Wildwood Inn — Hotel in Florence

I'm going to start off by expressing as gently as I can without sounding as if I am angry at the staff that work here because I am not (except the house keeper or keepers' who gets paid to clean rooms, but knowing damn well they're running this hotel down into the ground because they're not "Really" cleaning). I will start out with how I should have did my homework on this place, read reviews & seen the pictures of very unhappy guests. Normally, I read reviews & determine if I think it will be worth my time & money. I am big on reviews as it helps to determine whether or not we will stay. We drove 2.5 hours from Indiana following a snow storm all the way, was very excited, & unaware of what yucky surprises we are about to encounter for 2 days. The room we had reserved was the artic room. We checked in, everything appeared to be fine (except the very strange shutters that cover the windows to their very cold, wet, & smelly hallways) the building is seriously indeed of visual care. As we pull in it appears to be overwhelming, ran down, trashy, & an empty parking lot. Hmmm 4:30 p.m. ... We check in (sadly knowing we wouldn't get refunded if we backed out now & decided to make the most of it) the front desk staff said that the ppl the evening before had overflowed the jacuzzi just a little in the arctic room & we can go see if we still wanted to keep that room. Wow!! Just a little?? The carpet was ridiculous anyways, but add a lot of water & I'm sure the mudd & smell would have been great those 2 days. We refused & went into the Mexico Cave room... ughh it was creepy, old, dirty (I cannot imagine what the naked eye cannot see as the cave walls appear as if they have never been cleaned & in my mind thinking of what ppl do on these cave walls & etc), the bed needed to be burned, the comforter ontop looks dirty, dingy, & ancient. The bathroom was extremely creepy & dirty. The jacuzzi looked as if it was really preserved in a dark cave & never cleaned. On to the next one, but we were tired & settled for a hut in the hut village because it was more secluded & away from the hotel. Oh, & the creepy, unfriendly housekeeper that was mostly in the hallway of the hotel's strange building. (The staff we did see mostly appeared angry, moody, & depressed). The Hut: as we carried our luggage inside hoping this hut will be good enough to stay in. It appeared to be ok. It was depressing for $209.00 a night to stay in a hut of hell. As I was carrying things in a bag busted open & a glass bottle fell out & busted. It was frustrating, but the best thing to happen. As I was cleaning up the mess each & every towel or wash rag had black dust all over the floor but naked to the eye (or this can only mean the maids do NOT dust, do NOT mop, & do NOT do much cleaning period) We stopped went to Walmart bought a mr clean wet & dry mop, rubbing alcohol to sanitize counters, door handles, toilet, & anything wed touch, we also bought our own towels, & things to clean the jacuzzi tub as again we are trying to make the most of it. The wood doors, sink cabinets, & wall heater looked worn & broken as the wood is so old its cracked & discolored. The bathroom door towel holder still had someone elses hair tie that was a previous guest. The animal skin hanging all over the walls had holes & looked just as filthy. The heater blew out cold air at times, I could see the outside above the heater & door leading outside. The 2nd night I finally slept a few hours & as my alarm went off it a massive, huge, yellow spider that was either working it's way over to us on the bed or was watching us. It took my eyes to do some adjusting, but I was right... a huge spider that ran very slow by the light fixtures on the walls to the edge of the huts roof. I just had to endure one more painful memory of this ran down hotel that could have lasted many years if the owners didn't allow their staff to run it down is their own faults & shameful the pictures online are way off. Those pics are very outdated & I will NEVER stay...

My experience is based on the room we stayed in. My family of 3 stayed 1 night in the most expensive treehouse suite.

ISSUES:

Card keys immediately stopped working. Employees kept saying it could be because they were too close to our smart phone, doesn't really matter. It's 2023. There should be a better system in place because we had to go get an employee every time to be let back into our room. In the treehouse suite, virtually all of our lights (mostly lamplights) had to be manually turned on. Wall switch lights didn't work well. One of them was even stuck on and would not turn off.

I wasn't personally a fan of being without windows. There was no real way to know when the sun was up or down. You pretty much rely on lights and the rooms are pitch black without them. Speaking of the other rooms, I attached a picture of the layouts of some of the other suites according to the fire escape plan.

