would have slept in that second bedroom. It was at the front of the unit, right along the open air hallways so there was noise of doors slamming and people talking, not to mention the light coming in through the edges of the blinds. The elevators were slower than slow- take a newspaper or 1000 page novel to read while you wait!

I could go on and on about the little things, but I think you get the idea. We will NOT be...