The Copper Swan — Hotel in Wellfleet

I really wanted to like this place. I really did. It looked charming in the photos and despite the mixed reviews on different websites, the recent ones seemed mostly good. But I couldn’t tell you whether I would or wouldn’t have liked it, because I never actually stayed there. ||||I’d read up on the area and debated for several days over where I wanted to stay. I thought about a chain hotel but I like to have a local experience when I stay in smaller places, so I decided to go with the B&B option. I tried calling a number of times over the course of a couple days, but was unable to get through. The phone would just ring and then disconnect. On my last attempt before I was going to give up, John answered. I mentioned that I'd thought maybe they were no longer in business because there had been no phone connection for a couple days, and he said something that didn't make much sense about replacing his phone.

 He was very pleasant and we spoke a bit about the area and things to do. He gave some recommendations for meals and while he seemed a little distracted, he was chatty and personable. I hadn’t planned to book immediately- this was meant to be more of an informational call- but he seemed friendly so I decided to just go ahead. ||||I had reviewed the website and was aware that the property has a main house, as well as an out building, which is the Carriage House. I informed him that for personal security reasons as a solo female traveler, I preferred to stay in the Main House, and also that I had a service animal. While he still remained friendly, I immediately detected a very slight change in tone. Let me be clear- I have had a service dog for eight years. I am very well versed in ADA law and compliance. I know my rights, and I am not even required to inform ahead of time that I have him, but I do so out of courtesy. I’ve traveled extensively, and I know very well when someone is trying to evade compliance. It was very clear that John did not want me to stay in the Main House, as he kept referencing “dog-friendly” rooms in the Carriage House.||||
There were two rooms available at a rate of $170 on the website, one in the Main House and one in the Carriage House. (We absolutely discussed this because I asked why the direct booking rate was so much lower than what was showing on booking.com and hotels.com, and he said it was because those websites charge fees.) Again, I emphasized that I preferred to stay in the Main House for my peace of mind, but he pushed the Carriage House instead. His comments were really odd and didn’t make sense- "it's better than the Main House because you won't run into anyone," “you’re actually safer in the Carriage House because your room opens right to the outside,” “the Carriage House is more secure because you have your own outside steps” (I’m not really sure how direct access to the outside makes a room MORE secure…), and he reiterated that the room was “dog-friendly”. ||||Now again to be clear, hotels are not legally allowed to exclude a guest from a space due to a service animal. I always try to be respectful of any place I stay however, especially smaller properties that may have fewer resources and staff. In fact, I always travel with lint rollers to clean up before we leave, and I will often even bring my own bedding. I have encountered this fight too many times to count though, so I have learned to pick my battles. Given that he had gone out of his way to send me a photo of the property while we were on the phone to reassure me, that he seemed to be making an effort to accommodate, and the price was the same, I decided not to make a fuss and confront him about it since it was only for one night.||||As he was making the reservation, he again seemed distracted or flustered. I mentioned that I could see the room on the website (which again, showed a rate of $170) and was happy to book directly to save him the trouble. He said he preferred to do it himself. During the process, he referenced the rate being $180. I politely corrected him, and he referenced a fee for my dog. I again specified that my dog is not a pet, but a trained and working service dog. John asked me a couple questions, and I shared both his physical description and the service he performs. At the end of the call, he said he would send email confirmation shortly. ||||
This had all taken place during early afternoon but by the evening, I hadn’t received confirmation. By the next morning, I still had not received an email so I called to follow up. He sounded flustered and distracted, and said he would do it right then. By 4:30pm, I again still had not received confirmation so I checked my credit card statement and saw that a charge had been made for $234.65 the day before. Even with taxes and fees, the amount was WELL over the charge for the room, which should have been $170.00. 

I immediately called and this time when he answered the phone, there was no greeting, simply a “Yes?” I remained polite but said that I hadn’t received a receipt or confirmation, and that I was confused about the amount charged to my card. I didn’t even specify the amount, only that I was confused. His response was that ‘there were taxes’. I said that even with DOUBLE taxes, that would not equate to the amount I had been charged. He then stated that there was a fee for ‘the dog’. I replied that we had already discussed this, and that my dog is a service animal. Fees cannot be charged for service animals. (I believe he actually said there was ‘$20 fee for the dog’ but in thinking back, that plus the taxes STILL wouldn’t have equaled what I’d been charged, and that’s also more than the $10 fee he had referenced when he was going to charge me $180 instead of $170 the day before.)||||At this point, while I remained polite, I was getting upset and angry. The entire tone had changed from the previous day and I felt that he was being devious and deceptive by adding (illegal) charges. I informed him that it is illegal to charge fees for a service animal, at which point he became defensive and then stated to me that ‘he is not a service animal’. ?????? (Trust me sir. I went through years of training with him. He is. But setting that aside, that seemed like a REALLY strange, not to mention inappropriate, comment to make to someone he’s never even met.) My response was that I have had a service animal for eight years and I am very well versed in ADA law. At that point, the conversation had definitely taken a bad turn and while he very grudgingly commented that he would amend the price, I stated that I no longer felt comfortable staying at this property and cancelled the reservation. His response? “I am glad you will not be staying with us.”||||Final note: I received the reservation cancellation notice via email shortly after the call. I saw that in fact, I had been booked in a SUITE at a rate of $205/night. There was no mention of a pet fee and in fact, he had checked the “No, I will not be bringing a pet” box. So in other words, John booked me in an up-charged suite I did not request, instead of the room and rate I HAD requested, and did so without my permission and without informing me. Then he failed to provide me with a receipt for over 24 hours. I can only wonder what would have happened had I not followed up and instead, had discovered this at checkout or outside of the cancellation window. ||||Listen, mistakes happen and that is totally ok. I don’t blame anyone running a business for not getting it right 100% of the time. But given the obvious evasion and attempts at fast-talking which can’t be accurately described in writing, I don’t think that’s what happened here. I’m not telling anyone not to stay here. It may be a lovely experience- the lounge sounds nice. But I am saying to consider carefully and if you do, be aware that you may not be dealing with the most...

