The Essex Resort & Spa

Leticia was my server, and she was AMAZING!! Attentive, friendly, and great sense of humor! Offered great tips for things to do at the Inn.

Sadly, I was unable to book 2 rooms for my family of 4 at the Essex Resort and Spa to celebrate the New Year despite trying to pay for them after successfully securing them in my cart. Turns out, when booking two rooms and paying on one credit card the online system will tell you that the purchase did not go through, but may still charge you for one! When I initially called the resort last Friday evening to find out why my reservation request for 2 rooms wouldn't go through despite repeated attempts to pay and both rooms visible in my cart, I was told that the New Year's Eve date had all sold out and that is why the entire purchase was unable to be confirmed online. I was disappointed I couldn't reserve the rooms, but never expected to be charged anything especially after speaking to the manager TJ that night who was looking at my account online in real time and knew what dates I was trying to book. To my surprise, the next day, my son noticed an email confirmation for his room and after checking my email, I was cc'd on his confirmation for one room only. This was despite the fact that both the credit card charged and the first room reserved was in my name. I was charged 700 dollars for one room without receiving any confirmation of this in the online system or by TJ, the manager I spoke to that evening who confirmed that nothing went through. TJ did tell me that I would be put on a wait list for a cancellation (Friday evening) for what I assumed was for a 2 rooms opening. When I called on Monday afternoon, after discovering my credit card was actually charged for one room when the original request was for two and being told by a manager nothing went through Olivia, the supervisor seemed confused. When I asked if there had been any cancellations, after checking, she admitted my name wasn't even on the list. After Olivia added my name for a one room cancellation with hopes of securing the one room that we now knew we needed to plan our trip. When I again asked to speak to a manager about how my credit card would be charged for one room and what the reimbursement process would be should another room not become available in time (to insure I wouldn't have to pay any penalties)no one returned my call. I called again at the end of the week (today, Friday) and finally connected with Ben the manager there. After a great deal of time and multiple conversations all they offered me was a return of the charge w/out penalty 3 days before the booking which I think I could've secured readily through my credit card company as a reservation for one room was never what I had agreed to "purchase" or even knew was being charged to my card at the time of purchase.. When I asked if anything could be done to prevent this in the future I was told by Ben that marketing is responsible for their website and not the finance or billing department and that there was nothing he could do about it. He admitted this could easily happen again when ordering 2 rooms. Very frustrating experience overall and poor customer service when their IT system is found to be at fault - not to mention never making it onto a cancellation list in the first place which we can probably attribute to human error. Be warned - the Essex is not a smoothly running machine and you may/will be asked to pay for it.

We arrived after a drive from Maine and were greeted by front desk reception next to a display of delicious baked goods made on premises. The entry was inviting and warm, already decorated for Christmas. The room was one of the smaller ones and was extremely clean and comfortable overlooking the front lawn of the main building. We all slept well with no noise interruptions. We ate at the Tavern for dinner and breakfast both were very good, food was delicious and well presented, servers were personable but not intrusive. Indoor pool was beautiful, and the sauna and steam room were easy access. One family member had a hot rock massage at the Spa and loved it. Although it was a brisk 30 degrees we visited the goats in the backyard and fed them some pellets from the front desk. Every member of the staff was lovely and responsive. Definitely recommend a stay.

We enjoyed a relaxing dinner here in the quiet back room at the junction. The food and wine were exquisite. The room was so clean and atmosphere was very inviting. Our waitress, Leticia, was so helpful and brought joy to our table. We can not wait wait to come again!

Wonderful service. Leticia was great. So kind, informative, funny, and respectful. Had an amazing time and she made our night.