We've stayed at Ocean Drive for 7 or 8 consecutive years, always during the week of July 15th, our anniversary. We've always been very satisfied. The desk, housekeeping and maintenance staff have always been very friendly, courteous and efficient. In an effort to prevent a recurrence of a lost reservation by another hotel, many years ago, I always call the hotel the night before we were scheduled to arrive. So, I called Ocean Drive about 11:30 the night before to confirm our reservation. I was told by a very nice lady working the late shift that we were, in fact, scheduled to arrive the next day and booked for a King, Oceanfront Suite. Emphasis on Suite. We live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, about 30 minutes from Ocean City. But, years ago, we decided we would spend over 9 hours driving time, traveling 476 miles and spending over $1,500.00 to stay at Ocean Drive for 5 or six days. Especially since this was our 50th Anniversary, we were really looking forward to a nice, relaxing stay at the beach. When we arrived, we had the distinct misfortune to find a lady named Gretchen handling Check-ins at the Desk. The last thing you want to be confronted with, when beginning your vacation at a hotel, is an Attitude from the Desk person. Maybe the battery on her late model Broom had died the night before, and she had to walk to work. For whatever reason, she took it upon herself to award our reservation to someone who was evidently a walk-in. Though she told us she didn't know who changed or why our reservation had been changed, it was pretty obvious it was her doing. She said that there was one remaining suite matching our reservation. After receiving a key, I went to check it out. It turned out that it was located on the 6th floor on the outer wall of the South end of the hotel. Rooms on that wall overlook what is called the ”Pavilion”. The town's hot spot at Main Street and Ocean Drive where bands, music, arcade and crowd noises last until late at night. I returned to the desk and told the Gretchenator that we did not wish to stay in that room. So, she then informed us that the only thing available was a Handicap room. Emphasis on ROOM. This was definitely not a SUITE. It consisted of a Bedroom with a bath, sink and microwave. So, if the weather wasn't good for the beach, we could stack pillows and watch the TV located at the foot of the bed. Unfortunately for us, the weather wasn't very good for 3 of the 5 days, so we watched a lot of TV. On our last day, I managed to get an audience with the General Manager, a beautiful young lady named Lindsay. She was very polite, listened to my story and said ”Thank you.” I told her that, though I was sure the hotel would not go broke, we wouldn't be returning to Ocean Drive Resort in future years. Next year we will return to the Avista Hotel, a couple doors up the street. Ocean Drive will have $1,500.00 less with which to fund Gretchen's salary next year
Very Good
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