I also am not a fan of this hotels website, and lack of simple information and photos regarding the themed suites. It underlines this hotels age and general disregard for modernity and convenience, but more importantly; care, as I will go on to discuss. I don't hate the place by any means, but the state of the hotel makes me sad and disappointed.

DECOR:

The decor is pretty neat and pretty child friendly. Though there were many strands of weird fishing wire looking strings that got stuck in our feet and socks, you can see it in the photos. Other than that, my kid was honestly in awe. However, I do think that for the price, it definitely could have been better.

ROOM AMENITIES:

Virtually none, other than your run-of-the-mill cheap mini fridge and microwave and the hottub. Speaking of the tub, it took us forever to figure out how to work it. Playing with the knobs to get the water warm took quite a while since they were slightly disrepaired. The jet timer was quite far away from the tub, too, requiring you to get out. Bit of a strange placement, especially with a guest bed being basically right across from the tub.

HOTEL AMENITIES:

The tropical dome pool is neat, but that constant humidity is obviously taking a toll on the building from the inside out. Lots of mold and mildew, giving off a very old smell that sticks. The arcade is like walking right into the late 90s/early 2000s. It definitely has a charm to it, but everything is just outdated. Continental breakfast is poor and rather dull. Only waffles, cereal, and bagels. No real variety, and boring. Breakfast and laundry locations are also quite eerie, as is most of the hotel. The whole place is pretty much in a general state of disrepair and not entirely cared for.

OVERALL:

Some of the rooms were fairly priced, and I believe mine was not. My standards weren't too high given past reviews, but I also knew what to expect because my parents frequent this place every couple of years. Even I stayed here at a child, but don't remember. All I know is that everything is still the same and in a state of disrepair and lack of care. It is sad to see because I know this used to be a fairly popular attraction. It's basically like walking into the 90s/2000s when you step foot in here. As I mentioned before, there is some charm to that, but the delapidation just destroys whatever potential this hotel has. This entire place needs revamping and perhaps...

a week ago NEW I have to say I do not like writing bad reviews. Typically I just would not return to a place of such bad customer service. When I tell you I feel like I was racially discriminated against; I am not lying at all. I never use the phrase unless it’s obvious. When I called the Wild Wood In To Make My Reservation I specifically told the lady it was myself and five children. She said I had to book a double room because it has a pull out sofa and can sleep 6. I said ok great. I booked for 2 nights. Once I arrived to the establishment, I was informed that all of their rooms had a maximum occupancy of 4 people and she misunderstood what I was saying on the phone. She stated that she thought I was only bringing extra ppl to come swim but not sleep there. Tell me who drives 45 minutes to swim have to drive another 45 minutes to drop an extra child back off home then drive 45 minutes back to said establishment to sleep. Then I said ok can I get a refund. She stated I was past the cancellation time. She stated the only thing she could do for me is let my children swim for 3 hours at $10 per child (I had to pay for myself even though I didn’t swim and I was just chaperone). So then I asked instead of me paying for two night, can you just apply the money to a second room (which would have been the equivalent of a second night anyway); she said no because I didn’t book it that way. I have never ever been to a place who didn’t even try to make any accommodations for a person/family. There was no interest whatsoever in providing excellent customer service. Then she made sure I had to be out the pool exactly at 903 pm. Then once I went into the area I used a vending machine. I clearly clicked on Minute Maid Lemonade and a dag on Dr Pepper came out. I politely went to the front desk and I’m told it’s nothing they can do as it is a third party vending machine. Which again another situation I feel was racially motivated because I’ve been plenty of places that give me a refund and have me sign a slip and then the vendor reimbursed them the next time they come. Minute Maid Lemonade and Dr Pepper are completely different in the beverage realm so I don’t even know how that happened, number 1. And Number 2 there wasn’t even a Dr Pepper drink choice in the vending machine. It was Pepsi Sprite Mountain Dew and Lemonade. I will never never never come here again. Honestly I don’t even think they cared that they were not providing good customer service. They were getting paid regardless, so they really...