Crestview Inn ~ Crestview Florida ~ Steer Clear!

This is my first post to my STEER CLEAR blog. As we travel around the United States of America, occasionally we come across some place that we feel we need to warn other travelers to steer clear of. We are very reasonable people. We realize that people have 'off days', other things going on in their life, and a miriad of things that can make your experience with that person not such a pleasant thing. We know that happens; we understand (we are human, too!); and we try to be as understanding and reasonable as we can.

However, once in a while, you encounter such a place that is beyond reasonable understanding. We can overlook a window that won't open, a cranky desk clerk or waitress, a lumpy bed. But, when the whole experience is wrought with all of the above and more.....that information needs to be shared. Who knows, maybe somebody associated with that business establishment will read that blog or a review and utilize that information as constructive criticism and do something about it. Just between you and me, if it warrants a STEER CLEAR from us, I find it hard to believe that management isn't aware of some sort of problem.

The first post on this subject concerns the Crestview Inn in Crestview, Florida ~ congratulations! You inspired my first Steer Clear post!

I got on the internet and did a search for lodging in Crestview, Florida. I came up with several, and one was the Crestview Inn ~ very reasonably priced and one good review. I should note here that we sometimes prefer to stay at a small 'mom and pop' motel/hotel as opposed to a hotel chain. You usually get a better price and better, more personal, service.

I called the Crestview Inn and confirmed that they had a room available. Confirmed that they were pet friendly. And, confirmed the price and room size. The lady on the phone was very nice and helpful, so I felt pretty good about our decision.

We stopped at a Hunan Restaurant on our way to the Crestview Inn. Apparently, the nice lady was replaced by the not-so-nice lady while we were waiting on chinese food. When we got to the Crestview Inn, the lady that we dealt with did not have a good grasp of the English language and was slightly cranky. We had to pay extra for the golden, which we didn't mind, but we weren't told that when I called.

Our room was small and stuffy. We tried to open the windows, but that wasn't happening. The window above the bed wouldn't open at all; the bathroom window rolled outward a few inches, but that was as far as it would go. So, we tried the air conditioner.....nope, that wasn't happening either. All the air conditioner did was make an annoying noise.

When we laid down to go to sleep, we discovered a light outside the bathroom window that was shining right into our faces. The bathroom window was frosted glass with no curtains. We ended up having to close the bathroom door to keep the light out of our eyes. So much for the minute breeze from the bathroom window! **at this point I'm wondering if the desk clerk did this on purpose? The hotel was vitually empty......we obviously had a choice of rooms, so why this one? non working windows - non working A/C - and they have to know that light shines right onto the head of the bed.

We did get some sleep and it did cool off at some point in the night. So, it was much more comfortable in the room the next morning. Until we started getting our showers.

We had a typical tiny old hotel bathroom. Stand up only shower, stand alone sink with no counter, you can't stand at the sink and have the door open at the same time. All things that are somewhat expected and easily overlooked. But.....

There's always a 'but', huh? The shower was dark and had no light in it or getting to it. I had to open the shower curtain in order to see enough to shave my legs. Looks like an inspector somewhere along the line would have made note of this?? The water was lukewarm at best. Man, don't you hate a barely warm shower?! It was obvious that the owners figured they could save a little money by turning the water heater down a few notches. Basically, we had a cool, dark shower. Ugh.

No outlets in the bathroom. Not really any outlets in the entire room. I ended up doing hair and makeup on the dresser and having to unplug the television in order to use my blow dryer and flat iron.

While I finished getting ready, Chris took the golden for a walk. When we arrived the night before, we were instructed on where we could take the dog to 'do her business'. Which, by the way, was on the sidewalk out by the road.......no pottying on the grass at this fine establishment! Chris had taken her out to the sidewalk area when we got up so she could 'do her business'. He was just taking her for a little exercise before putting her back in the truck while I was getting ready. He was walking her around the parking lot and up behind the building into the upper parking lot. Desk clerk lady seen him and you would have thought he was burning the place down! She started YELLING and SCREAMING and carrying on. I was thinking 'what in the world!' and that something terrible was going on. I never did make out what she was yelling....did I mention she wasn't so good with English?....but, it was something like 'son'.  Chris realized she was yelling at HIM and tried to reassure her that he was just walking the dog and she wasn't pottying on the parking lot. Desk clerk lady wouldn't calm down enough to understand and/or comprehend what he was saying. She just kept yelling. If you knew Chris, you would know how long he tolerated this.....yep, about that long. He didn't yell back, but he did tell her to calm down and relax before she had something to yell about. Dang, why couldn't he get the dog to potty on command!

We couldn't wait to get out of there! Geez! Like I said, a few things here and there is understandable........but, this whole experience was awful. Not only would I not recommend this place to anybody, I would recommend you NOT to go there. And, if you are the owners and/or management of this place and happen to read this, c'mon hire somebody who isn't going to run off your customers! The desk clerk is usually the first person a customer deals with; most frequent person the customer deals with; and often the ONLY person  a customer deals with.  Do you want the first, most frequent, and sometimes ONLY representative of your company to be a cranky, rude, yelling, unfriendly person?

Steer clear of this place!