The Canterbury Inn — Hotel in Ocean Shores

We try to visit Ocean Shores at least once a year if not more because we host a travel vlog on YouTube Look for Braaescapades We love going to the ocean and Ocean Shores is only 2 hours away from home The Canterbury is for all intents and purposes a mediocre resort but it's on par with everywhere else we've stayed They have an indoor pool that was not heated enough An uncomfortable hot tub that was also not hot enough No air conditioning in our room however that may be a one off No continental breakfast and a slew of rules to follow like those recent VRBO commercials that make fun of the AirBNB owners We found a deal online They have a room there on the third floor that seems like it might have been something else previously It sits above the office area on the parking lot side of the building and has no view of the ocean It is not a suite but it was clean and comfortable It has a small bathroom with a stand-up shower a king size bed mini fridge microwave and coffee maker A small window looks out over the parking lot and the main drag We only paid $52 per night versus the suites that they are asking closer to $150 per night and that's in the winter! Honestly I would not have paid $150 per night for a suite on February 1st with the gale force winds, freezing rain and snow coming in around us but $52 was just enticing enough to get us to book This resort does a few things backwards in my opinion They keep your pool towels under your bathroom sink instead of in the pool area. If you lose one, they charge you $20 per towel once you've left. This means that you get one scrawny pool towel per guest, per stay. Not cool. The rooms each have a small DVD player in them and there is a nice size DVD library in the lobby, but they are not for borrowing. You must pay to rent these DVD's and if you do not return them by noon the following day, they hit you with another fee. They have signs all over the resort with rules telling what you cannot do, and it makes staying there a bit uncomfortable. The staff was friendly, but we didn't interact with them too much so that's all I can say about them. I didn't look too hard because I fell under the weather during our visit, but I didn't see any ice machine, nor did I see any signs pointing to one. What we did have were two tiny little ice trays in our mini fridge's freezer with 16 tiny little ice cubes. It was cute however, not practical. There is a nice lobby and an area that looks like a place where breakfast could be served but alas, they offer no such amenity and if they did, they'd probably charge you for that too. There is a cool trail leading from the back of the property out to the beach but be prepared for a long hike. Before you hit the tail, they have signage and even offer up some sand toys for the kids to borrow and take to the beach. No extra charge! Not sure what happens if you don't bring something back though The trail head warns that you may encounter bears and I wouldn't recommend traversing the trail after dark unless you bring your own light source. but once you come out of the forest like trail, you still have to hike another half to three quarters of a mile to get to the beach. Pro tip, just drive to the beach! Overall I would definitely book the same room as long as it remains the same price, but I really hate staying at places where I feel like I'm being nickel and dimed to death. Especially when the amenities offered are subpar or nonexistent. I really would like to see all of the resorts at Ocean Shores step up their game and turn their accommodations into places that draw the masses. The ho-hum atmosphere of these resorts feels like they rely on the fact that there are limited options and so people will stay there either way. That's the wrong attitude in my opinion and if I were a resort owner anywhere, especially a cool ocean side town like Ocean Shores I would want to create an exceptional experience for my guests that would keep them talking about us and coming back time after time. For what the Canterbury is they still have a lot...

Update: Response to manager/"owner":

First of all your employee Morgan blatantly lied to you. She asked me one time to put my mask on and I immediately complied without objection and did not have to be asked again. I was tucked back in the corner where the other guests couldn't see me, and they never entered, so I was not a factor. Second of all after reading other responses to your guests that have had less than an enjoyable stay you always at least partially shift blame on your guests. As a business owner I understand that there is value in taking responsibility and at the very least when you know you or staff are not to blame apologizing and leaving it at that. Placing blame without attempting to speak to a guest shows you have an opportunity to learn. I was really hoping to amend my review with a better rating after an attempt to speak with me or a response that doesn't shift blame. I unfortunately cannot in good faith do that at this time.

I do want to add that Denise at the front desk was very accommodating and professional when we checked in and was able to get us a bigger room because we misunderstood the accommodations on line. She was able to upgrade us for a charge. Then this morning I wanted to be sure I got Morgan's name correct and she handled the apology professionally and without shifting blame. Congrats to a five star employee.

