Back Country Inn — Hotel in El Hongo

My 6-year-old daughter and I needed help. Our car was totaled and we were stranded in the trucker's lounge of a convenience store in the snowy mountains of a remote San Diego town. Two hours prior, our family of four had been in a rollover accident, and my wife and 9-year-old son were in an ambulance rushing to a San Diego children's hospital. We were a state away from our home, family, and friends and we were entirely out of options.||||It was already dark and the winter storm which caused our accident had only worsened. Encumbered with a week's-vacation-worth of belongings, my little girl and I had nowhere to go and nobody to call. The insurance company was of no assistance. There were no rental cars. There was no ride sharing. It was late, we were in the middle of nowhere, and there was nothing anyone could do. After this terrible and traumatic day, we had no choice but to prepare for a long night on some well-worn couches.||||At some point during everything, somebody shared that there was a small motel about 6 miles away. We had no way of getting there, but nonetheless, I called the Back Country Inn to see if they could help. Sam, the manager (and owner?) answered promptly, and after sharing his room availability, I explained our situation. More than anything, I told him that we desperately needed somebody with a truck to come collect us and our many belongings. He took my name and number and said he'd call me back.||||True to his word, the phone rang a few minutes later. Sam had asked around and found Jason. The two of them arrived in Jason's pickup about 20 minutes later. By that time, it was nearing 9pm, the snow was becoming serious, and roads were being closed. We quickly loaded the truck, piled in, and Jason carefully drove us to the Inn.||||When we arrived, I didn't know what to expect, but it didn't matter. We got to the room, and it was perfect - quiet, clean, and comfortable. In spite of the snow, Sam and Jason even helped me to unload and gave us time to get settled! The TV, refrigerator, and microwave all worked well and were put to quick use. My daughter took a bath - the tub was clean and the water was hot. Even during the storm, the WiFi worked well enough for her to stream some Netflix. At that point, for us, we had everything we needed and nothing else mattered - a 5 star luxury resort wouldn't have felt any better.||||We stayed for the one night and most of the next day before a friend-of-a-friend graciously drove us back to San Diego to reunite our family. It was a short visit, but meant so much. Sam and Jason's willingness to actually take action and help two complete strangers will be with me for the...

My 6-year-old daughter and I needed help. Our car was totaled and we were stranded in the trucker's lounge of a convenience store in the snowy mountains of a remote San Diego town. Two hours prior, our family of four had been in a rollover accident, and my wife and 9-year-old son were in an ambulance rushing to a San Diego children's hospital. We were a state away from our home, family, and friends and we were entirely out of options.||||It was already dark and the winter storm which caused our accident had only worsened. Encumbered with a week's-vacation-worth of belongings, my little girl and I had nowhere to go and nobody to call. The insurance company was of no assistance. There were no rental cars. There was no ride sharing. It was late, we were in the middle of nowhere, and there was nothing anyone could do. After this terrible and traumatic day, we had no choice but to prepare for a long night on some well-worn couches.||||At some point during everything, somebody shared that there was a small motel about 6 miles away. We had no way of getting there, but nonetheless, I called the Back Country Inn to see if they could help. Sam, the manager (and owner?) answered promptly, and after sharing his room availability, I explained our situation. More than anything, I told him that we desperately needed somebody with a truck to come collect us and our many belongings. He took my name and number and said he'd call me back.||||True to his word, the phone rang a few minutes later. Sam had asked around and found Jason. The two of them arrived in Jason's pickup about 20 minutes later. By that time, it was nearing 9pm, the snow was becoming serious, and roads were being closed. We quickly loaded the truck, piled in, and Jason carefully drove us to the Inn.||||When we arrived, I didn't know what to expect, but it didn't matter. We got to the room, and it was perfect - quiet, clean, and comfortable. In spite of the snow, Sam and Jason even helped me to unload and gave us time to get settled! The TV, refrigerator, and microwave all worked well and were put to quick use. My daughter took a bath - the tub was clean and the water was hot. Even during the storm, the WiFi worked well enough for her to stream some Netflix. At that point, for us, we had everything we needed and nothing else mattered - a 5 star luxury resort wouldn't have felt any better.||||We stayed for the one night and most of the next day before a friend-of-a-friend graciously drove us back to San Diego to reunite our family. It was a short visit, but meant so much. Sam and Jason's willingness to actually take action and help two complete strangers will be with me for the...

Expedia and this hotel had clearly established terms and conditions for our reservation. However, upon arrival, the hotel presented us with a registration card, insisting that we sign it while leaving the rate, taxes, total, and amount paid sections blank, even though our full payment had already been processed through Expedia. The hotel was unable to provide a final bill at check-in and demanded that we authorize them to fill in the amounts later. This major alteration to the terms was only disclosed upon our arrival, well past the cancellation deadline. Confronted with the choice of either accepting these uncertain terms or facing a full fee forfeiture upon cancellation, we opted not to sign the blank bill and did not check in. Consequently, we were forced to find alternative accommodations.

In response to our initial review, the hotel's owner claimed that we must have mistaken their establishment for another, as none of the incidents described occurred at their location. We want to clarify unequivocally that we have not made an error in identifying the hotel (including the Desk Lady and her 3 legged dog). This is indeed the hotel that demanded we leave billing details blank and subsequently instructed Expedia not to process a refund. We remain dissatisfied with both the misleading practices at the hotel and the lack of support from Expedia's customer service in resolving...