Bay Club Resort by Coolvacay

The room’s condition was only the start of a very disappointing experience for my family and me at Bay Club Resort (302 32nd St, Ocean City, MD 21842). We booked a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit for our annual cheer competition weekend, February 27-March 1. We arrived around 3 PM Friday, went out that evening, used the pool, then showered and went to bed early. On Saturday morning, my younger sister woke with multiple bites. My husband checked the bed after she called him in and found several bed bugs. He sealed two in a plastic bag and took them straight to the front desk. Michelle and Dorothy at the desk contacted a manager, who told them to say we’d get a full refund. They instructed us to contact Booking.com and ask them to email the property so it could approve the refund. We were offered another room but declined, then had to find somewhere else to stay and go to a laundromat so we wouldn’t bring pests home. I contacted Booking.com later Saturday. They said they’d email me and the property about the refund. By Sunday I’d heard nothing, so I called again and reached a Cool Vacay representative through Booking.com. She said there was no record of my first call and no email had gone to the property. She asked for photos of my sister’s bites and the bug found in the room to start the claim that should already have been filed. I sent them right away and was told they’d contact me once the refund was approved. After no word Monday or Tuesday, I followed up Wednesday and was told someone would get back to me. Soon after, a Booking.com message said an exterminator had reportedly found only one bed bug and the property would issue just a partial refund. I called cool vacay and spoke with Shelly. I reminded her we’d been promised a full refund and said guests shouldn’t have to pay to stay in a room with bed bugs. I also questioned how only one could have been found when my husband had handed two to the desk and I had a photo of another in the bedding. Shelly accused me of extortion when I said I planned to share what happened publicly. She then said we had never been told we’d get a full refund. I was told the manager would arrive at 4 PM and call me back. After that call, I phoned Bay club resorts directly. The same desk staff answered and were shocked by what had happened. They gave me their names so I could pass them to cool vacay/booking and they could confirm the full refund promise. I relayed their names to cool vacay and am still waiting for the manager to call me back. Between the state of the room and how the issue was handled afterward, this has been extremely disappointing.