Complaint Review: Best Western Resort Pensacola Beach - Pensacola Beach Florida

We tried to open our hotel as soon as possible after the hurricane because there were literally 2 out of 14 hotels open on the beach. Yes, there was a lack of communication between us and central reservations. But any and all complaints by our guests during that period were resolved to the guest's satisfaction. You were unhappy , but did not voice your complaints to any of the employees actually at the hotel. On Pensacola Beach our hotel has the highest rate of return visits because we strive each and every day to make our guests happy or if there is a problem, to resolve it to the guest's satisfaction. But many people will never speak up and give us a chance to rectify a problem. Don't blame us if you won't give us a chance to fix your problem.

My wife is currently in Chicago for the annual Pampered Chef convention. This is her first year attending the national conference. Since her sister traveled with her for the trip, they couldn't stay in the same hotel as the other consultants from her group because of the special rate. So instead, they decided to book their own hotel room. They wound up choosing a Best Western after reviewing the pics on their website, and based on the description of the location. The web said across the street from the beach. When they called to book, it was more like 2 miles away. But they booked anyway because it was a good rate. When they got there this past Saturday, the entire hotel was nowhere near in as nice a condition as depicted on the web. The rooms were moldy and smelled of smoke (they looked at all available rooms, which were very few). Needless to say, they went down the road to the Marriott, which is closer to the convention center anyway. Must be a nationwide thing with BW.

There was nothing invalid about your intital post. First of all, the rate you were charged was set according to what you expected upon arrival. Basically, you were charged for something far different than what you received. Sure, this was the fault of a national disaster, and in and of itself that is horrible, but what does it have to do with your rights as a consumer? If a tornado blows the air conditioning unit off of your local grocery store, and all of the fruits and meats go rotten, do they still charge you the original price for the product? I would be quite surprised if they even sold it at all. If a strong wind blows a tree down on top of a car lot, does the seller charge the MSRP for the smashed Cadillac? This hotel took advantage of the fact that you were not aware of the conditions and charged you for one thing while delivering another. Does a natural disaster excuse that? It may excuse many things, but it takes a big stretch of the imagination to believe that it excuses this.

I read the last comment posted here and feel somewhat guilty that I ever posted here. I never meant to imply my aggravation was due to the devastation, just at not being INFORMED on the inaccessability to the beach FROM THE HOTEL. Thats all I was truly angry about. Just not being told. I too have friends and relatives that live in and around Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and my heart goes out to everyone who had property damage. If it was within my power I would fix it or light a fire under someone who could. My complaint was fueled by the fact my husband has been sick with cancer and it meant so much to him to get out on the beach, regardless of the condition and then I found out it was not possible I was upset. I will not be posting anymore complaints. Again my apologies to anyone from Pensacola that I may have offended. That was not my intention.

Pam, In case you are not keeping up on current events, let me advise you that hurricane "DENNIS" is forecast to possibly hit the Pensacola area. This means that there will be alot of DAMAGE and that YOU should NOT book a VACATION here anytime soon. So do us all a favor, and JUST STAY HOME. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCOVENIENCE THIS MAY CAUSE YOU. "BOO-h*o" IF YOU WANT INCONVENIENCE, TRY LIVING WITHOUT A ROOF. OR EVEN A HOME!

Pam, As a Pensacola resident, I'm glad to hear that you got your money back from the hotel. Pensacola prides itself for it's tourism. I'm sorry to hear that the beach was not what you had expected, but unfortunately, Ivan devestated our beautiful city. For those of you looking to come to Pensacola this summer, I would advise against it. We are not completely rebuilt, and I'm afraid it's going to take many years. There are still large portions of the beaches closed off, and most hotels are not up and running, and for those that are, they may not be completely rebuilt yet. The best thing travelers can do is call the hotels directly and ask if they are to "pre-Ivan" standards. Before the hurricane, our beaches, hotels, and boardwalks were Pensacola's pride and joy. They still are, but it's going to take time to rebuild them. Pensacola is working as fast as it can in order to open hotels and beaches, but the number one priority is safety. That is why only certain parts of the beaches are open. Quite a bit of debris is still under the sand at the beaches. In fact, Arlene just came through, and while she didn't do very much damage, she did set back beach rebuilding efforts. Once again, I'm glad that Pam got her money back, and I'm sorry that you did not get a very good impression of our city. I do hope that you will give us another chance when we get rebuilt. Our seafood is awesome!

