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Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn, DE [Master Thread]

Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn, DE [Master Thread]

Old Jul 11, 2018, 11:26 am
  #16  
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Thanks for the detailed trip report. Much appreciated.

Cheers.
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 8:37 am
  #17  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: PHL
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Just returned from a 5 night stay on points. This was our 3rd visit in the 4 years the property has been open.

Overall, a good stay. I have never been upgraded here. I book 2 queens partial ocean view on points, and that’s what I get, one of the side rooms in the alley. They were sold out though, so did not have expectations of an upgrade.

We arrived about 2pm and were told we could have a room immediately in the south building or wait for a room in the north building (where restaurant and pool are). We have 3 kids and my wife and I agreed that it made sense to wait for the better location. I asked if I would receive a room ready alert on the app, the clerk said no, but took my cell and said she would call me. Well, 4pm rolls around and no alert or call. I go back to the front desk and speak to someone, and the room was ready (who knows for how long). That was frustrating the the first employee did not follow through on contacting me (I’m unsure why they could not just issue a room ready alert, which is what could have avoided us waiting unnecessarily).

hotel has made some improvements to the kids activities, they now have a room set up with games and toys that is open during the day. They have also started checking names at the restaurant on busy mornings, which I don’t mind. It sounds like they may have had people sneaking in.

i asked for a 1pm checkout and was given that without issue. I ended up checking out a little before 12, and confirmed with the front desk clerk that I intended to keep the car in the garage until no later than 1. She said fine, no problem. Get to car a little before 1 and there’s a nasty warning note on it about how my parking permit is expired and they will tow my car if I don’t move it. They didn’t tow my car, so no harm done to me, but that reeks of VERY poor communication between the front desk and whoever is monitoring the garage. They surely have lots of Golds and Plats getting late checkouts and therefore staying in the garage after 11 am.
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 10:15 am
  #18  
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Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.
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Old Aug 26, 2018, 6:46 am
  #19  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
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Stayed at this property last week with my wife and kids for the third time since it opened. The hotel was full each of our five nights, and the staff seemed overwhelmed at times. This was a situation where Platinum status (this was just before the SPG/Marriott/Ritz programs combined) was useful. It got us checked in earlier (the hotel has trouble meeting its 4pm check-in time, but will hand out free drink coupons for the hotel bar as compensation) and got us a better room location among our room type. The staff expressly mentioned my status at pretty much every communication I had with them, which doesn't always happen at resort hotels, or at hotels at the RI/CY/FI end of the spectrum. No chance for a late checkout, this being a resort location at full capacity.

Even at the elevated category it's at -- our room cost 45k points/night, it's been pushed up to 50k as a Cat 6 after the program combination -- it has offered a decent value for us over the past few summers. As other posters have indicated, the hotel is somewhat nicer than the average RI, especially in its public areas. It's right on the beach. They do an excellent job of maintaining the cleanliness of both the public areas and the rooms -- though our housekeeping service at times was not provided until the 4:00 hour on this trip. There are not other hotels of this class in Bethany. Going forward, though, I'm concerned they will be categorizing their summer stays as Peak, which could push this to 60k/night -- the hotel has been at or near capacity in each of our summer stays, and MD/DE beach hotels take the vast majority of their revenue in July and August. The room rates seem to be consistently in the $600-$700/nt range in July and August, and can spike even higher. We reserved for next summer just before the program combination at the old 45k/nt rate.
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Old Aug 26, 2018, 7:22 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by wm47
No chance for a late checkout, this being a resort location at full capacity.
Did they try to tell you they are a resort? I dont believe they have ever been officially considered a resort. I have had issues with late checkout (not this year though), but have been able to get it granted when reminding them of the policy. If they told you no late checkout because it was a resort, I think that was incorrect info.
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Old Aug 26, 2018, 8:59 am
  #21  
 
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You're probably right, though I think the T&C's are maddeningly -- and intentionally -- vague on this. In this instance, the front desk pushed back very hard on late checkout and I chose not to escalate.
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Old Jun 4, 2020, 8:14 am
  #22  
 
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Any more recent stays since August 2018? Thinking of booking for July.
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Old Jun 4, 2020, 12:48 pm
  #23  
 
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I had a second stay their last July. Overall still a very nice property. One change I didn't like, they now also sell breakfast in the restaurant in addition to the complimentary RI Breakfast. The net result was it was more difficult to get a table on the outside veranda for breakfast. On the upside, we stayed late the last day and I had no problem getting a 1PM checkout and permission to keep my car in their garage until late afternoon.

I believe the point cost for this property has crossed the threshold for what I consider to be a good value. So I am no longer looking at it for cash or points. My wife also wants to go back to Myrtle again (where she always went with her family during her childhood and where we have had many trips with her side of the family). In any case, point value is a personal decision. In general, breakfast issue aside, this still a quite nice property

--Jon

P.S. Off the Hook took over the adjacent storefront and totally renovated and is now twice the original size. Food and service are still very good. In fact we enjoyed dining there more than Blue Point. Blue Point food is consistent and very good; however, service is almost overbearing. There is a subtle feel that they are trying to turn the tables over quickly for the next guest. Bottomline for us, next time we are in Bethany Beach, we will skip Blue Point and just do Off the Hook twice.

