The Historic Powhatan Resort, Williamsburg

Wallpaper falling off the walls, broken bedding, electrical outlets with no power, algae in the indoor pool (we were told a "saltwater" was used which made the water seem super dirty), cracked tiles in the indoor pool area, staff who seemed to ignore guests (small staff for such a big place), odor in rooms,appliances that did not work, outdoor pools-One packed to beyond capacity, while the other pool which is strictly restricted for the elderly with 3 people, etc. Ok, all of this was enough, but to make matters even worse there appeared to be something strange in the third floor bedroom. My son said he saw something like a ghost of a woman and even my wife and I got the creeps in the room although we did not see anything. NEVER GOING BACK.

The hot tub didn't work and it took several interactions with maintenance to get it fixed. The mildew was so bad we could barely stand to be in the hot tub room or even the MBR. Once we finally got in the hot tub it had so much chlorine I felt like I got burns on my privates. The toilet in the MBR ran constantly not to forget the dirty walls with holes. The TVs and the DVD player were ancient. Internet access is an additional charge plus there is no housekeeping. At the end of your visit, you do the dishes, take out the trash, and strip the beds. It appears this was once a very posh resort which is now suffering from a lack of maintenance and harasses the guest with the timeshare hard sell.

As timeshare owners, we have stayed at many timeshare condo's, and have stayed at Powhatan Resort more than 20 times. The resort is very old and units are repeatedly refurbished (with mixed results) but are still roomier/more comfortable than a motel for the same price or less (though probably not if renting without sizable discounts). Cleanliness is acceptable, beds are good, linens are clean, kitchens are fully furnished, dining room is spacious, but livingroom seating is not always great (hurt by sofa bed), and TVs are often old Zeniths. We always stay in an upstairs unit to avoid noise and reduce the chance of bugs crawling under door seals, and thereby avoid any hot tub issues (hot tubs on 1st floor only). The grounds at Powhatan are among the best anywhere, and the Manor House (undergoing renovation in 2011), is a nice visit.. One does get pressure to attend a timeshare presentation (which are generally no fun and can become rude), but one can and usually should say No; the Gift is not often worth the hassle. Staff has generally been courteous and friendly, prompt and helpful to us, though we have not had major issues on any of our stays. Overall, if you consider the roominess, resort grounds and fact that it is a condo with full kitchen and washer/dryer, it is a good value versus any motel (assuming a discounted price), despite its age.

We arrived at our upgraded unit to find everything turned on (lights, bathroom fans, ceiling fans), all furniture moved out from the walls, sofa cushions off, sleeper partially popped out, trash cans on countertops, and all dishes sitting out on those same countertops. A call placed to the operator explained why and I was transferred to housekeeping to have them finish the unit. I got voicemail and left a message for them to call the unit. Instead they sent out two ladies 20 minutes later that weren't even respectful enough to knock before entering. They barged in giggling and talking and only stopped once they saw my husband and I sitting on the bed waiting. They loudly threw most things into place. It wasn't until 5:30am the next morning we discovered the loud AC fan had run all night because they neglected to switch it from on to auto during their final inspection. Next we encountered the master bath toilet that didn't want to flush without holding the handle down for what seemed like forever while the 2nd bath toilet wouldn't stop running. The shower curtain had mold growing on the inside and silver fish ran out of it when opened. Furniture, cabinets and fixtures are low quality and dusty/dirty. My feet got dusty walking around. The light in the foyer shared with the upstairs unit was blown. It was not replaced in the 3 days we were there and was unsafe for anyone coming in or out after dark. Thin walls and ceiling. Can hear everything going on outside and upstairs.

I paid $59/night. It's not worth anything more. Also was told we had to do the timeshare presentation, which was the worst timeshare presentation nightmare ever. My attention completely dropped off after 90 minutes since they had no respect for my time. It didn't end until I had been there for ridiculous 2.5 hours!! They totally lost that sale, but that's not the worst part. Since it went way past the alloted time, we missed the Mother's Day brunch at the Powhatan Kitchen. Horribly unprofessional. They charge $7/day for internet!! The hotel itself was fine, the bathrooms looked a bit run down--Mildewed tile, rotted wood, and no soap dishes! I had to hold the bar of soap for the entire shower and water barely trickled out. Agreed that concierge was nice until they got you signed up for the timeshare presentation. Unfriendly after that.

