Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort — Hotel in Carlsbad

Our family booked a room at the Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort four weeks in advance, and the resort charged the full amount upfront at the time of booking, creating a binding agreement that our reservation was confirmed.

On the day of our arrival, we were suddenly informed that our reservation had been canceled without notice and that there was “nothing they could do.” The employee we spoke with identified herself only as Adrienne and refused to provide a last name. The only “solution” offered was to move us to a lower-quality hotel next door to where we already were, even though we had deliberately chosen to relocate to the Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort for its beachfront location as we had no vehicle for transportation and intended to walk everywhere. They refused to assist with car rental or transportation costs if we moved next door to the subpar hotel. They also refused to provide any type of compensation for their error.

This last-minute cancellation caused our family significant hardship. We spent hours scrambling to find a new hotel instead of enjoying our trip. We lost our early entrance access to LEGOLAND and effectively lost an entire day of our vacation due to the resort’s actions. Their inability to work with us and provide any type of compensation was a huge slap in our face, on top of losing one of our vacation days.

Upon investigating further, we discovered that this is a recurring issue. There are over seven pages of one-star reviews on TripAdvisor, with numerous reviews describing the exact same situation. This suggests a pattern of overbooking and deceptive business practices rather than an isolated mistake.

Under California law, this conduct constitutes a breach of contract and may violate consumer protection statutes, including:

California Civil Code §§1550 and 1689, which establish that a valid contract requires mutual consent and performance of agreed terms, and that failure to perform constitutes a breach.

California Business and Professions Code §17200 et seq. (Unfair Competition Law), which prohibits unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business practices.

California Civil Code §1770(a)(5) and (7) (Consumers Legal Remedies Act), which prohibits misrepresenting the quality or standard of goods or services and representing that a transaction confers rights that it does not.

By canceling a fully prepaid, confirmed reservation on the day of arrival and repeatedly engaging in this practice with other consumers, Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort appears to be violating these protections.

We are in the process of filing formal complaints with: The Better Business Bureau (BBB), The California Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Travelers should be aware that this property has a documented pattern of last-minute cancellations and refuses to take accountability for the stress, expense, and disruption it causes to families who book in good faith. What happened to us was not just disappointing; it was unethical, unlawful, and they need to be stopped.

UPDATE: My husband and I called the number THEY provided after being directed to contact them for a resolution. We were transferred to a man who was immediately condescending and repeatedly interrupted me as I tried to explain the hardship this situation caused our family.

We were simply seeking a fair and honest resolution with this hotel, which has since claimed they are unwilling to work toward any resolution.

When I mentioned that we had already filed a formal complaint with the BBB, which remains unanswered, the man hung up on us.

This experience has been an absolute nightmare for our family, and the people working there are extremely disrespectful.

This hotel needs to do what is right and stop stranding their customers by canceling at the last minute and offering nothing in return for the hardship it causes. It is completely unethical, let alone unlawful, and leaves people scrambling at the last minute due to THEIR MISTAKE that they need to own up to.

Shame on this company for treating...

The design of this building is far more attractive and beautiful than before. I saw it for the first time six years ago, and with its new upgrades, I find it more attractive and appealing and enjoyable than before. For example, upon entering, the front desk has a old fashion call bell for those checking in, and it also has a calendar of all the activities that will be happening that week at the resort. Then it connects to a staircase leading to the 2nd floor, where the Sunset Terrace is located. I learned that this area can also be rented out for businesses meetings or things of that sort. ( I would love to see it filled up with a bunch of people getting ready for fantasy football season. That would be so cool). But for the guests and vacation owners, it's where breakfast is served at 9am every Sunday and Monday. Ah yes, before entering the sunset terrace, off to the right is a sitting area with a fireplace awaiting those to sit comfortably overlooking entrance and concierge desk. I also forgot to mention, The Activity Center has also been upgraded. It has a weights now and treadmills. The laundry facilities right across from the activity center, went from coin to app. You download the app that's called wash connect and that communicates with all the washers and dryers after loading the funds into it. Ah yes, the infamous fire pits outside still turn on after sunset, but now it shuts down at 11 PM. I wish it was 1130 because they close the adult Jacuzzi at 11pm. There's nothing like warming up to a fire after the jacuzzi. The swimming pool area and the Adult Jacuzzi have both been upgraded. I almost forgot, the Sunset Terrace is right above the swimming pool area, and its has a beautiful visual of not only the pool area, but the entire resort, and straight ahead, is the ocean with a view. Oh, I forgot to mention that the concierge is also the area where one would find out about timeshare information. If you didn't know, the Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort ⛱️ is both a family vacation timeshare and hotel location. To the lef is the popular Library, it has a small amount of reading materials, mostly books and also where it has Bingo and pizza parties sometimes held on during the week. They also do karaoke, but I'm not sure if they do it anymore. It's my favorite part...

had booked a reservation via Expedia. I called Expedia to see if this the date could be changed.

The Expedia representative put me on hold and called the Carlsbad Inn. He came back and said it was “all taken care of” and that I’d receive an email from the Carlsbad Inn confirming the change. I then received an email from Carlsbad Inn confirming my new stay date.

I received a call the next day from Karen at Carlsbad Inn indicating the change “had not been made” and I needed to call Expedia. She was very blunt and not apologetic.

I called Expedia, and they said that Carlsbad Inn was saying the hotel is fully booked that date. I’m not sure why I would have received a confirmation from the hotel for a night that was already booked full? I'm guessing they are not using paper ledgers to keep track of reservations.

It appears the Carlsbad Inn may have overbooked the night, but are prioritizing a different reservation over mine? It appears they reneged on a reservation that was confirmed per an email directly from the hotel. To me, this appears to be a very unprofessional way to conduct business.

When addressed with the hotel, they were unapologetic.

UPDATE: Karen called me back (perhaps after I sent an email detailing the above, or perhaps after reading my review) and apologized for what had occurred. She still did not take any responsibility trying to pass it off on Expedia, and that Expedia didn't have any rooms available in their block with their hotel. I pointed out that it wasn't Expedia that confirmed my hotel reservation on the new date, it was the hotel itself that sent me an email confirming my new hotel stay date. So, Expedia did not make a mistake, Carlsbad Inn did, in sending directly to me an email confirming my reservation. She finally acquiesced that it was partially the Carlsbad Inn's fault. She then said that they did have rooms available, just not through Expedia, and that I could book these directly with the hotel. I asked why that was not offerred as an option when she first called me, to which she had no answer. I told her that I understand that mistakes occur, it was just her rudeness, her lack of wanting to take any responsibility that was disappointing. I woudl have expected her to at least try to help me...