Friendship Oceanfront Suites — Hotel in Old Orchard Beach

I checked into room 51 with my girlfriend for a week. It costed us $2,180 which is a bit expensive to begin with, however we thought there must be a good reason why. The first thing we noticed before we even entered our room was the loose doorknob. We entered what we expected to be a comfortable and well-kept suite given the price. The room was the size of a studio apartment…and not the nice kind. We had blankets and sheets similar to the standard issue linen they give you in boot camp, complimented with some pillows that felt like a stuffed animal you get at Walmart. In other words, it was horrible quality. We had multiple blown outlets throughout the room so I had to charge my phone near a sink which as you can imagine, isn’t very convenient. We had a waist high fridge, and a kitchen sink that was literally the width of a beer bottle. So it was deemed useless to use any dishes. Not only because of the small sink, but because WE DIDN'T HAVE A STOVE. You would think you could at least have a stove for $2180. It was like they expected us to eat lunchables all day, or go out. When I go on vacation, I like to sit down at the end of the day and have a balanced, homemade meal. We weren’t able to do that. The futon in the living room was also extremely uncomfortable. Every time we sat on it, the cushions would move off of the seat. Thankfully, I had family staying across the street in another place. If I didn’t, we either wouldn’t have eaten good meals or blown all our money on expensive seafood downtown. I would’ve liked for them to come and see the mess we got left with, but they have a no visitation policy because of COVID. There was absolutely no staff wearing masks, but they had the audacity to install that rule for COVID reasons. They also don’t allow lawn games even with all that beautiful grass. They might as well make this a nursing home because it most certainly shouldn’t be a vacation spot given their limits. They wouldn’t let my family cross the property to walk onto the beach. The staff was also pretty rude at times. We kept getting attitude from this lady staying in the office. On day 1, I had to ask her for a plunger because their toilet didn’t flush; and that was before we put anything in there. She always had this RBF on her and whenever I thanked her for something she wouldn’t say you’re welcome. It’s pretty unprofessional to be lacking in basic manners if you ask me. Last but most certainly not least, the house keepers did not know how to listen. We were provided with a sign to hang on our doorknob. It said “do not disturb” on one side and “please service room” on the other. We kept it outside with the “do not disturb” side displayed for the entire week. We didn’t want any service only because we didn’t want to be woken up early in the am and have people go through our room. Instead, they actually serviced our room while we were gone…TWICE. The first time we came back and noticed the sign missing. When we opened the door it was hanging on the other side with the “please service room” side displayed and our bed was made. At first we didn’t think it was a big deal because we may have accidentally placed it on the wrong side. So we let it go. However, the next time it happened we came back to find our door WIDE OPEN. And this time we were certain that we had the right side displayed because we were extra careful after it happened once. They did the same thing by placing our sign on the inside and they took out our trash and made our bed. When we explained the situation to the staff, they said that room 51 had been opening by itself for awhile and that they possibly misread the sign. A staff member came to our room and fixed the doorknob by tightening the bolts which took him 5 SECONDS! Why couldn’t they have done that before? To not fix something that has been broken for years and took 5 seconds to fix was pure laziness on their part. This place is overpriced and the photos are deceiving. Don’t...

Friendship Oceanfront Suites is a great oceanfront option for a stay at OOB. We stayed in the room on the ground floor, closest to the beach. The room itself was underwhelming and missing many of the little necessities you come to expect in a room - especially one with a kitchenette. The king bedroom stays nice and cool, but the fold out couch/living room area doesn't have AC access unless you keep the door open. The view, however, was great! Very short walk to the beach, which you can see out the window of the room or while sitting outside the door. The big grassy area with the enclosed heated pool is perfect for kids. The ice cream truck seems to stop by every day. Kids loved that. The shower outside of the pool is convenient. There is complimentary laundry, though I never used it. You do have to pay for an extra vehicle to stay overnight - parking is scarce, and the rate seems to be random as it was $15 one day for us and $25 the next. The guy did give me a discount at $20/vehicle, but still, with a $500 room, you think they would let you park an additional car across the street for free. It is what it is. The location is great for the ocean, far from the pier. It would be quite a walk if you plan to frequent the boardwalk area. Overall,...

Ok so there is a reason The Friendship has so many great reviews, and let’s be real, it’s the location and the private beach. If you have been to OOB and been to the public section, you will understand how the private section is so calm and peaceful in comparison. It can’t be beaten. Yes, the rooms are small. No, most of them don’t have kitchens. However if you are spending 2K for a week and intend to spend most of it in the hotel room, you’re on the wrong type of vacation.

My family has been staying at the Friendship since well before I was born (45 years) and it truly is a home away from home if you make it. We have an OOB bin we bring with us with forks, knives, dish towels, paper plates, plastic cups, anything you could ever need. It saves you a lot of headache to have these at the ready. Also cook at home before you go (we always do chicken cutlets, baked goods etc.) and bring it with you to reheat! The Friendship staff is efficient and generally kind if you are reasonable. There is a reason we...