Inn by the Sea

My experience at Inn by the Sea in Maine was absolutely appalling. For a hotel charging nearly $2,000 for ONE NIGHT, I expected exceptional hospitality. Instead, my friend and I experienced some of the worst customer service and most aggressive treatment I have ever encountered at a hotel. We felt bullied, harassed, discriminated against and relentlessly pressured by staff, particularly Eve (GUEST RELATIONS MANAGER!!!). We received repeated calls to our personal cell phones, calls to our hotel room, and emails. Rather than feeling like welcomed guests at an expensive resort, we felt targeted and hounded. The situation became so uncomfortable that I genuinely felt like I was going to have a panic attack. We ultimately felt we had no choice but to leave immediately. And anyone considering staying here with a dog should be EXTREMELY CAREFUL. Inn by the Sea heavily promotes itself as dog-friendly, but our experience was the complete opposite. We were confronted with a $250 charge related to our dog barking that we had not understood would be imposed when we booked. If a hotel is going to impose substantial penalties or fees on guests traveling with pets, those terms should be made unmistakably clear before someone spends thousands of dollars on a reservation. The lack of transparency around charges was one of the most disturbing parts of this experience. When you’re already paying nearly $2,000 for a single night, the last thing you should have to worry about is discovering additional fees and penalties that you did not knowingly agree to. My strongest warning to anyone thinking about booking Inn by the Sea: GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING BEFORE YOU GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY. Ask for a complete written list of every possible fee, pet charge, penalty, restriction, and circumstance that could result in an additional charge. Do not simply rely on the description of this property as “dog-friendly.” Read every policy carefully, take screenshots, and ask specifically what they can charge you for after you arrive. Based on what happened to us, I would never stay here again and would strongly warn friends, family, and other travelers against booking this hotel without thoroughly investigating every potential charge first. Spending almost $2,000 for one night only to feel harassed, unwelcome, blindsided by additional charges, and so distressed that we had to leave is completely unacceptable. Additionally, I tried to call the hotel manager Alex to ask about 2 unknown charges, and just like his friend Eve he was passive aggressive and basically told me “too bad, deal with it.” This was supposed to be a luxury hotel stay. Instead, it was a nightmare. Buyer beware.

If it was possible to give a billion stars, I would. This is probably one of the best hotels I've ever stayed at. I love it love it love it! Our room was humongous and it had an ocean view. The weather was beautiful, the hotel staff were very nice, the hotel was spectacular. There are not enough words in the world to describe how much I love this hotel. There were two separate bedrooms, a big bathroom, a very nice bathtub, there were boardgames to play, and the patio had a big table and chairs to sit out on. Everything was perfect. The living room was beautiful too. I just love this place and I cannot wait to go back.

Love IBTS which is our favorite place to stay during the summer in New England. The scenery, rooms, and food are amazing. The staff polite, relaxed, and responsive.

Beautiful resort close to the beach in Cape Elizabeth. The guest rooms are beautifully appointed. Our room faces the water but we had to take the elevator up and then walk down steps to our ground floor room. The location could pose a problem for some guests. There is one restaurant and bar and the selections are limited.

My family and I booked the hotel’s largest and most expensive room. We did NOT receive service or treatment from the hotel commensurate with the exorbitant nightly rate that the hotel so eagerly took from us. Midway through what was supposed to be a seven night stay, we were summoned back home. Our dog had emergency surgery to save his life. When I informed the hotel, they promised to “try” to resell the room and inform me whether they were successful. The hotel never called. Predictably, they said their resale efforts yielded nothing. I asked for evidence showing the hotel’s resale efforts. The hotel refused to give me anything. My request for a future hotel credit for the 3 nights we had to forfeit was met with an equally inflexible response. “No,” they said. For a hotel that prides itself on being dog friendly, this was the exact opposite. But that’s not all. For about half of our stay, our neighbor had one or two small, but aggressive dogs that barked incessantly. And when I asked for compensation for this nuisance, the hotel, again, refused to do anything. Instead, they said that I “should have complained sooner.” But this ignores the scores of hotel staff that walked by these dogs everyday. Needless to say, we will never return to this hotel nor recommend it to anyone because when we needed compassion and simple understanding, we got nothing. Stay at your own risk.