The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Virginia Beach

Ruined What Should Have Been My Best Birthday Ever

My fiancé left his review as well, but I wanted to leave my own just to find somewhere to put my vast disappointment. My fiancé booked us a stay at The Cavalier Hotel from May 26–30 to celebrate my birthday. Unfortunately, our experience was far from relaxing and stress-free.

On the morning of May 29 (my actual birthday), while we were at breakfast, he received a call from Caroline Korbel, the hotel’s hospitality manager, notifying us that our vehicle had been damaged by a valet driver the previous night. Not only did she downplay the incident as if it were minor, but we were shocked to learn that no one had deemed it necessary to inform us immediately when it happened.

I understand sometimes accidents happen, but I really believed this was a luxurious top of the line resort and did not expect such gross negligence from the hotel valet staff. And to make matters worse, I expected much more compassion from The Cavalier staff. Truly the only employee to apologize to me for the tears I was crying on my birthday was our waiter at Becca. Every other employee I encountered on the walk outside to join my fiancé (both valet and hospitality staff) seemed to do their best to ignore me, likely knowing what incident I was crying over and not wanting to deal with me.

We could immediately tell our car was misaligned when we got behind the wheel, so after dealing with all the police and insurance reports, we had to drive 25 minutes to a mechanic shop that could take us same day to pay $155 out of pocket to get an alignment so we can (hopefully) safely make the 12 hour drive home tomorrow. By the time all of this was resolved, it was 2:30 pm and my dreams of spending our first sunny day of the trip at the beach club were over as it was time to get ready for our dinner reservation.

I feel like The Cavalier took something precious from me I will never get back. I’m a huge birthday person. It’s normally my favorite day of the year. There were many things we “saved” on this trip not to do until my actual birthday to set today up to be the absolute pinnacle highlight of the trip, and now we leave tomorrow and cannot do those things. Today was supposed to be a peak happy day, full of relaxation and joy and romance and love. I wanted to lie in the Sun, gaze at the ocean, hold hands with the love of my life and appreciate all the beauty I have in my life. To me, birthdays are the universe’s excuse to take a day all for yourself, for joy and peace and indulgence.

For a property that markets itself as a luxury destination, the level of service we received is absolutely unacceptable. Even a sincere apology would have gone a long way. I would have expected the staff to go above and beyond to try to make up for the inconvenience and get my birthday back on track, but instead I feel they switched from seeing us as valued guests to seeing us as a problem. We were an angry/crying couple with a damaged vehicle messing up their perfectly manicured front as the epitome of luxury. They operated around us avoiding any eye contact.

The lack of urgency, accountability, and customer care shown by The Cavalier and its staff was appalling. I, like my fiancé, cannot in good conscience recommend this hotel to anyone. If any inconveniences pop up during your stay, expect to have them downplayed and to be forced to handle them yourself without any real compassion. Maybe to a million dollar hotel business, one couple staying at the resort isn’t that important and since we became “problematic” it was fine for us to fall through the cracks, but for us this was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime we would remember and cherish forever. Now everything just feels incredibly soured, and my disappointment is immeasurable.

I hope our experience serves as a warning to others and that they put their trust in a different resort when it comes to their precious...

Shout out to the Weddings Team!

My husband and I were married at The Cavalier on 10.22.22 and had a wonderful experience. It was the wedding weekend of our dreams. The staff at The Cavalier are top-notch; all are polite, friendly, and accommodating. We stayed in the bridal suite for three nights which was absolutely beautiful with lots of space. Being able to settle into a beautiful room took the edge off and set the stage for me to enjoy the weekend.

Leading up to the wedding, I worked with a combination of Jocelyn, Jessica, and Gina and all are true professionals. I am a very detail-oriented person who dabbles in events professionally, and every meeting resulted in detailed notes, photos of place settings, runners, flatware, etc that we had discussed and clear next steps. I live four hours from Virginia Beach, and these ladies made it a breeze to plan from afar; I only had to be on-site four times throughout the process.

On Friday night, we hosted our rehearsal dinner and welcome party at The Cavalier Beach Club. The space was beautiful and modern, and the service was acceptable. My only complaint is that the only option for food was a buffet. After the dinner portion which was reserved for the bridal party and immediate family, the venue was opened up to all guests for a welcome party. The deck was lined with outdoor heaters, and we had a beautiful evening mixing and mingling with guests.

