Holiday Inn Club Vacations Cape Canaveral Beach Resort by IHG

The property is beautiful, which made this frustrating stay all the more disappointing. We paid around $1,600 for four nights, but the experience fell short of the price and expectations. It seemed like something went wrong every day, and in all our travels I’ve never had this many problems in one short trip. We had booked an oceanfront room, but it had apparently been oversold. Nobody explained that at check-in, and we were put in a second-floor room overlooking trees and a walking path for the first two nights. Halfway through the stay, we had to pack everything, load the car, check out and leave the property for several hours while waiting for the right room. On the last day, I woke to an unexpected $814 charge on my card, which hadn’t been clearly explained. Later I was told it was a hold for room charges. Service varied a lot. The front desk staff were generally polite, but communication was poor and there was little effort to fix things proactively. Most issues felt brushed off. The pool bartender was particularly unpleasant. The hotel hadn’t given us wristbands at check-in, which he apparently needed to charge drinks to the room. I offered my room key, and he acted irritated as if I were causing a problem. In the end, he charged the drinks with my room number and last name, the way most hotels do.

We left feeling disrespected, and the sales meeting only confirmed our choice not to buy. We’d come to learn about ownership and were considering it, but the presentation turned into a high-pressure situation. When we said we needed more time to research a major financial commitment, we were told we should have done that before agreeing to attend. A senior salesperson named Russell was brought in to “save the deal,” offering us a $10k deal. He was dismissive, argumentative and belittling instead of addressing our concerns. He openly described the environment as high-pressure and implied we should have expected that. When I said I thought he was rude and didn’t like his approach, he accused me of being rude. Russell withdrew the proposed $10,000 incentive and said he didn’t think we should be owners, that he wouldn’t feel right, but we weren’t going to sign anyway. Later, I told our original salesperson I thought Russell had behaved inappropriately and unprofessionally. Russell overheard, got confrontational, said the meeting was over once we started talking about employees, and told us to leave. As we gathered our things, I kept explaining why I felt he’d been rude. My husband quietly laughed under his breath at the situation, and Russell wrongly claimed he was agreeing with him. My husband was reacting to Russell’s behavior, not agreeing with his remarks. Russell then said he’d make notes in our file. It felt unnecessary and intimidating. Our questions and concerns never seemed to matter. The team used pressure and blame instead of helping us make an informed decision. If this is how prospective buyers are treated, it raises serious questions about how owners are treated after signing. We left with a very negative impression and wouldn’t recommend sitting through this sales presentation.

The pool was clean and lovely, and my one-year-old had a great time in all the splash areas. Even when it was busy, we could find shaded chairs and never felt crowded. The beach was about a five-minute walk, or there was a free tram from the resort every 15 minutes or so. Parking in the garage was a little tight with our larger vehicle, but we always found a space. Our family loved the resort and hopes to return soon.

The hotel itself was nice, and our room was spacious, but it was missing a few basic things I expected to be supplied. The restaurant was really overpriced. Lunch for four, with my wife and me sharing, came to $160 after tip. We ordered a medium steak, and it arrived completely well done. When we mentioned it, the waiter just said, “oh, I’m sorry,” and walked away. Gratuity is included on every transaction, which made me want to tip less. If this “exclusive” hotel paid staff properly, maybe it could do away with that and let tips reflect the service, and the wait staff might be friendlier. The one movie we wanted to see started 30 minutes ahead of schedule. We arrived 10 minutes before the listed start and it was already 20 minutes in. There are better options.