Brian McDonald

Review of Homestead Resort

I have stayed here 3 times. In my mind, the purpo...

I have stayed here 3 times. In my mind, the purpose of a resort like this is to come for the amenities that the resort offers. My intent this trip was to ski and go to the outdoor pool. Despite freezing temperatures, the Homestead was unable to make snow and therefore the skiing was closed throughout my scheduled stay (also despite nearby resorts' agility to create about). I went to use the pool, and it was closed, though there was no sign. I asked at the front desk if the pool would be open, and the employee indicated that there was no reason why it should be open unless I knew something that she didn't. I explained the hours of the pool as posted on the daily activity sheet and at the pool and then she explained there were maintenance issues that was causing ice to form around the pool. I attempted to wait for the concierge, who was absent from her post for at least 20 minutes at which point I asked the bellman if he knew when she would be back. When he couldn't find her, he inquired about my issue and I re explained my issues with the skiing and pool. He told me there were no maintenance issues and they were both weather related. Apparently, in his mind, it was not yet cold enough to make snow on the mountain, but cold enough at the pool to make ice. This, despite the fact that the outdoor pool in the spa was open for a fee, but not for minors. He argued with me for a while rather and insisted that there was no fault on behalf of the hotel because it was not a maintenance issues. After already being frustrated with broken amenities, that was about the last thing I wanted was to be told I'm wrong via inconsistent excuses. This was just poor customer service. In addition and prior to this, the front desk tried to convince me at check in that they upgraded me from a king bed with roll away for my 15 year old son to two doubles. When I checked in, there were several bugs in the room that I had to kill.

I ended up checking out a day early despite pre paying for 3 days. Between their lost revenue from my family for lunch, dinner, another breakfast, and probably drinks, I assume they lost $250 or so, which I'm sure is a drop in the bucket for them, but is the real cost for a lack of proper maintenance and good customer service. I will also strongly encourage my company to bypass the Homestead for future corporate parties based on their consistent failures. Hopefully if the $250 doesn't get their attention, the loss of business for ~100 rooms for 3 nights, a meeting room, a hospitality room, a dinner and 3 days of lost revenue for activities, food, and drink will get their attention. Nemacolin and The Greenbrier are just as close to DC, offer similar amenities, and have provided much better experiences.