Hicksville Pines — Hotel in Idyllwild-Pine Cove

This review is for our wedding at Hicksville Pines and for the owner/operator, Morgan Higby Night. The property is great, the location is awesome, and the staff is lovely and hard-working. ||||We are still in utter disbelief when we think of how our wedding night ended. ||||We'd spent two years (two changed dates thanks to Covid ) preparing for this weekend, and though Morgan was bad at communication and we'd read the other bad reviews (of him specifically) online, we thought it couldn't possibly be that bad.||||But at 9:24 PM on May 21, 2022 - more than a half-hour before our contracted time to end outdoor/amplified music - Morgan cut the electricity to our DJ/music and the outdoor lights.||||Our contract clearly stated that we had every right to be outside and playing amplified music until 10 PM. That a neighbor complained is none of our business and was not our problem. In fact, it was not his problem either. If he warned them (as he said he did) and if he has weddings all the time at Hicksville (which they do), and it was a Saturday night before 10 PM (as per Riverside County's municipal ordinance on noise), then that neighbor had no standing whatsoever to complain. The fact that Morgan decided to act as he did, despite these facts, is appalling. The complete disregard he showed for our feelings as a bride and groom on our wedding day is unbelievable, in every sense of the word. ||||To put it plainly, Morgan Higby Night ruined the end of our wedding. ||||He literally pulled the plug as we were slow dancing to one of our favorite songs (Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”...hardly a loud and rowdy number). The bride's mother was dancing with her grandson; our friends were there with us, soaking in a wonderful day. Morgan forced our DJ out earlier than his contracted and paid-for time and he had to pack up in the near-pitch dark with only his phone flashlight. Then, Morgan took up our valuable time, energy, and emotions from 9:30 to 10:30 arguing with us and forcing us to argue back in turn. ||||We got no apology from him, no rectification of the situation, and continued disregard for our feelings and our contract. We all went into the rec room and tried to continue the festivities - as was always the plan for 10 PM - but the mood was irrevocably and completely altered. We were sad and tired and stunned. We'll never get that time back. We’ll never get those moments back. Morgan stole them from us. ||||Anything we could get back from pursuing the breach of contract to compensate for the loss and stress Morgan caused would hardly be worth the extra time and energy we would need to spend doing so. Even seeking justice via Small Claims Court would mean that we'd still have to deal with the mess he brought into our lives, and we can't continue to hold such a traumatic event in our minds and souls.||||We want Morgan to know the result of his pathetic actions that night, which is why we emailed him a week ago expressing everything we have expressed here. We still have heard nothing back. But we’re fully expecting a snarky reply to this as seems to be his go-to response. And of course, we’d read those negative reviews he (specifically he, not Hicksville) received online, but chose to ignore them due to the beautiful location and warm innkeepers we had dealt with. We now understand that was our own mistake. ||||After also speaking to two other couples who have hosted weddings at Hicksville Pines in the past, they've assured us that Morgan is always the cause of the sour taste that is left after the event. ||||If you are considering having your wedding here - please, stop and seriously reconsider. ||||We'll also add that Morgan charges an extra $420 for a shuttle service (guests are not allowed to park on-site) which ends up being a sham. He was late with the first and every pick-up afterward. He didn't follow our timing at all and had guests waiting in the hot sun in the parking lot because of this. He drove away without some of them at one point, despite them asking if he was the shuttle they needed to get on.||||Furthermore, there were supposed to be 2-3 staff on-site for the wedding day (which he charges a $2,500 event fee for) and there was one. Another one stayed because she could see how hard it would've been for only one staff member to handle everything that needs handling on a wedding day. And those two young women were fantastic throughout and probably deserve a lot more than whatever they are getting paid. Morgan is lucky to have caring and empathetic people like them on staff and, based on his actions, he would be completely lost without them. ||||Again - as beautiful and unique as this location is, Morgan spoils it beyond redemption. Please reconsider having your wedding at...

