OYO Hotel Heber Springs Lakeside

After traveling for more than 12 hours and having a long day, my husband and I discovered the hard way that this hotel had been closed for over a year. They still took our money for a room that doesn’t exist. When we called for directions, they gave us a bogus address that turned out to be a residential apartment complex. We called again and could barely make out what they were saying in English. They put us on hold for over 25 minutes and nobody responded, so we hung up and called back. The other number they gave us didn’t exist either. When we called once more to ask for a refund, they said it would come in 24-48 hours. We had to spend even more to book somewhere else. Staff there told us this motel had been closed for over a year and that they get two or three people every night who’ve been duped by it. Taking people’s hard-earned money to book a room at a place that doesn’t even exist should be illegal. This was by far the worst experience we’ve ever had.

I’d read other people’s reviews, so I wanted to mention that the hotel has done some remodeling. We were very pleased with our room. It was comfortable, clean, and clearly well cared for. The bathroom impressed me, and the water pressure and temperature were excellent. The staff were friendly and helpful. I’ll definitely stay there again if I need a hotel in the area.

The service was very poor. Nobody answered the phone, and the door was locked, so I couldn’t even get a room. It seems like it used to be a good hotel, but now it’s run down and not good. I wouldn’t stay here. I went up the road to the Quality Inn instead. The service there was really good, the people were nice, and the rooms were very clean.

They said they’d misplaced my online reservation, even though I had an email confirmation and was supposed to check in that night. The woman was rude, and the new owners were hard to understand on the phone. She said the website worked fine but they couldn’t help me. Then they offered me a single bed without a kitchen. No thanks. I keep staying at this place because of the full kitchen in a room with two beds. It’s close to the water and has a pool. I loved the family who used to run it, but apparently it’s been sold to new owners. There was a large family reunion that had booked every hotel in town, and they’d accidentally given my room to someone in that group. So what was I meant to do? I booked at a hotel down the road that doesn’t allow pets, which meant finding somewhere for my dog too. We still had no kitchen, and I guess we’d be eating fast food for the next six meals of our lives. I’m unhappy, but my vacation will go on. Thanks for “misplacing” my reservation. Now I get to try a new hole in the wall down the road. I won’t be back.