I do not recommend staying at the Powhatan Resort—they turned us away because we weren’t willing to attend to their timeshare pitch. My fiancé and I made a reservation online through a discount website to stay at this hotel for a romantic weekend. When we arrived, they ushered us into a room with snacks and told us they would be back soon with our check-in information. Within 5 minutes, our “concierge” came over and started trying to get us to attend a 90-minute sales pitch the next morning for a timeshare – at 8:30 the next morning. They were talking to all the other guests about it as well. We told him four times that we weren’t interested before he stopped trying to convince us to go to the 8:30am sales pitch. Then he went to check on our reservation and told us we weren’t in their system. We gave him our printed confirmation, and 30 minutes later, he came back with the hotel manager to say that the hotel was full, even though we had a reservation. She said if we’d booked through the hotel she would “have” to honor our reservation, even though she was full. She made absolutely no attempt to fix the problem and showed no empathy for our situation. When we called the website we booked through, the website told us that the hotel had only denied our reservation 8 minutes before we called, which was after we told them we were unwilling to attend the timeshare sales pitch. The hotel website said they DID see our reservation in the central database, and they didn’t understand why the hotel would deny it. By our logic, if the hotel could cancel our reservation, then they could obviously see it in the system. We had arrived at 8pm on a busy Friday evening, close to Spring Break, and we had a very hard time finding an alternate place to stay. We were very disappointed with the customer service, the hard sale for the time pitch. We were so frustrated and disappointed, and the hotel manager was completely rude to us. We will tell everyone who visits Williamsburg not to stay at this hotel.

First off my husband and i found this place by accident . i looked for a place for one night in Williamsburg Va and this beautiful hotel popped up i said lets give it a chance .. i am sooo pleased to say i will be owning 2 weeks in this place a year for the rest of my life . it is a place where marriages are saved and families can roam freely in the lush environment . there was enough room to makes memories amazing ! the old world into the new made it wonderful to feel that for a period of time we could take a step back with modern accommodation. oh and the hot tub in the 2 bedroom is outstanding ! full kitchen , fireplace living room , and the most comfortable King Size BED i have slept in at a hotel in a long time . i am blown away by this resort and wish for everyone to experience it themselves. my husband isn't easily impressed and he is hooked !! thank you Diamond resorts international

3rd TIME STAYING HERE PLACE IS GETTING OLD AND NEEDS SOME UPDATING,BEDS ARE HARD BUT ROOMS WERE CLEAN.POOLS WERE ALSO CLEAN, BUT SALEPEOPLE ARE ALITTLE PUSHY TO SELL TIMESHARES

Despite all of the negative reviews, we went ahead and booked a week at the Historic Powhatan Resort. I am so glad that we did, we had a great time at a beautiful resort. Yes, when you first check in they give you the timeshare pitch, hard, which is why I took one star off the overall review. I already own a timeshare or I wouldn't be there in the first place, I'm not looking to buy in to another thankyouverymuch. The unit we had was gorgeous. New paint and new carpeting throughout. It was an upstairs unit, very spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit. Plenty of room for my husband, our son and myself to enjoy ourselves for a week while in the Williamsburg area. The kitchen was well equipped, the bathrooms were beautiful with big plush towels and extra soap and shampoo had we needed it, and the beds were so comfortable and had the nicest - clean- linens. Despite the resort being booked to capacity we never heard another soul the whole time we were there, not so much as a peep. We had occaision to call the front desk for assistance one time, they were responsive and brought us what we needed within 5 minutes. As far as location, you cannot beat the Historic Powhatan Resort. It truly is central to everything that one would want to see or do while in the Williamsburg area. I highly recommend the resort and would go back if I found myself in the area again.

Agree with all the comments of "TERRIBLE". The Powhatan has lost its edge and charm. The rooms were not horrid, but we had hot tub problems also; in addition to bugs, a clothes dryer that didn't work, a dishwasher with a broken door, electrical problems & plumbing problems. Waited 4 hours for service to come for a flooded bathroom till we finally called again to yell & scream (which you shouldn't have to do). Any time we had a difficulty, the staff was polite, but clearly was not concerned with pleasing the customer. They would cut you off and not listen at all. It was as if smiling was not allowed and they were all miserable in their jobs. And the "push" to buy into the timeshare was incredible. We were told we NEEDED to attend the seminar at 8:30 the next morning because there were only 2 spots left open, so we signed up. We happened to hang around the desk and then heard someone else tell the next few couples the same thing! After we then canceled our spots, we got a phone call in the room to attend! Person wouldn't take "no" for an answer so we finally hung up on them. Also, we wanted to stay an extra night but were told "they were completely sold out". We went to the computer room (6 feet away from the reception desk) & were able to book a room ON THEIR OWN WEBSITE !! In addition, rooms were available on Expedia or any other hotel booking website. There were lots of available rooms for the night we wanted! We brought this up to the front desk, the concierge & anyone who would listen, but no one could explain it. WHY would they send someone away to another hotel when they had rooms available? Not really good customer service. Would look LONG & HARD before going back here. There are plenty of hotels in the area. Its not worth the frustration.