Best Western Historical Inn — Hotel in Saint Augustine

After a year of not being able to see each other due to COVID, my mom and I were hoping for a relaxing mother-daughter getaway for a few days. So when searching for a place to stay, I counted on Trivago/Hotel.com ratings to guide us to a peaceful, clean, and comfortable place. I’m not sure how the Best Western Historical Inn in St. Augustine, FL received over an 8 rating, but we both were very disappointed with the accommodations.

I’ll start with the PROS: ~Wonderful, polite, accommodating staff. ~The shower had excellent water pressure and HOT water!!! ~Close to downtown ~No carpet. ~Moderate efforts at renovating to make the room and bathroom look nice

Now the CONS: ~The shower tile was EXTREMELY slippery and VERY dangerous! It appears management is aware of this issue because they provide a slip-proof mat, probably to avoid a lawsuit. If my mom had taken a shower first, she would've slipped and broken something.

~There were gnats flying all over the room.

~The room was very dark and if we opened the curtains our view was of a nasty washer and dryer machine.

~Even though there is no carpet, the floors felt disgusting! I’m not sure if they ever get mopped, but we wouldn’t walk on them without shoes. After getting out of the shower and walking back to the bed the bottoms of my feet were black. I took a wet washcloth and “mopped” the floor and when I picked up the washcloth it was dark black.

~When we started unpacking we realized the fridge wasn’t working. We called it in and they sent someone to check it. After confirming it was broken, we asked if we could be moved to a different room. They said it wasn’t possible because the entire place was booked up. However, when we arrived (before the check-in time of 3pm) we noticed multiple rooms being cleaned out/empty. So they pulled a fridge from another room and replaced it all within 15 minutes. Not sure what the people in the room they took the good fridge from are going to do, but maybe they figured that out later. They were very nice and responsive about the issue and handled it quickly.

~There was blood on the top sheet of my bed. Super gross.

~The room was VERY humid. When I called the front desk about it I was informed that the central AC doesn't work, only the window unit does. Getting into a damp bed at night and waking up in the morning and putting on damp clothes is not exactly what I was expecting as part of a relaxing vacation.

~The staff was great, but some of these issues could have been avoided! We will never stay in a Best Western again! It’s a management/owner problem. I would give it 1 star at most, and only for the staff. We were totally bummed and really grossed out. The devil’s in the details and they have been sorely missed here.

~We reported everything and when we checked out we were told it would be reported to management and they will see about giving us a partial refund. If we don’t hear back, I will be making...

This is not a big hotel, it is only 2 floors with outside entry. I didn't see an elevator, but that doesn't mean there isn't one, I just didn't see one. We arrived about 10:45 am, as my girlfriend had a business meeting at 12:30. The front desk clerk, Christina, greeted us with a smile and was so pleasant. She looked up our reservation and found a room that was ready, so she checked us in. (Regular check-in is 3:00 pm.) Then she handed us a "Goody bag" filled with 2 bottles of water and some snacks. That was a pleasant surprise! The hotel was recently remodeled and our room looked nice. You could tell the bathroom had just been done, everything was bright and clean. The big mirror had a light around the border, which made putting on make-up a dream. (Something lacking in other hotels.) There was no mold in the shower, it looked like it had just been installed. The tiles had a texture to them, which dressed up the look and was better than plain white tiles. Another pleasant surprise was finding 2 sets of toiletries in the bathroom for our use. I've never seen that before, maybe it's because my girlfriend said there would be 2 of us when she called the hotel the day before, I don't know, but it was nice to see. Another "new" technology we found was our key cards. The door locks look the same as what you're used to seeing, except you do not have to insert them. Just pass them in front of the scanner and it will unlock. Since it's not a big hotel, complimentary breakfast is in the lobby. The breakfast bar is located on the opposite wall when you first walk into the lobby to check in. There is a small area off to the right with some tables and chairs. We were expecting a continental style breakfast, but again, we were pleasantly surprised to see they had a hot breakfast available. You had a choice of orange juice and apple juice, fresh bananas and oranges, waffles you make yourself, cheese omelets, sausage patties, home fries (which were good), cereal, English muffins, and other assorted items. And yet, another surprise, they even had a coffee machine where you could make cappuccino, lattes and other choices. I would definitely come back again the next time I'm in...

We just checked into a double queen room. If I could get a refund & go elsewhere, I would.

First off, beware of hidden fees. They also will pre-authorize your card before arriving and once arrive, will charge you the full amount and you will need to wait for the pre-authorization to fall off.

Cleanliness: This hotel may of got a make over but it’s filthy. The first room had someone’s hair(s) in the sheets. There was dirt /dust along the baseboards and the lamp shades had stains. I went to the front office and asked to be up graded to the two bedroom suite (online it said it was available for an additional $25). I showed the woman the online price and she told me it was a $68 difference but I tried to tell her - that included parking- in which I paid with the first room. She ended up charging me a diff rate than the internet and additional two nights of parking. So, I was over charged (I will deal with that in the morning).

Suite: Is not like the photos. The photos show leather couches, an upgraded kitchen and bathroom. This room has a bad odor, the smoke detector is hanging from the ceiling, the front bedroom (facing the road) is missing curtains, the shower is disgusting and dirty, there is hair on the kitchen counters and dust in the kitchen. Fingerprints on the fridge, and the doors. The couch we have is an old blue couch, falling apart.

The pool - was nice and clean with a small hot tub. NO chairs to sit around the pool. They also look like they are in the mist of building a cabana so there is wood beams on the ground. The pool is in the very front corner of the parking lot facing the road so very loud and noisy.

Also, this is NOT within walking distance to down town (38 min walk) as advertised.

NO ELEVATOR - so please be informed if you can’t walk up and down stairs with all of your luggage.

A very LONG and LOUD Train passes through multiple times! Good Luck sleeping!

Overall, I’m considering sleeping in my car and not sure I’ll stay two nights as planned (if we can get refunded).

Don’t waste your money. Go elsewhere. I haven’t tried the breakfast. I was hoping to enjoy the pool/hot tub and down town but it doesn’t...