Kingsail Resort — Hotel in Marathon

DO NOT STAY HERE. Again, for the people in the back, DO NOT STAY HERE. Where to start... Booked this “resort” through Expedia for the refundable rate (as opposed to the non-refundable rate.) More on that later. First, the rooms are actually of a good size. We booked the “lagoon view-king” room. The rooms are bleak. The only things that weren’t white were the counters and two crayon-drawn pictures on the wall. Oh, and the stains, they weren’t white. It felt like we were in a mental hospital. And that “lagoon view,” you had to look out over the above-ground pool to see the emerald green waters of the mosquito breeding ground. A Keys staple, but hardly a selling point. Oh yea, and because the rooms are large, if you’re going to put a TV on the other side of the room from the bed/seating, it should probably be larger than a computer monitor. Next, the windows, or really the lack there of. Single pane, glued together with caulking, thin as paper. It’s a miracle they’ve survived the years. Literally every conversation, every car that drives by, every song the neighbor plays, every heavy footstep nearby is basically like it’s in the room with you. No sound insulation... at all. Tiles were severely cracked in the shower, water stains everywhere you looked, and the toilet, oh the toilet, hadn’t seen a seat/lid-replacement in at least the last decade (see pictures.) Like, really? It’s maybe ten bucks to get rid of an obviously disgusting toilet seat. Do you ever inspect your rooms? Is this really a “resort?” So, after the first night of being completely unable to sleep (noise plus awfully itchy bedsheets,) we made the decision to check out after the first night for the very first time in our lives. The front desk said that they understood the issues and assured us they would work with Expedia to provide a refund so long as we were out by 11am. We handed in the keys at 1050am and we were again assured it would be taken care of. We, luckily, called Expedia to verify. Fast forward a week and now Expedia says the resort claims we were there the entire stay (3, instead of 1, days) and will not be issuing Expedia the refund. They also claim their rates are non-refundable, despite there being a specific “non-refundable rate” which, again, is not the one we went with. Luckily, since we have a phone record and email trail, Expedia issued us a site-credit for our next booking and we have disputed the charge through Amex, who has never let us down on matters like this. In other words, Expedia is getting charged for a problem this resort caused and the “resort” gets to keep their money. I hope Expedia learns their lesson and doesn’t work with this “resort” ever again in the future. Also, let’s call this place what it is: it’s a one-star motel, not a resort. We went a couple miles south, stayed at the Isla Bella Beach Resort where every room has an ocean view, everything is new, the mattresses are resort-quality, there are free activities, restaurant, privacy, quiet, heat for the 60 degree cold-front days, five pools, keyless door locks, etc. We spent a few (and I do mean just a few) more bucks, but it was totally worth it. That place is a resort. Again, this place is a motel. And it’s not even...

We did not get the accommodations we booked, the A/C was horribly inadequate, never fully cooling the room, and there was no light in the bathroom. We had to use a flashlight from our vehicle to use the bathroom in the night. When my husband went to the office to tell them the situation, he was told there was nothing they could do, Maintenance was gone and they'd move us in the morning. When we went this morning, the lady at the desk was very condescending and saying that the A/C won't cool properly if we leave the door out to the patio open. We tried to tell her that door was closed when we arrived and we kept it closed the entire time.. It wasnt cooling good enough as it was, we sure didn't want to cool an area we didnt need to. Then when we asked why the unit #on our check in paperwork/receipt was different than the unit we were put into and when we tried to explain what we actually booked, she said that people like us often just look at the pictures of the rooms and don't understand the descriptions. About then, I told her I work at a resort and I know EXACTLY how to understand the room descriptions. She then said that if I work at a resort, I should know better than to come at front desk staff with an attitude! I couldn't believe she said that! I could not have been more polite and respectful. After all that, we were done and we were not going to settle for the outrageously horrible accommodations and 'customer service' that we had the first night, we asked for a refund and planned to cut our 3 day reservation short. When she realized we weren't going to fulfill our entire reservations, She said "I don't even want you here, I'll give you your money back and just leave". PERFECT, but then when she credited back our card, she only did the 2 cancelled night and said she changed her mind, she was NOT refunding last night's stay, we could just take it up with our credit card company. Which we ABSOLUTELY will do. We booked for the remaining 2 nights at a resort LITERALLY right next door and...

In short: I would recommend spending the extra money for a nicer hotel.

I know the FL keys are expensive, so I wasn't expecting the Ritz or anything but overall I was pretty let down with our stay here. I gave it 2 stars for the relative value and the nicer pool area that has a pleasant lagoon view but that is pretty much where the good things about this place end.

Starting with our check in, we arrived around 4pm, and our room was not yet ready. No breakfast, which from what I understand is par for the course.

Onto the rooms themselves, this was probably the worst aspect of the hotel. The bed was really uncomfortable, and I woke up sore every morning which is crazy because I travel about 50% for my job and typically stay at hotels that are less than $90/night and rarely have this problem. The A/C unit seemed to have crossed wires as the buttons didn't always seem to work as intended (auto / cool / fan). Additionally, the unit was super loud and even gave me a headache a couple times. The bathroom didn't have a fan, and the window didn't operate (or lock!) correctly so that area would get kind of stuffy. Additionally, because the rooms have no dresser or desk we had to spawl our things out on the ground, and made the space feel even messier. This is probably my main complaint.

Finally, we received a voicemail the second day here asking why we checked out. The front desk apparently had received a key to our room in the express checkout / key dropoff box and assumed it was us. (they have physical keys, not the swipe / credit card styles most hotels have) This leads me to believe that extra room keys are unaccounted for. I didn't feel comfortable leaving my computer or cash...