Best Western Harbour Inn & Suites Huntington - Sunset Beach

The location is great, but you’re limited when you want to relax in the room. Parking costs $10 a night, which seems wild when you’re already paying for the room. The TV is supposed to be smart, but the network is restricted, so you can’t connect it to the internet. You can cast from a phone or laptop by joining the TV’s network, except that network has no internet, so streaming apps won’t work. Basic cable works maybe 20% of the time. Avoid it if you plan to spend much time in the room.

The area works well for us: it’s easy to walk to the beach and places to eat, and the rooms we’ve had are fairly quiet. Breakfast is typical and okay, the small gym is enough to get by, and parking has never been an issue despite there not being many spaces. There’s no pool or jacuzzi, though we usually book a room with a jacuzzi tub. We’ve stayed at this BW many times and past visits were fine, but this time felt different. It’s an older, dated hotel, and the rooms need some attention to carpeting and other amenities. Staff were nice, check-in and checkout were easy, and we’ve always felt safe and the place was clean enough. I booked through my BW account and knew the total, but hadn’t noticed a $5 parking charge in the reservation. Before arriving, I saw the website said BW members get free parking, with no membership levels listed. At check-in, I was told it was $10 and free parking applied only to gold, silver, and platinum members, not my blue level. I didn’t argue. Best Western customer service wasn’t much help because their system showed $5 parking, though they called the hotel and got $5 refunded. I’m still out the $10 charged at check-in, even though the website said parking was free for members. Other BWs we stay at clearly state when parking costs $10 and tend to offer rewards members a gift. There’s no love for BW members at this one, and I’m hesitant to return.

Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, even though check-in was requested for 3pm and earlier check-ins weren’t available. We were told to wait another 30 minutes. There was a layer of dust on the baseboard behind the bed, black mold on the shower ceiling, and water was leaking through the bathroom light, most likely from someone showering upstairs.

I booked on booking.com with my cat, but no one had mentioned the strict no-pet policy. When I needed help, there was nobody at the desk. I called the front desk and got no answer, then waited for someone to come help. It was very late to find a pet-friendly hotel, so I ended up sleeping in my car.