ComplaintsforShephard's Beach Resort

• Initial Complaint

  08/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  **August 16, 2024**I am writing to file a complaint about the cockroach infestation in room 316. Last night around 10:00 pm, I discovered several cockroaches in the bathroom and kitchen sink. Despite calling the front desk and receiving a room service spray, the issue persisted.The front desk, represented by *****, offered us three options: stay in the infested room with a scheduled deep cleaning, move to another room and wait for a new room on Saturday night or leave. Given our three young children and the late hour, moving was not practical. ***** initially offered a 50% discount for the night and a refund for the second night if we left, but after assessing the situation, we chose to stay. Additional cockroaches appeared while I requested plastic bags for our luggage. Housekeeping arrived but seemed unprepared. ***** later informed us of a full refund and arranged for us to move to a new room. However, the bellboy refused to assist with our luggage due to policy, and the new room had *********************** and an unprepared rollaway bed.When I spoke with the manager, *******, at 8:30 AM today, she informed me that the hotel was now fully booked and no additional rooms were available. Given that our previous room was deemed uninhabitable, and considering we have three children with us, this situation has left us without accommodation. I have been patient and respectful throughout this process, but the level of service and the inconvenience we have experienced are unacceptable.

  Business response

  08/21/2024

   I have attached the folio for ************** It shows a full refund for the two nights.  ************** was not charge for her first night and full refunded for her second. ************** called around 10:30 PM about bugs in her room, we immediately went to her room. We did find a palmetto bug in her room and few other bugs that are normally not see inside. Housekeeping removed those bugs. She checked in around noon on the 16th. She was in the room all day, and possibly her balcony door was open.  ***** wanted another room. So we had our Valet bring her luggage to another room. At the same time housekeeping delivered and made up the bed. ************* made it clear the Night Manager that she didn't want to stay another night. So he totally refunded her account. Once the second night was cancelled someone booked that room online. So, when she came down the next morning we were sold out. Throughout this situation the front desk was helpful and apologetic to her. She demanded more compensation. We fully refunded her for this situation, and there will be no further refunds. Although this situation is unfortunate and we feel that the full refund sufficient for this matter.

  Customer response

  08/22/2024

   
  Complaint: 22161725
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  It seems there might be some confusion regarding my experience. On August 16, we checked into the hotel around noon with a two-day reservation. After settling in, we enjoyed time at the pool and returned to our room around 6 PM. 

  At approximately 10:00 PM, I noticed several cockroaches in the bathroom and kitchen sink. I called the front desk, and room service responded promptly with spray. After she continued to spray through out the room, we looked at the bottle to see what the chemicals were and it was a blur air freshener spray. Despite this, additional cockroaches appeared, and the staff member killed it by stepping on it and then left without removing it. 
  
  I spoke with ***** at the front desk, who presented three options: stay in the room with a scheduled deep cleaning, move to another room the following night, or forgo our stay. Given the difficulty of relocating our three young children in the middle of the night, we chose to leave. ***** offered a 50% discount for that night and a full refund for the second night, as well as food and beverage credits.
  
  After evaluating the options, we decided it was too disruptive to move the children in the middle of the night. I requested large plastic bags to protect our luggage, but more cockroaches appeared in the bathroom during the call. 
  
  When housekeeping arrived with the bags, they seemed unprepared to address the cockroaches and left mortified when she saw them everywhere.
  
  ***** called immediately to inform us the room would be refunded in full. He then suggested we move to another room, which was arranged with a rollaway bed and assistance with our luggage. 
  
  Despite this, moving to another room involved several issues: we had to move our luggage ourselves, the rollaway bed was not set up, and the new room was not adequately cleaned (left clothing tags from the previous guests). 
  
  The next morning, at approximately 8:30, ******* informed us that the hotel was fully booked. Given the circumstances and the inconvenience, I requested that the offered food and beverage credits be applied to our previous food and drink expenses. This was not a demand but a request for compensation due to the disruptions to our vacation. She said she would speak to the general manager and get back to us. I had sent multiple emails with no response back. 
  
  I hope this clarifies the situation.

