The Beach House Inn — Hotel in Fort Bragg

I wish I could have rated higher, but there were a few problems with our stay, and unfortunately, it began with check-in. My husband and I were on our 22nd anniversary getaway and very much looking forward to our vacation, especially being that he is gone 3 out of every 4 weeks a month. Upon checking in, we were notified that our credit card was declined before even getting there. I'm not sure why it was ran before we checked in, but whatever. We both have locks on our credit cards because of recent identity theft, and have to go through an additional process to unlock, but it was besides the point since we pay cash for everything. We don't like debt. We did use the card for incidentals, as the Inn requires this, like all hotels. This incident apparently gave the Inn Keeper a reason to treat us like we were poor or broke. We didn't disclose the security lock since we didn't think it was her business, nor the fact she ran it before we got there. We paid $335 for 2 nights, which isn't chump change in my opinion. From that point on, we asked for suggestions to local restaurants for our anniversary dinner and she kept referring us to "cheaper" restaurants and hinted "you know if you go to some of the more expensive restaurants, it'll be more than $30 a plate." We kept telling her money wasn't an issue, and wanted info, specifically on the nicer restaurants. Then she suggested how we should dress. We we're offended at her suggestions and little comments, not to mention she had a condescending attitude. She even made a little complaint that we should thank another employee for upgrading us to a fireplace room because she certainly didn't do it. My husband and I thought that was incredibly rude and odd to make such a complaint.

As far as the room was concerned, it was clean, smelled nice and overall very acceptable, except for a few places of excess built in dust on the toilet paper holder and the bathroom door was not wiped down. There was brown guck on the handle and side of door. I've convinced myself it was chocolate and not something that came from the human body. I cleaned the door myself. Housekeeping was quick.

Continental breakfast was pathetic. Two decades ago I stayed at a Motel 6 as a last minute stay and their Continental breakfast was more impressive, and they too did not have a kitchen or cooking facilities. They may have offered breakfast burritos, but they we're frozen and bland. In their hotel book that is left in the room for guests, they stated a list of French pastries, donuts, 3 types of fruit, milk, cereal, organic products, and so much more. It was mediocre at best. For $335 for 2 nights, they should be doing much better than that. Also, there are several local bakeries and restaurants that bake fresh pastries, donuts and the like, it would benefit them to create a relationship with them and give their paying customers a better, fresher option. If you won't offer what's in your book, take it out so you don't look like a bait and switch Inn.

Last bit of info, be prepared that if you stay at The Beach House Inn, the rooms do not come with air conditioning, only heaters. Although our room directly faced the estuary and it was cool outside, the air did not come into our room. It was like dead, hot still air. My husband got them to provide a fan and we lodged it into our sliding glass door to pull in cool air so we could actually be comfortable sleeping. I suffer from a medical condition that doesn't allow me to acclimate to warm/hot air and that air conditioning or access to a fan is crucial for my health. The morning employee was very pleasant and helpful.

So my advice, heed with warning and know that there are better options in the same...

We looked extensively for a larger room with a “view” that accepted pets in the Fort Bragg area. Most of the rooms we found that accepted pets were in non-view rooms which is why this hotel got us curious. After reading the description we called the hotel to confirm it accepted pets and the room had a view. They informed us we would love the view from the hot tub. From their webpage: “The highlight of the suite is undoubtedly the private balcony, where guests can relax and soak in the awe-inspiring views of the Pudding Creek Estuary in your private hot tub. “We booked it. ||The room is spacious with a separate living room/kitchen area separated by a hallway from the master bedroom. The room appeared to us to have a king bed rather than the queen advertised, which was a nice plus. The bathroom was small but clean. Water pressure was very good. The toilet has a very weak flush which resulted in a clogged toilet more than once. There is no staff on site at night so if this happens in the off hours, you’re on your own. When they were open the evening desk clerk offered us a plunger to fix the issue ourselves. Not exactly a “owners suite” experience. We escalated to the manager who is offsite at another hotel, and when we did reach out, she responded quickly, and maintenance came to clear the issue. ||The kitchen was showing its age, but the appliances worked and met our needs. It was not as clean as we would have preferred. An old sponge that had been used and was very dirty was still in the unit. ||The hot tub is in fact private. So private that the hedges had grown up blocking the view for most. To complicate matters the hedge that had grown up looked to be interwoven with poison oak. Google image search showed the same. The hedge was so close to the rail that a child could easily grab it. If we are correct this should be remedied asap.||The TV is new and modern but the one in the living room needs repair. After every turn off the TV resets and will not broadcast any shows until it is unplugged and rebooted. EVERY TIME. The hotel front desk staff gave us clear instructions on how to do so. "First pull out the fireplace and then…” WHAT? Ya that’s what we had to do until maintenance showed us a work around three days into our stay that was a little easier but still had to reboot the tv every time.||It was not the worst stay in a hotel ever had but it was not what were we expecting form an owner’s suite. I’ve attached a few pictures to give you more perspective on my comments. We will...

Thank god we had a deal, I cannot fathom how they get away with charging $200/night here. I don't know that Fort Bragg ever had a heyday, but I imagine if it did this and some other properties in town are the shells of their former selves.

Carpets are filthy and need to be replaced desperately. The room is also out-of-date, and not in a charming way. I wouldn't sit in the arm chair in the room if you paid me. The porch furniture is flimsy plastic chairs that have seen way too many seasons outside. The bathroom probably hasn't been updated since this place was built. The toilet seat is even worn so much the enamel it's paint has come off-making it unsanitary. There was a constant moter running sound in the bathroom, even when all lights & fan were off. The mini fridge also has a loud humming, but you can mostly block that out of your mind. The microwave was broken so I had to eat my dinner cold. Get this-NO AC! What hotel in this country doesn't have air conditioning?? Heat only. Ours stayed off as it is August-but neighbors must have had theirs on which drove our room up to 80 degrees. Luckily we were able to open the sliding door a crack to get air-but not something I generally feel comfortable doing at a hotel. Walls and flooring are paper thin & we could hear everything.

The desk here closes early in the evening and then your calls get transferred to their sisiter property-so I hope you don't have any pressing needs overnight! With some major updating this place could be almost charming-but as it is now I'd recommend you look for something nicer. The photos I saw of their sister property looked a lot nicer (but,...