Two years ago I managed a seventy-five room, beachfront hotel in Myrtle Beach, SC. The company I worked for owned several hotels on the coast between North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach proper. They were not exactly the most honest hotel owners I have even seen, and would usually find a reason to keep money from the customers (especially students on spring break - which is common). When a low-grade hurricane hit Myrtle Beach during my second year with the company, I fully expected to have to tell guests I would not be able to issue a refund. To my surprise, we did issue refunds under one condition - to receive a full refund for the unused portion of the vacation the evacuation order had to be mandatory. Everyone that stayed was issued a refund on the spot if they had paid cash, credit cards were refunded and checks were to be issued when we were allowed back on property. If they did not want to wait and wished to leave immediately, their refund was to be cleared out when the order was lifted. I think that people underestimate how badly this can affect a business. It could take months or years to repair the damage to the structure, your books and your business. How many people want to come to your town the week after a hurricane? Not many. I'd venture to comment their actions said a good deal about the hotel; that they would issue a full refund while dealing with the damage to their building and livelihood. Two weeks to wait for a refund is really not that long if you think about it. However, I fully agree that you should have been notified when booking the reservation. That was a gross oversight on the behalf of the booking agency.

Two years ago I managed a seventy-five room, beachfront hotel in Myrtle Beach, SC. The company I worked for owned several hotels on the coast between North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach proper. They were not exactly the most honest hotel owners I have even seen, and would usually find a reason to keep money from the customers (especially students on spring break - which is common). When a low-grade hurricane hit Myrtle Beach during my second year with the company, I fully expected to have to tell guests I would not be able to issue a refund. To my surprise, we did issue refunds under one condition - to receive a full refund for the unused portion of the vacation the evacuation order had to be mandatory. Everyone that stayed was issued a refund on the spot if they had paid cash, credit cards were refunded and checks were to be issued when we were allowed back on property. If they did not want to wait and wished to leave immediately, their refund was to be cleared out when the order was lifted. I think that people underestimate how badly this can affect a business. It could take months or years to repair the damage to the structure, your books and your business. How many people want to come to your town the week after a hurricane? Not many. I'd venture to comment their actions said a good deal about the hotel; that they would issue a full refund while dealing with the damage to their building and livelihood. Two weeks to wait for a refund is really not that long if you think about it. However, I fully agree that you should have been notified when booking the reservation. That was a gross oversight on the behalf of the booking agency.

Since you are from Alabama, I find it sort of surprising that you weren't more aware of how truly devastated the whole Pensacola Beach area was. There are zero other hotels open, which I think would have been a clue that the Best Western was probably open under shaky conditions. They are housing construction personel and every media outlet in the area makes it clear that things are not in any way back to normal. I don't think it is the responsibility of the 800 number, national reservations desk to know this. Knowing how likely it was for there to be damage, I think a call to the property itself would have been in order. The hurricane was national news, as well as the followups which showed devastation that was not going to be cleared up in a few months. I guess this board is not about being mean to other people, but I just couldn't stand by on this one. We have stayed at that hotel and many others in PB for years and found nothing but great people, willing to work together in any situation. I think this place is doing the best it can to have some semblance of a place to stay during an awful time. They aren't trying to be a resort right now and I think you were unrealistic in thinking this was some small storm that went through.

just to update everyone. I got a 100% refund from Best Western Pensacola Resort. I am pleased they would put their customer satisfaction above monetary gain. I give them a great big "ATTA BOY". I think this website is a wonderful tool to complain and also to show sometimes the company does do the right thing.

I totally agree with you and believe you should be refunded 100% of your money!!! I was on Pensacola Beach a couple of weeks ago and it is complete devestation. I cannot believe that the condition of the property and the "no beach access" was not disclosed....what a Ripoff!!!! Let us know if you don't get your money. I will gladly add Best Western to my "ripoff list" and no longer use them.

I have posted photos to the hotel we stayed at in Pensacola Beach Florida. You compare them to the website photos and information and you be the judge.

I also spoke with customer service was issued a reference number and was told the hotel had 7 days to respond. We'll see.