  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  08/23/2024

  Here are the reason why there will be no further refunds. Every item in this list has been verified by the staff:

  1. The Night Manager escorted ************** to new room.

  2. Ms. ****** inspected the room while he was in the room with her. She approved the room.

  3. She now claims the new room wasn't clean after they both inspected it.

  4. She said the Valet didn't help her with their luggage. They did take all here luggage to the new room.

  5. After inspecting the new room she told the Night Manager that she would not stay the second night. She cannot be upset that we were sold out after the fact.

  6. The housekeeping staff set up the roll-a-way bed with new linen.

  7. We gave her a full refund on her credit card. The Cabana Rental was paid and there was no complaint about the F&B and service. So, no refund.

  8. If her second room wasn't cleaned properly(even after she inspected it), then why did she want to stay with us a second night.

  9. Her first room was inspected by our staff the next morning and rented without incident. 

  Due to the above reasons there will be no further correspondence between us. Please, close this case as in good faith she was fully refunded. 

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  05/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Checked into shepards on Monday may 6 for a stay of Monday to Friday. On Tuesday around 1 pm I come up from the pool and walking down the 6th floor hallway and see my door open which had a do not disturb sign up,not only was two people in my room one was going thru my luggage,one was a maid and the lady going thru my luggage was head of housekeeping, when I caught them she said the manager ******* told her to go thru my luggage . The explanation they said is that they thought the room was empty and they wanted to know who luggage was in the room.I stayed Monday thru Friday had a reservation Monday thru Friday confirmation number Monday thru Friday . So I dont know how on day two they thought my room was empty ,not sure if its a criminal theft ring or not or a honest mistake on them.regardless the manager ******* should have not told her workers to go into someones room who had a do not disturb sigh up and go thru someones luggage .not sure if they committed a crime but that has to be a privacy rights violation.my wife didnt sleep the rest of the vacation and it was ruin vacation from that day forward. The thing that gets me is the manager ******* acted like it was no big deal that they went thru our luggage and personal belongings.I was going to file a police report and still might and thought about contacting a lawyer. I wonder if I did t catch them how other many people luggage they have went thru. Wanted to know if any others have had anything like this happen to them there or anything stolen, we not sure if anything was missing or not because we was so overpacked ,still checking on that but I think I caught them in the room right at the start I watched the elevator go to 6th floor come back down then I rode up to 6 th floor so they did t have much time I dont think. To the manager ******* you dont go thru people belongings,you probably wouldnt like someone going thru your purse or dresser or personnel belongings at your house and either do we.

  Business response

  06/04/2024

  Below is the email sent to ****************** on 5/8/24 @ 6:41PM, Please, close this account.

  ******************,
  
  First, let me apologize for our staff entering your room with a Do not Disturb sign on your door.
  I can assure you that there wasnt a nefarious intent in this situation.
  
  In reviewing your room records, the front desk received a call from the bar for a room charge for your room.
  The bar was unable to close out your tab because we inadvertently had your room file checked into the wrong room.
  After a few attempts to call your room, the front desk asked the housekeeping supervisor to check the luggage tag for a name.
  This is the only reason we entered your room.
  
  This situation was unfortunate.  When this happens, we require two people to enter the room,one positioned at the door and the second looking for the luggage tag. 
  This is exactly how you discovered them. We can go years without having to enter a room like this, so this was extremely rare.
  What is even more rare is the guest returning as we try to discover who is in the room.
  
  Our records show when the supervisor entered the room, one piece of luggage was opened while the others were closed. 
  The supervisor didnt have a chance to see any name tags. She explained to you that she was instructed to check the room by the front desk.
  So, we were forced to enter the room to clear up the mystery, which is how we got here.
  
  As soon as they put the mystery together, the front desk apologized several times.
  You were very upset, and you didnt want to discuss it with them. They told you that they would comp your room charge, which we did for $130.27 for the inconvenience.
  I can truly understand why you were in this state of mind.  Both housekeepers have worked for us for over 15 years and are not only dedicated employees but wonderful people.
  I can assure you that they were not trying to steal anything from you.
  
