Sea Shell Motel

The bathroom also had a toilet that leaked around its base after every flush. I noticed black mold on the mattress only in the morning. When I told Nancy at the desk at checkout, she said she’d have the owner Debra contact me. Nancy also said the maids tend to put dirty mops on mattresses while cleaning, which was gross and hard to believe. We stayed two weekends ago, and after calling nearly every day, I still haven’t heard from the owner. Nancy told me the owner wanted to offer one complimentary off-season night for the moldy bed. I’m in no rush to return, and nobody offered a refund. Nancy argued with me on the phone and made me feel like I shouldn’t have raised the issue. Her behavior felt very strange and unprofessional, and check-in had a chaotic feel too. The day after checkout, a fraudulent charge from Mendille NY appeared on my debit card. Nancy had said she was from NY. A few days later, Sea Shell Motel charged another $141.25, which my bank refunded. If I could give zero stars, I would. I’d love to own a motel someday, and I’d make sure to return every customer’s call, whatever the reason. It’s just the right thing to do.

I only wanted a refund for the night we couldn’t stay because of the health problems from the mold, but the property management denied it through Expedia. We’d booked two rooms, and both had mold and rust. After just one night, I couldn’t breathe because of my asthma, and my child’s asthma was affected too, so we had to cut the trip short. The showerhead had mold on it, and we couldn’t use the air conditioners because they were covered in black mold. I have photos and videos of the conditions and plan to contact the local board of health and dispute the charge with my credit card company. I wasn’t planning to write a review or make an issue of it. EDIT TO ADD: The owners told Expedia we left because of cloudy weather, then replied to a comment saying we left because the children were “out of control.” Those explanations don’t even match. The owner is clearly upset by my honest review and its pictures, and is trying to make us look bad by blaming the kids, but they weren’t out of control. Be careful who you book with. Only an unhappy person would comment on someone else’s children. This motel isn’t child friendly, and I wouldn’t recommend it if you have health issues.

I’ve been coming here for about 20 years and still love the motel. It’s pet friendly, has kayaks, and the rooms are cute, but at the price they really could use upgrades. I’ve seen rust and mold in several rooms over the past few years, and the jacuzzi hasn’t worked for years, which is disappointing. On my last night, the manager was very rude to me and someone I’d just been talking with. She accused us of being extremely loud and said, in almost these exact words, “If I get customer complaints then I dont get paid. Do you want an extra charge?” I asked my roommate, who was inside while I was outside, and they hadn’t heard us. My neighbor came out during the exchange and said she hadn’t heard me either. I know guests pay in advance because I’ve stayed so long. If it hadn’t been my last night, I’d have checked out the next day. I didn’t get her name, but she said she’d worked there about 16 years. Her customer service concerns me, and I think it may be time for her to retire.

We’ve stayed at Sea Shell Motel four times now, and it’s one of our favorite spots for a weekend away. The staff are so friendly, the rooms are clean and well kept, and the beds are comfortable. Our dog Ben G feels right at home since the place welcomes dogs. This time we finally got to use the canoe at no extra cost, and we had a great time out on the water. We’ll be back. Thanks for making our getaways memorable! Love, Randy, Sonia and Ben G