Two Myrtle Beach Accomodation Choices( a hotel and time share) to Avoid!Oct 14 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Avoid the Sand Dunes Resort in Myrtle Beach and don't take the Harbor Lights Resort tour! Having already written a review under the Myrtle Beach destinations heading, I am putting this here because I feel so strongly about getting the word out. I am profiling two Myrtle Beach lodging choices - one a hotel, and one a time share location : Sand Dunes Resort and Harbor Lights (a Bluegreen property) If you ever plan to take a time share tour for a free gift - scroll down and read this!. Sand Dunes Resort This hotel is located in the northern section of Myrtle Beach in an area that is quieter than MB proper. It is a desirable location, and it's too bad the hotel did not live up to its own touting. This property has numerous problems and it's sad- because it is a case of wonderful potential wasted. I found this hotel after an extensive search for a good deal for a weekend getaway. They had an excellent website and they are part of a large group known as Sands Resorts which operates several nice hotels along the Grand Strand. The website photos looked great, and the room and breakfast deal for an oceanfront efficiency with breakfast buffet was a great buy at $89.00 per night for two. At check-in, the desk clerk was not cordial but not rude either, when I mentioned to her that I was going to write a review of the hotel, her demeanor changed drastically! I got a smile, an area orientation, and a little humor. Our bellman, who was assisting my wife with luggage, was outstanding. Genuinely friendly and helpful. The hotel is large. It can be seen at www.sandsresorts.com. BUT I WARN YOU - THE WEBSITE LOOKS BETTER THAN THE RESORT!. We whirled off to the seventh floor. Once off the elevator our room was directly across from it. Uh -oh, this was a mistake! It turned out that the elevators had no rubber strips on the doors and each time they closed it banged loudly- imagine two pieces of metal violently crashing together. We reported this four times to hotel people - two desk clerks, a manager, and the friendly bellman - it NEVER was repaired. We listened to it all night each night. Now, the literature from Sands Resorts in your room talks about the "vision statement" and their committment to quality. One of those statements was "accountability" which stated that every employee confronted with a problem would take ownership of it until it was resolved. Well, four employees did not take ownership and it created a poor environment not only for us, but others in the same area who told us they were disturbed by it. On entering the room, a bad smell was present. It was like they had not cleaned the bathroom, and it appeared they had not (except for the fact there were clean towels and refreshed toiletries in there). The bathroom was dark and dingy. There was lots of mildew, rust, and lime on the worn fixtures. We went to the store and bought bathroom cleaner and tried to clean the fixtures and floor ourselves but it still did not smell well. The furniture in the room and the stove in the kitchenette were worn also. The pans in the cabinet were worn and dirty looking and the cabinet doors were so neglected they were sticky. The carpet was stained and although the bedding felt clean it was very uncomfortable - extremely hard. I felt like I had been beaten up each morning. Two outlets in the room did not work, and the maid kept unplugging the digital clock each day - I guess to use the vacuum in that outlet - and I had to keep re-setting it. The carpet was stained but you could tell when the rooms were originally decorated things were nice. Two good features were the private balcony and the cable channel choices . There was also a new looking mini-fridge as well as a newer model microwave, blender and toaster (which we did not use). You will pay $2.00 per day extra to use the in-room safe ( a nice feature) and free local calls. The breakfast buffet in the Flying Machine Restaurant is also extensive, tasty, and with a great view of the ocean. The staff there was friendly and helpful. The hotel has a game room, convenience store, outdoor pool and lawn (very nice), indoor pool (also nice), indoor hot tubs (never did get hot- just tepid), a sauna (you have to turn it on to get hot), a steam room ( also have to turn it on and wait for it to heat up). The water levels in all indoor pools were low. The housekeeping staff we tried to talk to did not seem to speak English very well. And,we saw several of them standing around outside walking right by the pool chairs one morning leaving loads of towels scattered around from the day before. I guess it wasn't their "job" to pick them up. Oh well, staying at Loew's Resorts has spoiled me I guess. They would NEVER let that happen. I am not recommending Sand Dunes because there are too many choices at Myrtle Beach and this property needs quality control. They "talk the talk" but they don't "walk the walk". Harbor Lights ...a.k.a. Bluegreen Resorts We were at the Outlet Shops on 501 (which are about one fourth the size they used to be!) when I stopped to get a brochure at a kiosk and was asked by a nice lady if we would like to tour a local resort for $75.00 and two free nights somewhere. I asked about it and she gave me the info. The property was Harbor Lights - just behind the Outlet Shops and we had a couple of hours to spare so why not? We like to look at properties and no harm to hear the offering. We had toured a time share in Arizona a couple of years back. Though we did not buy, we thought it would be a great place to come to and rent sometime so we thought we'd check this one out also. We drove back to the resort - a lovely property on the Intracoastal Waterway. After some obligatory paperwork, a nice young gentleman came out and took us back where he offered us refreshments, engaged in some polite small talk and then presented the resort and Bluegreen Company info and vacation packages available. It was a nice, low-pressure presentation. The company itself is impressive and they offer a good product for the right person. We toured the facility. The clubhouse was , in my opinion, a little small to handle the finished resort. The units were quite nice with excellent features and lovely decor. Bottom line - we told him we were not interested in a vacation package at this time, but the resort was nice and perhaps we would want to rent someday or even buy if we ever felt so inclined. Then, the nightmare began! The sales rep went to get his "big gun". Dressed in GQ style, this guy had to have been a used car sales manager at some time because he reeked with it. He began to make "polite" barbs and ask the usual condescending questions that are born out of cheap sales psychology that you learn at $189.00 seminars at the Holiday Inn meeting room. THE CLINCHER came when he said we would have to sign "a waiver". I asked what for and he proceeded to tell me that he had found "on the computer" that we had taken a time share tour before (remember I mentioned the Arizona tour 2 years ago?). So what? That was never mentioned as a requisite for this tour. And, I had not even thought about that one. They were two different companies. HE PROCEEDED TO TELL ME THAT THEY CALL PEOPLE LIKE US "HOPPERS" and we would have to sign a "waiver" or some such thing. I cannot tell you the insult we felt. I arose from that table after giving them two hours of polite attention and DECLINED their little $75.00. This man did not even have enough character to look me in the eye when he talked to me. When I spoke to him he just kept writing notes like I was not even there. I reminded him that THEY invited US to tour - not the other way around. He just coldly brushed us off and said "o.k - check'em out". I would not have accepted any gift from them regardless of what it was! A lady who worked there followed us out almost in tears begging us to accept the gift. I let her know plainly that 1) I do have a little dignity 2) I don't need $75.00 to be insulted 3) I could have written a check if I had wanted their product 4) I will never stay in a resort they own! My advice? If a Bluegreen Resort representative offers you a "gift" to tour one of their facilities, run away as fast as you can - unless you KNOW you want to buy!  |
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