  I know this was upsetting,but I know for sure if anything was missing from your room, our security systems would reveal who accessed your room.
  Our electronic keys can be audited to see who entered the room and at what time. We have security cameras on all floors that retain footage for up to 90 days.
  I truly dont think that these two valued employees would do such a thing.
  
  I am not comfortable with you accusing the housekeepers and the front desk manager of theft.
  Both our housekeeping report and front desk report confirm that you were told why we entered the room.
  They had to correct the guest register as quickly as possible for everyones security.
  Could we have waited until we finally contacted you? We could have.
  Because of the unknown situation, there was a chance that we could never have resolved the situation if we waited.
  
  I am upset that you felt it necessary to contact the BBB after we apologized profusely and credited your food and beverage charge.
  We have been in business since 1977 and have never had a theft issue.
  Also, I am taken aback that you may want to involve law enforcement and a lawyer. Your points have been well taken without the threats.
  
  This truly was a clerical error at the front desk, and it was our mistake.
  Because of this, I have issued a credit for one night totaling $342.39 including tax. You will see the credit on your account within the next few days.
  I know your view of our property would be extremely positive if this situation had not occurred.
  We have a unique resort with a lot of amenities, and I am confident that if you stay with us again in the future, it will be vastly different.
  So, I have placed a note on your guest profile that we will extend your first night complimentary.
  
  Once again please accept our apologies,
  
  
  *********************** I General Manager
  Shephards Beach Resort  
  ************************************************br>**************************************************
  Phone I ************ x 105 I www.shephards.com

• Initial Complaint

  10/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Multiple ants in room after addressing issue. Talked with manager and wanted housekeeping to come again to look despite providing evidence of photos. No other rooms available to accommodate what was needed for family due to size and needs. Wanted to spray chemicals while in room. Family member has asthma. Wanted to move rooms to city view but with special needs child would have not been ideal.

  Business response

  10/30/2023

   

  Email Sent: 

  ******************, I am in receipt of your complaint about ants in your room. First, of all let me apologize about this situation. Unfortunately,from time-to-time ants do get in hotel rooms. I can assure you that we did not knowingly check you into a room with ants. There are two scenarios in which this can occur. The way they get into a room is via balcony doors or via the air conditioner. The second and most common way is that food or drinks are left open in a guest room, and the ants make their way inside. It doesnt take much for them to seek out the open F&B.
  
  You called us around 6 p.m. to alert us about the ants,which was nearly 5 hours after you checked in. The ants were not in the room upon check-in. Our manager on duty discussed the situation with you and you didnt want the room to be sprayed, nor did you want to move. We wanted to correct the situation, but we were unable to. Truly, we want to correct this immediately. Generally, if we spray the room, they usually go away. Because no one wants to see ants in their room, we were more than happy to move you with the assistance of our valet staff. Either option would have corrected this.
  
  You allowed our staff to spray the balcony area and we did a full service the next morning in your room. Because of this inconvenience, we are extending you a complimentary night to revisit us. I have placed a formal note on your profile.
  
  Once again, we are sorry about this situation, and I hope you understand that we tried to correct the situation.

  *********************** General Manager

• Initial Complaint

  08/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My sister and I stayed at this resort 8/2-8/8/23. During the week stay we saw a few individual roaches in our room 626, which I killed. However, on 8/7 we came back to the room with leftovers from a nice restaurant. We went to put the leftovers in the fridge when we discovered a ***** infestation in the fridge. We had to throw out our food and my sister's insulin was in there. We went to the front desk and made a complaint to Ro, the night auditor, who informed us no manager was on-site as it was late. He did promptly have a housekeeper *** come to the room to kill the roaches. However, when *** examined the problem he concluded he couldn't kill all the roaches as there was a tear in the liner of the fridge and the roaches lived in the liner, so the spray couldn't contact all of the roaches. I asked *** if he would return to spray if we seen more roaches and he said he would be leaving for the night soon. So I asked if he could have management follow up with me in the morning. No one followed up. Before check out the next morning I went to the front desk to speak to a manager, however after the front desk lady went to the back she returned and said management is aware of the issue and will call me to discuss it. It is almost 8/13/23 and after several attempts, including responding to emails with surveys from the resort telling them the issue again and again, the resort has failed to reach out at all or even confirm the fridge was removed so other guests don't experience the same issue. I was terrified packing my belongs to leave as we also found roaches in our toiletry bags in the bathroom. I couldn't sleep well having dreams I'd take roaches home from vacation. I have pictures of the roaches and their eggs in the fridge. We spent over $1,800 on the room not including what we spent at the resort. It is unacceptable to not even attempt to respond to this type of issue.

