River's Rest Marina & Resort — Hotel in Williamsburg

I’d like to share my honest experience with Rivers Rest Marina and Resort. When we first moved to Virginia, we were looking for a place to stay long-term and stumbled across this property. At first, we were taken in by its charm—it’s a beautiful, hidden little spot. Unfortunately, our experience over time revealed a much different reality.

The property has gone through ten general managers in just three years, and there is a constant turnover of staff due to poor treatment. The owners are rarely present, completely uninvolved, and seemingly uninterested in the well-being of long-term residents or tenants with leases.

The maintenance manager, in particular, was a major problem. He frequently inserted himself into residents’ personal matters, causing unnecessary conflict and tension. Numerous residents had issues with him, and those who didn’t comply with his demands or tolerate his behavior were often driven out. He has made disturbing comments—including remarks about employees and even children. Multiple individuals have filed police reports against him for harassment, stalking, and theft. Despite repeated complaints and serious allegations, the owners have chosen to continue employing him.

Rates are constantly increased, and promises of property improvements are rarely fulfilled. The rules are inconsistent and change frequently, often followed by threats of eviction if you don’t comply. If you’re removed, they consider it private property and will trespass you. Breaking a lease could cost you up to $2,000.

This is just a glimpse into the dysfunction we experienced. I genuinely hope this review helps others avoid the stress and disappointment we went through. Please think twice before committing to stay there—you’ll be better off...

We arrived to stay the night at the motel and had to wait around for someone to show up to check us in...after we eventually found out where to go. We called the # left on the door several times with no answer. Finally a young boy showed up and we got checked in. When we arrived back later after the wedding we attended that night to sleep, there were multiple people in chairs in the parking lot right below our door drinking and being loud. We ended up leaving and not staying the night...but driving back home in the middle of the night. The covers were never even turned down in the beds. I have called 2 times about getting some of our money back and left messages and no one has returned the phone calls. Even when making a reservation, it was difficult to get anyone on the phone. There was blood in the refrigerator (I assume from fish....but that should have been cleaned!) and the AC would not cool the room properly/stay on and it was only in the low...

We attempted to book through booking.com (which I have never had an issue with even booking in other countries) and they canceled our reservation just a couple hours before we were supposed to be there. They lied about having tried to contact us and the information on booking.com according to them is incorrect (it states you can pay at the property) which is something they should fix. That is not the customers issue.

Update- all email correspondence did not include a need to pay ahead of time. On the booking.com site does not include this policy and they did not contact us regarding any issue with a credit card. We did not get a call today before the cancelation. Also we gave no identifying information when we called nor did a representative attempt to clarify or rectify the issue. This again is not a...