We really wanted to like this spot. Other reviews had us looking forward to rustic charm, personalized and friendly service, and a great location. Unfortunately that was not our experience.

The room: We booked the "Captain's Room" and walked in to find that the single photo of the room online was out of date as furnishings had been changed. The "amazing views of beautiful sunsets" advertised on the website for this room are a bit overstated: the view from the room was of Main Street, with extensive marsh beyond, but it was generally south facing with no direct sunset view. The "claw foot tub" as advertised turned out to be much smaller than an average bathtub, and it was also frankly gross. Whatever the plumbing setup was, the tub would gurgle up dirty water every time the toilet was flushed or the sink was used, making us loathe to even stand in it to shower. The mini-fridge in the corner of the room was not cold enough to keep food or drinks chilled - our already-cold waters actually warmed up after being in the fridge overnight, despite what felt like a strong seal. There was hair in between the bedsheets when we turned down the covers. There was one single tissue in a tissue box, with no spare box on hand.

The service: We requested the room be made up after our first night, mostly just to get a fresh box of tissues. We were out exploring for the whole day, and when we came back, our room had been left unlocked. The service staff had been in, but the empty box of tissues still sat on the table, and they took away our open and partly-used bar of soap (unnecessary) without replacing it, leaving us with no hand soap in the room. They also took our bathmat (again, unnecessary) and did not leave a replacement. We called the service number at about 8:30pm upon returning to let them know that we would like a bath mat and also to advise them that the room was left unlocked with all our things inside, and never heard back. Never received a fresh bathmat and chose to forego a shower the next morning and hit the road instead.

The amenities: One of the advertised amenities is the "included continental breakfast." When we arrived and picked up our key (inside a folded handwritten note on the unstaffed front desk), the note said that breakfast would be provided at the next door restaurant, Brekkie's. We checked it out on our first morning. Brekkie's had a special limited menu with the basics like pancakes or eggs/bacon for free for Copper Swan guests. Service and food were both at or below average, but we came back on the next morning since it was included in our stay; however, after sitting at a table and being fully ignored by waitstaff for more than ten minutes, we cut our losses and got brunch at PJ's down the road instead. (Side note - we highly recommend PJ's if you're in the area! Extensive menu but all you really need is their signature lobster roll and some ice cream.)

The good: The room was comfortable and definitely had some charm though it didn't live up to expectations. The bed was extremely comfortable and we slept well. The view over the marsh from our room was pretty enough even without a true "sunset view," and I would bet that the views over the duck pond in the back are lovely as well. It was an easy 20 minute drive into Ptown. I would have given this spot a solid 3 to 3.5 stars if not for the room being left unlocked in our absence and the complete lack of service...

Someone confused “rusted” with “rustic.” Leaving a review requires at least one star, so I wish I had another 99 to deny this establishment, but they only let me withhold 4. While 20% is clearly a failing grade, it does not begin to capture the extent of the failure.

My brother and I had booked a two-bedroom, one bath suite. The Copper Swan fancied itself a 3-star, boutique hotel. The alternative was to stay with 4 four others in a small, one-bathroom cottage, so the toilet to butt ratio was clearly not suitable.

I suppose that my suspicion should have been aroused when I tripped over the rotted and torn carpet on the steps into the building. The structure itself boasted the vast deferral of maintenance, with the subtle scent of mold first appearing in the lobby.

We were greeted by a gentleman who was obviously irked by our late arrival; nonetheless, he apologized for the lack of a second key, a situation that he assured us would be remedied in the morning.

We entered the suite through its private, narrow hallway. Too narrow for a chair, and sporting three worn and ill-fitting doors. One led to the room that I took. The room contained a bed, dresser and desk, along with a rather impressive collection of dust bunnies. The room had a working air conditioner, which cooled it very nicely. The cool air was carried by a swarm of mold demons, almost visible in their travels.

I felt a measure of relief when I saw there was, in fact, a coffee pot in the room. I quickly realized that the cord was too short, and outlets too rare, to plug in unless placed on the floor. The single bag of commercial coffee was accompanied by packets of sugar and sweetener that had clearly been through difficult times, each presenting as a solid slab.

The two-pronged outlets were a poor match for the three-pronged power cords for all electronic devices. I was left with no choice but to unplug the small refrigerator to use the only outlet adapter (which had not been properly grounded anyhow) to charge my phone and laptop. I put them next to the coffee pot on the floor.

My brother took the other room. Slightly larger, but other than that virtually identical.

The final door led to a bathroom. The putatively charming claw-foot tub was approximately half the size of a normal tub, and draped in a pair of worn plastic curtains. I can only describe the floor of the tub as recycled plastic rug, maybe there to prevent falls. The showerhead rose ominously from the tub plumbing, terminating in the rusted rods suspending the curtains.

Showering was an adventure, as the water temperature would autonomously shift from comfortable to scalding to ice. The toilet was situated just behind, and far too close to, the pedestal sink, ensuring that a shoulder or elbow would be damaged in the process of sitting or standing. Behind the toilet was a cobweb that had captured the short and curlies of every patron over the last several years.

The only evidence of staff was the oddly curated basket of breakfast items that appeared each morning. Other than that, there was no housekeeping service, the coffee and sweetener slabs were never refreshed. Toiletries were a similar one-off. The bringer of the basket was too elusive to be captured visually.

And we never did see...