Sea Bay Hotel

We arrived at the hotel about 9:00 at night. The sign at the desk of the hotel said to go to the Best Western Plus to check in. That was an inconvenience. They put us in a room next to the elevator shaft so we had to listen to that all night. The bed had springs that I could easily feel through the sheets. The room was generally clean. I would recommend spending a little more and getting something nicer.

The room was nice enough and it wasn’t dirty or gross or anything and we even had a nice little balcony, but what really turned me off to it is that a male member of staff just came into our room without knocking because he “thought we were a check out”. I had been changing 5 mins prior, thank God he didn’t come in then! We went and brought it to the attention of the front desk and just received a lukewarm apology and was told that there was a “glitch in the system”. I understand that mistakes happen, but I feel like it’s ridiculous that they weren’t more apologetic about the whole situation, especially since it was only myself (a woman) in the room with my 9 year old son, my husband had literally just went to get some ice from the machine. My heart was beating so fast when I heard the door open and turned around to see a man who was not my husband standing there. We still have another night here before being scheduled to check out, and I am making sure to put the latch on the door every time, even if my husband is just running for ice now, my peace of mind is just completely gone. They could have offered me even a coupon or literally ANYTHING as an apology but nothing, just a shoulder shrug and a sorry. Not great customer service if you ask me.

EDITED TO ADD: How kind that in the “response from the owner” they offer a discount AFTER I HAVE ALREADY LEFT. Not when I still had another night left and could take them up on it, or even when I brought it to the attention of the front desk. Seems like it is only in response to me leaving a negative review 🤔

They also said there was a “quick knock”, but if there was, it was not loud enough for anyone to hear! Mistakes happen and that is okay, but this hotel only attempted to make it right after seeing this publicly negative review, not when I complained to the property directly. I left a comment card online on the website of the Sea Bay Hotel AND the parent company Stay in the OC, and never got a response. The only reaching out this hotel has done is on this public platform. Do not stay here if you value your privacy or good customer service.

No reservation desk at the hotel, instead a note informs you to check-in at sister hotel across parking lot. No notice of this prior to arrival or with regards to weather or effort. My room was the opposite of what I booked. Paid for bayside room with high floor request. Received 1st floor parking lot view. Took 50-min attempt to clear up the problem. Their solution- “pay extra” to receive correct room. Because I didn’t book directly with them all i received for help was “we can’t do anything” answer. They sure know what they “Can’t do” but very little about what they “Could do” or “Should do” to fix the booking issue. Ridiculous. The room itself had one positive, the view, which was my primary reason for choosing it. Everything else was terrible. Run down, dated in below average condition. Only 1-elevator shared by both customers & house keeping so it’s in constant use. Overall in desperate need of a make over to justify the prices. (will post pictures if possible) If I could have canceled & rebooked somewhere else I would have. The coffee machine was stacked on top of the microwave which was stacked on top of the refrigerator just to give you an idea of how pathetic it was. I gave honest review. 1-star for view, 1-star for location.