Grove Hotel

The hotel leans on its Cherry Grove location more than on quality. It’s a very basic beach-area place in the middle of Fire Island’s lively party zone, so things outside can feel energetic. The hotel itself was inconsistent and often disappointing.

The neighborhood is cute and really friendly, but my boyfriend and I wouldn’t stay at this hotel again or recommend it. The price and the ratings we’d seen before booking had set higher expectations. I don’t usually write reviews, but parts of this stay weren’t okay. Our floor was dirty when we arrived. Slippers were recommended, but that should be for cold hardwood, not because sand and little bits stick to your feet as you walk around. On our last night we also had no hot water. We were exhausted and cold after a late night at the beach. Things can go wrong through no fault of the hotel, but their response was what really shaped our opinion. We called the after-hours number twice and got voicemail both times. I left a message, and no one returned it, even the next day during office hours. At checkout nobody asked how the stay had gone or invited feedback, which made it seem like they didn’t care about the problems or want to address them.

I stayed here for the second time, and last year my girlfriend and I were on the second floor. This time we were on the first. Request the second floor if you can. The walls are paper thin, and people danced in the room above us every night. It was ridiculously loud and woke us up all night. Our room wasn’t properly clean either. There was what looked like coffee splashed on the bathroom wall and a lot of sand on the floor. The WiFi was awful this time, so I could barely use my phone. It’s dog friendly, which I like, but dogs were left barking all day in hotel rooms. There’s a metal bar next to the bed for hanging phone wires, and it’s in a really dangerous spot.

I stayed one night, and that was plenty. The room was tiny, basic, and dirty, especially the bathroom. I’d called several times before the stay to confirm the reservation, but nobody mentioned that an on-site nightclub played loud music until 4 a.m. That’s a major thing to leave out if guests might expect to sleep. Check-in felt cold and unwelcoming. I asked for a quiet room and was told, “Not really, but next time ask to be on the quiet side.” I was put in the worst possible spot for someone who’d asked for quiet, right in the party. I didn’t sleep at all. After that sleepless night, I asked for a little late checkout and was flatly refused. Housekeeping stood outside my door from 10:40 a.m., ready to start right at 11. Just before I left, I overheard another guest being allowed to check out at noon, so clearly it was possible, just not for me. For what I paid, I felt like a burden instead of a guest. Basic hospitality was missing, and it made an already bad stay worse.