This review is for our wedding at Hicksville Pines and for the owner/operator, Morgan Higby Night. The property is great, the location is awesome, and the staff is lovely and hard-working. ||||We are still in utter disbelief when we think of how our wedding night ended. ||||We'd spent two years (two changed dates thanks to Covid ) preparing for this weekend, and though Morgan was bad at communication and we'd read the other bad reviews (of him specifically) online, we thought it couldn't possibly be that bad.||||But at 9:24 PM on May 21, 2022 - more than a half-hour before our contracted time to end outdoor/amplified music - Morgan cut the electricity to our DJ/music and the outdoor lights.||||Our contract clearly stated that we had every right to be outside and playing amplified music until 10 PM. That a neighbor complained is none of our business and was not our problem. In fact, it was not his problem either. If he warned them (as he said he did) and if he has weddings all the time at Hicksville (which they do), and it was a Saturday night before 10 PM (as per Riverside County's municipal ordinance on noise), then that neighbor had no standing whatsoever to complain. The fact that Morgan decided to act as he did, despite these facts, is appalling. The complete disregard he showed for our feelings as a bride and groom on our wedding day is unbelievable, in every sense of the word. ||||To put it plainly, Morgan Higby Night ruined the end of our wedding. ||||He literally pulled the plug as we were slow dancing to one of our favorite songs (Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”...hardly a loud and rowdy number). The bride's mother was dancing with her grandson; our friends were there with us, soaking in a wonderful day. Morgan forced our DJ out earlier than his contracted and paid-for time and he had to pack up in the near-pitch dark with only his phone flashlight. Then, Morgan took up our valuable time, energy, and emotions from 9:30 to 10:30 arguing with us and forcing us to argue back in turn. ||||We got no apology from him, no rectification of the situation, and continued disregard for our feelings and our contract. We all went into the rec room and tried to continue the festivities - as was always the plan for 10 PM - but the mood was irrevocably and completely altered. We were sad and tired and stunned. We'll never get that time back. We’ll never get those moments back. Morgan stole them from us. ||||Anything we could get back from pursuing the breach of contract to compensate for the loss and stress Morgan caused would hardly be worth the extra time and energy we would need to spend doing so. Even seeking justice via Small Claims Court would mean that we'd still have to deal with the mess he brought into our lives, and we can't continue to hold such a traumatic event in our minds and souls.||||We want Morgan to know the result of his pathetic actions that night, which is why we emailed him a week ago expressing everything we have expressed here. We still have heard nothing back. But we’re fully expecting a snarky reply to this as seems to be his go-to response. And of course, we’d read those negative reviews he (specifically he, not Hicksville) received online, but chose to ignore them due to the beautiful location and warm innkeepers we had dealt with. We now understand that was our own mistake. ||||After also speaking to two other couples who have hosted weddings at Hicksville Pines in the past, they've assured us that Morgan is always the cause of the sour taste that is left after the event. ||||If you are considering having your wedding here - please, stop and seriously reconsider. ||||We'll also add that Morgan charges an extra $420 for a shuttle service (guests are not allowed to park on-site) which ends up being a sham. He was late with the first and every pick-up afterward. He didn't follow our timing at all and had guests waiting in the hot sun in the parking lot because of this. He drove away without some of them at one point, despite them asking if he was the shuttle they needed to get on.||||Furthermore, there were supposed to be 2-3 staff on-site for the wedding day (which he charges a $2,500 event fee for) and there was one. Another one stayed because she could see how hard it would've been for only one staff member to handle everything that needs handling on a wedding day. And those two young women were fantastic throughout and probably deserve a lot more than whatever they are getting paid. Morgan is lucky to have caring and empathetic people like them on staff and, based on his actions, he would be completely lost without them. ||||Again - as beautiful and unique as this location is, Morgan spoils it beyond redemption. Please reconsider having your wedding at...

CAT PEOPLE LOOK NO FURTHER! First, I will start by saying that our after hours check-in was very easy and Innkeeper Sarah was extremely friendly and provided superb customer service. Our 3rd Man Records room was awesome, and the bathroom is so cool, my husband now wants a bidet shower in our house. The fireplace/heaters in the rooms are adorable and practical at the same time; our room was heated up in a matter of minutes! I enjoyed the pillowtop mattress, as it is the same one we have at home, nice and cushy! During our stay we enjoyed hanging out at the large gazebo, took a dip in the jacuzzi, and laughed our hearts out sledding on their large sledding hill on the property, using sleds provided by Hicksville Pines. They also have cool Hicksville post cards that you can drop in the box and they will send them for you! But by far the BEST experience we had was with the 3 RESIDENT CATS. Upon arrival Innkeeper Sarah explained that they are very friendly...Boy was this an understatement! I was greeted by Norma (blue collar) and Big Ed (Eddie, black Tomcat) upon check-in and it was such a warm welcome. The next morning I saw Norma across the property and called to her, she came running and literally leaped into my arms! As the cats are unfortunately not allowed in the rooms, I happily sat on our porch for a good hour with Norma on my lap. Later on during our stay, Nadine (red collar) spotted me walking into the lobby for some warm water, she followed me to our room, and I once again spent the whole morning with her purring wrapped in my jacket watching the snow fall, needless to say my water was cold by the time sweet Nadine got up to explore. Later in the day I went back into the lobby and was greeted with about a dozen meows from Eddie, and boy is he a PERFECT SPECIMEN of cat! The other residents must have thought I was crazy because I just talked to him all day as he followed me around the property, snuggling on my lap every time I sat down. We ended up spending the entire day with him on our front porch of course! The very last day we were there, I packed up the car in one trip, knowing that I had little chance of getting back into the room, and I was not wrong! Nadine and Eddie came running and spent hours taking turns purring in my lap. My husband had to check out for us, and we ended up going to the gazebo, cats in tow, for another few hours just to hang out with these furry friends. When it was finally time to leave, they followed us all the way to the car, and with tears welling in our eyes, they both sat in the driveway and watched as we drove away, watching them in our rear view mirror. I'm sure they are back to fighting crime and providing snuggles to the current residents, but we will be back VERY SOON to see them! Thank you Hicksville Pines for providing an unforgettable experience, and thank you Norma, Nadine, and Eddie for being the best hotel employees we...