What a DUMP!
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 08/12/08
Do not be fooled by the pictures, web pages, etc. about this place. Do not be fooled by the 3 diamonds in AAA guide – apparently from long ago when diff people ran the place. Single diamond at best. Motel 6, but with an attempt at looking historic. I travel a lot, domestic/int'l – 75-90 nights/yr – from Motel 6 to 5+ star resorts. Have never left a place before being able to check in & nor ever encountered a place w/ so many problems & poor cust svc. Have never written negative review about a hotel. Normally consider minor inconveniences, issues, etc, to be part of nature of travel. Arrived at San Geronimo in early Aug 08, found that things were far diff than what was advertised.
Grounds extremely unkempt, uncared for - looked it was not even open for business. No one there, no lights on, etc. Garbage cans, tools, a lawn mower & lots of other things just laying around, out in the open (really detracts from any shot at quaintness or attaining historic charm). Weeds, overgrowth all over. The condition of the hotel exterior itself is also poor. Verandas in poor shape, dangerous - many nails sticking up out of the boards of the deck, many loose/uneven boards (excellent place for children, or adults, to have a great fall) Everything quite dirty: light fixtures (those that worked or actually had bulbs in them), furniture, windows, doors, et al. Chairs/tables on verandas are cheap plastic type. Rooms dark/dingy, smell of must/mold. Dirty stained carpet. Terrible linens/bedding. Moldy bathroom, missing grout, dirty caulking.
No cross ventilation. 2 fans provided in room Р1 barely moved airl, the other squeaky/rattling. Old uncomfortable mattresses. Faded, outdated d̩cor, pictures. Old/dirt curtains.Picture of rooms on website doctored, looks far different from reality. Many other parts of the hotel smelled old, dank, musty, and moldy. Seats in dining area foldable plastic chairs. Ppictures of lodge dining area on the web not anything like reality.
Website pics look bright/cheery, but reality is a dark/dingy setting. Filthy light fixtures. Pool area was a bit of a mess, just junk (tools, buckets, etc.) laying all over the place – again, the owners just need to try and clean up the place. We tried to address some of this w/ owners.
They made no offers to help up remedy any of the issues in the room.
They explained that they knew that the property has some “deferred maintenance” needs. This was putting it mildly, the place is a wreck. The woman owner would not speak to us or even make eye contact with us when we explained that we were having problems w/ room. We were calm, cool and collected when speaking with the owners – it really seems to us that they just did not care. When discussing the issue with the male owner, his wife just waved us off (again, no eye contact, no discussion, nothing) and said to her husband, “just let them go, I don’t want them here”. So apparently if you do not like anything about this place and raise it, you had best not do so if you want any semblance of customer service. Speaking w/ owners, I was asking about the rate they wanted to charge us as it was different than what was on their brochure or in the AAA guide. While mentioning the rate on the brochure (as it was in my hand), one of the owners told me that “it was not one of [their] brochures”. It was one of their brochures that I picked up from the counter at the front desk right in front of him. I handed the owner (man) the brochure and he raised his eyebrows and said “oh”. Owners of hotel want $149 a night, + charge if there are more than 2 people. Far from being any where near the caliber of an establishment to charge such rates - other chain establishments in the area charge half of this, are at least clean/safe. The attitude and response from the owners were unhelpful, rude. Other reviews are clearlu friends of the owners. $50 less get the same as motel 6, $50 more get a HUGE step up in quality.