On Saturday, our timeline started at 8AM for hair and makeup. We had an early morning delivery of scrambled eggs, fruit, and yogurt for the bridesmaids with two bottles of sparkling wine. For lunch, we had a spread of roasted veggies, hummus, and cheese delivered that was absolutely delicious! The quantity per person ensured that no one went hungry; we even had enough to share with our hair and makeup stylists.

Weather had been beautiful early in the day, but it was clear a storm system was blowing in while we were doing our first look photos. I noticed how windy it was, not knowing the temperature was dropping rapidly. Had I known, I would have made the call to move our cocktail hour indoors to our backup location. My only regret is that no one forced that decision on me. Otherwise, our ceremony was perfect, and no one was stuck waiting in line at cocktail hour since we had requested 100 orange crushes be passed to guests to cut down on wait times.

Our reception was amazing - I've had several guests tell me it was the most beautiful event they have ever attended. The ballroom was glowing, and everything was set up exactly as designed. The only complaint I have is that the dinner service was...leisurely. With our event starting at 630PM, we were already eating late. I wanted to see plates go down more quickly than they did. It is impressive how the banquet staff works - servers will serve an entire table at once simultaneously, and then work their way to the next table doing the same. However, it is a PROCESS. Note to brides and planners: expect two hours of dinner at this venue. At first, I was shaken up regarding this because it was wrecking my timeline, but only me and my coordinator noticed. We were able to get toasts, parent dances, and cake cutting out of the way while guests ate and still opened the dance floor by 10PM which was only 30 minutes later than planned. We danced the night away, and had a beautiful exit that brought us down to The Hunt Room for an after-party. It was a beautiful weekend, and The Cavalier will always hold a special place...

A Birthday Vacation Turned Nightmare – Extremely Disappointed with The Cavalier Hotel

I booked a stay at The Cavalier Hotel from May 26–30 to celebrate my fiancée’s birthday and enjoy a relaxing vacation. Unfortunately, what should have been a memorable and joyous occasion turned into one of the worst travel experiences I’ve ever had, thanks to the gross negligence of the hotel’s valet service and the hotel’s complete lack of accountability.

On the morning of May 29, while we were at breakfast, I received a call from Caroline Korbel, the hotel’s hospitality manager, notifying me that my vehicle—a brand-new Alfa Romeo—had been damaged by a valet driver the previous night. Not only did she downplay the incident as if it were minor, but I was also shocked to learn that no one had deemed it necessary to inform me immediately when it happened.

I rushed out of breakfast—uneaten—to inspect the damage, only to find extensive destruction to the rear driver’s side of my car. Three different body panels were damaged near the wheels, all requiring replacement and repainting. It was clear this wasn’t a simple scratch or dent. Despite the severity, I was left to handle the situation entirely on my own.

I had to personally contact the police to file an incident report and have yet to receive essential information about the valet driver or the vehicle that caused the damage, details my insurance company urgently needs. The hotel failed to provide even the most basic support during this process. No apology, no explanation, no follow-up, no compensation, nothing.

To make matters worse, this all took place on my fiancée’s actual birthday. She was devastated—crying and understandably shaken that her brand-new vehicle had been so badly damaged while parked in the care of a supposedly reputable hotel. We were over 11 hours from home, and the stress of the situation completely derailed our one good-weather day. Instead of celebrating, we spent the day making calls to insurance, the police, and even had to visit a local mechanic to perform an alignment and suspension inspection, costing me $155 out of pocket.

For a property that markets itself as a luxury destination, this level of service is absolutely unacceptable. I received no gesture of goodwill from the hotel, no complimentary meals, no reduction in room cost, not even a sincere apology.

The lack of urgency, accountability, and customer care shown by The Cavalier and its staff was appalling. I cannot in good conscience recommend this hotel to anyone. If this is how they treat their guests, and their property, then I strongly urge others to stay elsewhere. And if you do decide to stay, do not trust their valet service with your vehicle.

This was not just a minor inconvenience, it completely ruined what should have been a beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Cavalier failed us, and we will not...