P.P.S. If you're into nature, Assateague Island is very easy day trip to go see the wild ponies and do some light coastal hiking (or kayaking). There are good swimming beaches there as well but we didn't use them. On the way back to Bethany there are some small towns to stop at if, if you're looking for a chance of pace for restaurants for dinner. IIRC we stopped at The Atlantic Hotel in Berlin, MD for dinner. Food was decent but not wow. Regardless it was a nice change of pace from the usuals in Bethany. There were a number of other decent looking restaurants in the town. There is a cluster of them in a couple of block area so you can just walk and choose the one that suits your fancy.
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Old Jun 4, 2020, 1:22 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by Jon Maiman
I had a second stay their last July. Overall still a very nice property. One change I didn't like, they now also sell breakfast in the restaurant in addition to the complimentary RI Breakfast. The net result was it was more difficult to get a table on the outside veranda for breakfast. On the upside, we stayed late the last day and I had no problem getting a 1PM checkout and permission to keep my car in their garage until late afternoon.

I believe the point cost for this property has crossed the threshold for what I consider to be a good value. So I am no longer looking at it for cash or points. My wife also wants to go back to Myrtle again (where she always went with her family during her childhood and where we have had many trips with her side of the family). In any case, point value is a personal decision. In general, breakfast issue aside, this still a quite nice property

--Jon

P.S. Off the Hook took over the adjacent storefront and totally renovated and is now twice the original size. Food and service are still very good. In fact we enjoyed dining there more than Blue Point. Blue Point food is consistent and very good; however, service is almost overbearing. There is a subtle feel that they are trying to turn the tables over quickly for the next guest. Bottomline for us, next time we are in Bethany Beach, we will skip Blue Point and just do Off the Hook twice.

P.P.S. If you're into nature, Assateague Island is very easy day trip to go see the wild ponies and do some light coastal hiking (or kayaking). There are good swimming beaches there as well but we didn't use them. On the way back to Bethany there are some small towns to stop at if, if you're looking for a chance of pace for restaurants for dinner. IIRC we stopped at The Atlantic Hotel in Berlin, MD for dinner. Food was decent but not wow. Regardless it was a nice change of pace from the usuals in Bethany. There were a number of other decent looking restaurants in the town. There is a cluster of them in a couple of block area so you can just walk and choose the one that suits your fancy.
Thanks for the response!
TWA Guy is offline  
Old Jun 4, 2020, 1:47 pm
  #25  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
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Way too many points now for a good value. Save for a Cat 7 resort! You can rent a condo w/private beach at ResortQuest sea colony (choose oceanfront) at bethany for half the price.
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Old Jul 27, 2020, 2:59 pm
  #26  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
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Anyone stay here during COVID? Supposed to go next week and on the fence. Called property to ask about amenities and they are telling me no housekeeping, grab and go continental brekkie. Still charging $700+ per night. I am curious what brekkie has actually consisted of and whether you can eat in the restaurant area or not. Thanks in advance.
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Old Jul 27, 2020, 6:28 pm
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by LPCJr
Anyone stay here during COVID? Supposed to go next week and on the fence. Called property to ask about amenities and they are telling me no housekeeping, grab and go continental brekkie. Still charging $700+ per night. I am curious what brekkie has actually consisted of and whether you can eat in the restaurant area or not. Thanks in advance.
We stayed the week before July 4 and had no complaints! No housekeeping but will provide replacement towels or extra toiletries with a quick phone call. Guests left trash bags in the hall and housekeeping took them away. They were very friendly and quick with any requests. We felt very safe, they were taking lots of precautions and everything was cleaned. For brekkie you walk into the buffet area, tell them what you want and they put in a bag for you and you take up to you room. Mostly prepackaged stuff and coffee. We made our own breakfast in the room or grabbed stuff nearby. Would definitely go back.
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Old Feb 27, 2021, 7:22 am
  #28  
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Jon, how was Covid handled at the hotel and were the breakfast options that were provided the same as before? It sounds strange that the restaurant would also
have a separate breakfast? Did you see people eating dinner indoors at Sea Level 99? Thank you!
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Old Feb 27, 2021, 7:25 am
  #29  
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Sorry for a repeat question-I see that TWA answered this. Can you elaborate on how crowded it was, dinner etc,?
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Old Sep 20, 2022, 2:06 pm
  #30  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: CT
Programs: Aadvantage, Marriott, Starwood, Southwest
Posts: 134
We are going in October... booked an oceanfront room. I noticed some balconies are angled, and are smaller than the straight-on balconies. Any advice as to what room/room type I should request to get the larger, straight balcony? First time to Bethany Beach!
baglab is offline  

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