Sequoia Motel — Hotel in Exeter

The Sequoia Motel was small but comfortable. It had everything we needed. No frills, but the price reflected that. There was no microwave to heat up food, but there was a communal charcoal grill for cooking. No microwave is a bit weird, but it is what it is. At least there was a way to cook. The pool looked like it needed some attention. It seemed like it was getting a bit cloudy. The grounds were clean and well kept, which is always a plus.

But, how the host handled a traumatic emergency situation we found ourselves in made its way under my skin. I RARELY write online reviews, but this made me so mad I felt compelled to share my experience with others.

Bear with me here, as there's a story to tell. My girlfriend and I got into a car accident down the block on our way back to the motel. She had to be rushed to the emergency room via ambulance and had to be admitted.

This was NO FAULT OF OUR OWN!!!

I called the hotel a few days later and politely requested a refund for the two nights we couldn't use. I think most reasonable people would say it's fair to request and anticipate a refund in such a situation.

Who I spoke to, who I presume was the hotel owner, without hesitation said, "Sorry, I can't do that. Especially because of the holiday weekend." Sure, okay. It's not that you can't. It's that you didn't want to. Let's be honest here!

"Especially because of the holiday weekend..." That stuck with me. Basically, she said, "I'm not going to refund you because you paid the premium holiday rate, and I want your money."

This is a family-owned business. At least, that's what it says on their website. Their refund policy isn't hidden behind pages of corporate legal jargon. She easily could have made an exception.

Seriously!!! Your guests are in a traumatizing car accident that puts one of them in the hospital, and you can't offer them anything? Not even a credit for a future stay if you really couldn't offer a refund? They have been in business for 25 years and were fully booked during our stay. I doubt they are on the verge of bankruptcy and would have to close their doors over a $300-ish refund.

Businesses generally work with their patrons to figure something out in the face of a true emergency. This business did not work with us at all. I found that appalling and disgusting. Even soulless cooperations have worked with me in the past when uncontrollable events come up.

I booked a second hotel close to the hospital. I booked two nights since the doctors said there was no chance my girlfriend would be discharged the next day. We got super lucky, and she was! Which meant we didn't need that second night. Guess what. THAT HOTEL GAVE US A REFUND FOR THE UNUSED NIGHT! And they expressly said they made the exception because of the emergency.

Stay with...

I left behind my 4th gen iPad mini underneath some blankets on the bed. It was returned to me free of charge; heavily protected within two boxes and shipped via FedEx. That alone warrants a five-star rating; big shout out to Chris S. for her help. Although she did not explicitly ask for reimbursement, I paid her $40 for her troubles anyway, which was the least I should do.

The room (king bed) was large and clean, with a good LG air conditioner that worked well even on the hottest days of roughly 95ºF plus (it could chill the room to

Cons: the mini-split in Room 5 (The Rae) worked but the air blowing out of it wouldn't get cold even when we put it on the AC mode. So it was just like having a fan in the room, which made for a pretty hot stay in June. The property has no ice-maker so we had to drive to the market to purchase a bag of ice.

Pros: The room was equipped with a mini fridge, a microwave, and a Keurig coffee maker and complimentary coffee, which was nice. The wi-fi worked well during our visit. The swimming pool looked nice, though we never had time to use it. They emailed to check in and see if we needed anything upon our arrival. And they were always available by phone to recommend local restaurants, etc.

Overall, it was a nice little motel for the price. We would stay again IF they get...