The suite was nice and clean, for the age of this resort we were pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, there was one person that tainted the stay for us. The first interaction I whitnessed with Morgan she was very short with a couple customers playing with their dog on the the back lawn off leash even though there was no one around. She came storming out of the lobby and said "You absolutely can't have your dog off leash." I was across the lawn and she was loud enough to catch my attention and the interaction made me feel uncomfortable the way she admonished them so bluntly. I'm sure they felt belittled.

The next interaction my kids were playing in the pool and we were the only ones in the pool area. Morgan came into the pool and immediately admonished me for not having my mask on even though we were the only ones in the pool area, I apologized and put it on. Then she said we have guests that want to swim and the time limit is 1 hour. I said ok but had read the rules and it states that there is a limit of 10 people at a time and limit stay to 1 hr when the limit is met to allow other guests a chance to swim. Seeing how there was only three of us that 1hour time limit didn't apply. I went back out to the lobby where Morgan was chatting with the other guests that wanted their one child to play in the pool and asked for clarification and when I asked she was very short again and said "I don't know this is my first pandemic". First off this is just poor customer service and second of all very condescending. She then stated if we did not leave the pool they would have to shut the whole pool down. I offered to keep my kids on one side of the pool for the other guest and this did not satisfy her. I think the rules need to be clarified because I booked this place exclusively so the kids could play in the pool. We had many other options along the strip. I'm upset and frustrated that my kids stay had to be cut short because the one staff member felt power hungry and couldn't learn to compromise for their customers. I realize in today's times it's hard for any business to get a poor review, but the way Morgan treated my family and the couple with the dog I felt it needed to be shared and if it saves another family from having a crummy stay then it...

They thought my family brought a cat with them because they thought they heard a hissing sound, and my dad left some cat treats out on the dresser for my cat and dogs (I live nearby and he likes to bribe them). That's fine, but what's not fine is how they handled it. The GM harassed my mother on the phone about it and Facebook stalked her, finding pictures of cats at her home as "proof" that they must be in the hotel room.

As a GM they should've known this was the wrong way to approach this. My mother even repeatedly gave them permission to search the room, which they'd obviously already been in if they'd found the cat treats. Instead the GM continued to demand an admission of guilt saying that between the cat treats, the pictures of cats they'd found on Facebook (not in the hotel room, but in my mother's house), and the supposed hissing sound that there MUST be a cat in the room and that my family would be paying a $500 fee. All of this seriously upset my mother when we were supposed to be relaxing on the beach.

They also took the cat treats from the room, which we had to ask for back later.

edit The Canterbury responded, once again accusing me and my family of having a cat in the room, now publicly. There was never a cat in the room at any point during our stay. This is not how you handle customer service.

To their main point, that they saw me on camera putting a cat or dog carrier in my car. Was this Saturday night? We brought in some supplies from our home to make pasta including a load of groceries, a pot, a pan, and some card games to play. A lot of these things were carried in and out using a black canvas grocery tote. Maybe that's what they saw? I can't think of anything else it could be. I would love to see this video footage for what I'm being accused of. Perhaps they could upload a picture showing the bag?

The other points to me don't make sense. Why would we prop the door open and remove the screen from a window if we had a cat in the room? Wouldn't that mean a cat could escape?

second edit

I had to remove the copy of their reply due to a character limit, but after reading other reviews I think they're going to leave it up anyway. Before booking a room here do yourself a favor. Pull up the reviews, sort by lowest rating, and look at the owner's response on almost any of them. Do you really want to stay somewhere where the GM cannot admit fault and is always looking to blame a guest?

Here's a few snippets from recent replies to this situation, in reviews posted by some of my other family members:

"Perhaps in the future someone will just leave the treats in the car and screens on the windows to avoid confusion." That's seriously their reply. Leave cat treats in the car because we might get confused and we will call you and harass you about it! This is the sort of thing you see in an abusive relationship, victim blaming. As far as the screens go, I'm still confused. Wouldn't I leave the screens in an open window to prevent a cat from getting out?

"...perhaps we wouldn’t be “over zealous” or argumentative if the treats had been acknowledged vs denied when first brought up..." My mother did deny the treats at first, because she didn't know about them and didn't consider it an issue since there wasn't a cat in the room. Less than a minute later my dad confirmed he left treats on the night stand.

"Again, we recommend the Polynesian as cat friendly and hope you enjoy your stay elsewhere in the future. " Oh, don't worry. We don't bring our cats on vacation, but we won't be staying at the...