  Business response

  08/15/2023

  This guest was contacted by *************, the ************ Manager. She apologized about the lack of response from the hotel. The room was inspected and there was only the palmetto bugs that was photographed. There was no infestation. Unfortunately these palmetto bugs find their way into guest rooms via the patio glass doors. This was unfortunate and wasn't explained to the guest properly so we credit the guest bill $580.82 for this.. Please , see the attached credit.

  Customer response

  08/16/2023

   
  Complaint: 20462452
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  I did receive a voicemail from ****, unfortunately I was at work and couldn't answer the phone, as well as an email with the attached receipt showing a credit being given to me. Unfortunately that credit transaction hasn't shown on my actual credit card transactions yet. I am unable to take a screenshot of the transactions on my credit card, as there is a privacy policy, but can take a picture when my next statement is generated to show that the credit hasn't come to me. I was waiting a few days to see if it will show before responding. If the credit does come I will be appreciative of that and the apology received. 

   

  However, as shown in the pictures as well as stated by their housekeeper, the fridge does have a tear in the liner in which the housekeeper showed me more than just the bugs in the picture. There were also bugs in my belongs under and on top of the sink. Also there were eggs on and in the liner as they are living in the liner of the fridge, which isn't visible without opening the liner. I sincerely hope that Shephards removes the fridge, sprays, and replaces with a new fridge. Otherwise more guests will have the same experience. I understand bugs getting in through the patio, living in a fridge liner is a bit beyond that.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************************

  Business response

  08/17/2023

  Depending on the bank a credit can take anywhere from 3 to 7 days to post. Seven days is usually a credit union. The credit has been processed on our end and you will be seeing this. Once again we do apologize on the way this was handled.  

  Customer response

  08/17/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  

  I have received the credit from the business and have received an apology, which I appreciate. I do hope that Shephards does better with customer service in the future. Thank you.

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I recently had my wedding there on 10.30.22, and have been waiting for a phone call from a member of the mgmt staff to discuss what occurred on my wedding night . I would like to speak to someone to review the details and experience. I specifically waited at checkout to speak to a member of mgmt, and no one would speak to me. The front desk lady, ****, said, Well who do you want to speak to, theres no one here My question is, who is employed to heed customer complaints? Is there no process or anyone that wants to hear me out?? The night of our wedding there was no communication to any of the staff at wave night club. There was no introduction of us with the turnover of staff. We were treated horribly like we were coming in off the street, and didnt just spend thousands of dollars at our wedding that same night in the same space. My bridal party is of mixed race, and unfortunately the white women were given a pass to get back into the wave nightclub without IDs, whereas the black men/women were scrutinized at the door for IDs. My husband, the groom, attempted to discuss any options with the manager *****. ***** was the most unprofessional unpleasant ridiculous man with a unrespecteed title of manager at the establishment. He is not secure in his position and racial profiled my husband as an aggressive black man stating he put his hands on his arm where my husband was only leaning in to hear and discuss the situation over the loud music. This then escalated into a HUGE racial tension situation that then the police were involved. If it wasnt for the police officer ****** I believe he diffused the situation with the staff, as they were attempting to have us evicted from the property because they did not like the words that were being said by family and bridal party. This was my wedding night, and to say Im appalled is an under statement. This needs to be addressed immediately as we were treated unfairly on our wedding night

  Business response

  11/14/2022

  Please, close this complaint, because we have responded kindly to this complaint via e-mail. Please, see the attached email correspondence. The guest had email us earlier in the day. Additional compensation has been issued beyond the complimentary rooms nights that were issued at check in. 

  Thanks, Very Much.

  ***********************, Resort General

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