Canalside Inn — Hotel in Rehoboth Beach

After a wonderful stay at the Canalside Inn in 2018, it pains me to say that this year's sojourn to this establishment was marred by issues from our initial booking over the phone to a conversation with the owner several days after our departure.

We called an employee of the Inn to check on availability of a King Suite room (the same which we stayed in previously). Assured it was available, we negotiated a rate for the week - the extra square footage and interior space during a pandemic being our priority. Upon our arrival at the Inn, we were stunned to see that the room available was a standard room rather the the aforementioned Suite. We relayed this shock to the gracious front desk clerk, and following a minor debacle of both doors refusing to lock (and other hotel patrons entering our room...during a pandemic...with ease...and the connecting door to the suite swinging open), she assured us that we would receive a fractional refund and alcohol to assuage our dismay. We received an authorized refund email confirmation on August 3rd. Today, I had a truly bizarre conversation with one of the owners who stated the following: 1 - "We apologize for the room not being what you thought it would, but the woman who sold you the room is new and mistakes happen." 2 - "The front desk clerk is new and is unable to authorize refunds, so we voided it." 3 - "This sounds like a money-grab to me, Andrew..." "No - I'm only inquiring on the refund your employee confirmed with us via authorized receipt."

I was advised to operate with "grace during this pandemic", yet the mistakes from the perfectly pleasant phone clerk and desk clerk led to the customers (us!) being penalized.

The basement of the Inn features an interior breakfast room/sitting area, and when we were recommended by hotel staff to find glasses and utensils in this room, we were shocked to see just how unclean and unkept it was (stains in sink and dirty countertops). The outdoor jacuzzi water was probably outdoor temperature (not even lukewarm).

As I repeatedly stated to the both the owner and front desk clerk, there was a remarkable lack of transparency and communication at every juncture: the room details, the authorized (the voided) refund, and each succeeding conversation. Frankly, it's a headache.

Following the dismaying conversation with the owner (which "money grab" was leveled at me), she did acquiesce to authorize the fractional refund, but it was clear that the issues along the way resulted in us being penalized during the back-and-forth. Today's phone conversation wouldn't have even occurred if the employee-authorized refund (and subsequent voiding) never happened, and this review likely would never have been written. Shouldn't a restaurant/hotel owner want to retain repeat customers for the ensuring success of their establishment?

The reason this review doesn't have 1 star is because the room was clean; the location is relatively close to area restaurants; and the housekeepers adamantly followed the mandate of not cleaning an occupied room (even when suggested...

Pros: |Rooms are clean; good location; dog friendly; comfortable beds; nice canal path to walk dogs across the street. |Cons: |Overall, we were disappointed with this hotel for numerous reasons. The website for this hotel should explicity state that it is a KEYLESS hotel. While we knew check in/out would be contact free, I did not know there was absolutely no service at the hotel. The website states "lobby hours" but I was unable to find anyone on site when we needed assistance during lobby hours. The owners said to text them if they are unavailable, but if you have lobby hours someone should be in the lobby! I would have brought my own beach chairs if I knew the process to check one out would be so onerous (fill out a form; check the box that you are responsible for $50 if you don't return the chair; oh, and also send us a picture to prove you put that chair back. I'm not even sure the what the point it when a dishonest person could eaily take multiple chairs and just put one back??); Our room was clean, but the grounds were pretty shabby; The pool is SO TINY it's laughable. We wanted to use at one point but another party was already using it and there was no room for anyone else; The only lamps in the room are operated by a remote, and the instructions for using them don't actually match the remote; Owners don't enforce the "dogs must be on a leash when outside" rule (but then again they are not around to enforce); If you want to use the TV you have to log into your own streaming accounts on maybe the worst SmartTV interface I've ever encountered; No coffee maker in room and free coffee in the lobby is terrible...It honestly tasted like no one has cleaned the coffeemaker in a while and we ended up going around the corner to a coffee shop; The A/C until is very loud and sounded like an airplane trying to take off every time it switched on making it hard to sleep; chairs in the room were extremely uncomfortable meaning the one bed in the room was the only place to sit; the doors do not have deadbolts or any other extra security measures--I would not feel safe here as a solo female traveler.|Sorry, but at $500 a night after all the fees (granted it is peak season, but STILL) for one bed at hotel when you have to do everythign yourself is nuts. Would not...

This inn is wounderful, charming, and a real gem within Rehoboth, including how friendly, polite, and courteous the staff are during my stay. Renting a room here gets you guaranteed parking that requires no meter, along with being walking distance to the beach. Upon entering Canalside Inn the front desk is discreetly tucked to the right side of the steps giving it more of a personal home feel when staying there for more than a day. A clever and convenient thing about this inn is that you don't get a room key, but a combination for the key pad, on your room door, so you never have to worry about holding onto the room key when visiting. Along with having a four digit combo for the exterior side door on the second floor to enter after 10pm. The guests rooms and bathrooms have a bright vibrant and modern decor that equals any boutique hotel in any major city to add to the chic styling the bathroom has an overhead rain shower accompanied by complimentary toiletries that last more than a one time use. All the rooms on the canal side also have their own door leading outside. The guest lounge is in the basement whicht continues the hip and relaxing boutique vibe. The lounge is where they serve their continental breakfast. Along with having a TV, computer, board games, books, and DVD's for guests to use and have fun with. On the out side of the lounge is the vending machine and ice machine. Along with having a view of the canal that you cross getting to Rehoboth beach Canalside Inn also has a spa and soaking/ plunge pool on the back deck that is accessible from 8AM to 10PM and they also provide pool/ beach towels for the guests to use. Then for the smokers that may be visiting they may be a smoke free rooms, balcony and parking lot. They DO have a small gazebo for you to relax in and enjoy your smoke. It's not out of the way and you still feel as though they where thinking about your acomodations respectfully. If I could give this inn more than 5 stars I would deff give it 10. For my next visit to Rehoboth beach I will definitely choose to stay here at...