The Omni Grove Park Inn

My husband and I have a getaway to the Omni Grove Park Inn each year. Lovely staff. Amazing restaurants. We were provided with everything that we needed in our room. The club floor was spectacular. We could spend days exploring and learning about the history of the Inn. Our golf outing was exceptional and the spa never disappoints. This will forever be our favorite place.

Let me preface this review by saying that I have had the pleasure of staying at some of the finest hotels in the world. I currently hold lifetime status at both American and United Airlines and am a Lifetime Marriott Titanium Elite member. So we arrived at the Omni and it was majestic to pick a word. Our expectations were high based on the online description and the beautiful property. Unfortunately they did very little to live up to the expectations which they had set. This is truly a 2 star property at a 5 star + price. Where do I start: Check in was lengthy but smooth until I followed their directions to park. My key would not work in the gate so I pulled a ticket. I had sent my partner to the room from the lobby along with Chico, my traveling Bicheon, so that there would be someone to accept the luggage from the bellman. After a bit I decided to go to the lobby and check on luggage. This place is massive and sprawling and it sadly lacking good signage to help guests get where they want to go easily. After wandering around lost for more than 15 minutes and touring the spa and other “caves” I finally found my way to the concierge desk. They checked on the luggage which was still waiting to be delivered, I gave them the parking ticket to which they responded that the gate was inconsistent and “acting up” but they remade my key just in case. I commented on being lost and the lack of directional signage and the concierge commented that the GM didn’t like signs and the ones that did exist were so small they were easy to miss. After finding my way back to the room we waited an additional 20 minutes for our luggage and needed to rush in order to make our dinner reservation at Edison. As it turns out, there was no need to be in a rush. We arrived on time. There were two other groups waiting…and waiting….and waiting to just check in for our reservation but the host station was totally ignored for almost 15 minutes despite numerous employees scurrying around arranging menus etc. Finally the hostess broke away from her socializing to help us. In all fairness, it may have been her breaktime and likely management’s fault that customers were not being taken care of. So far, not such good impressions. Since this is lengthy, I will just recap the other issues. 1- Bathroom – The shower was awful. First of all the shower head was so high my partner could not reach it and I barely could on tippy toes. The water pressure was very weak and the shower head looked like a $5 Lowes bargain head. There are no grab bars in the shower so for us older individuals it is very unsafe. The bathroom amenities were so tiny that there was not enough body was for two people. 2- Housekeeping was hit or miss and they did not bother to replace the bath amenities one day and the in room coffee the next day. Also it appeared that it was no one’s responsibility for upkeep in the halls at we watched room service items sit on the floor in the hallway for 2 days. Also they appear to have a practice of using cups to throw water on the windows. I got caught in the “splash zone” while they were busy “cleaning” the windows and the water was being thrown out the windows onto the walkway. 3- The bed was very uncomfortable, and the pillows were awful. Between that and the constant mechanical roar that was funneled through our room we barely slept the 3 nights we were there . The shower and bed at the $69 Baymont Inn I stayed at recently was far superior. 4- The Omni is “pet friendly” for a friendly fee of $250 and per their website is supposed to include dog amenities like bowls and treats. Those were not offered to us. Also the “poop disposal” can was next to overflowing the first night and for the consecutive days it was never emptied. It was gross and we started disposing of our bags in another trash bin elsewhere because it smelled so badly and we did not want to even touch the can to open the lid. You would think for $250 per pet they could at least dump the trash. In general, this was a very pedestrian stay that nowhere lived up to the promise of luxury. We would have been far more well served to stay at one of the hotels in downtown Asheville which likely would have been more comfortable and far more convenient. Unless you are a golfer, the Omni is somewhat isolated in comparison to everything else Asheville has to offer. Don’t get sucked in by the promise of a high end hotel experience. This place does not even come close to a Ritz, St. Regis, a Mandarin, a Four Seasons or a Shang-ra-la even though they promote it and price it as such.

Overall, my experience at the Omni was incredible. It was equally adventurous as it was relaxing. The spa was an amazing experience and the pool photos online do not do it justice! The food & beverage is fantastic. All of the staff was extremely friendly, accommodating and happy to provide service. We brought our 5-month old and he was well accommodated for, and everyone was so kind with him and towards us for having him with us. I would definitely come back either with my family or on a couples getaway.

This trip was supposed to be very special as it was our 35th anniversary, I had upgrounded the room or so I thought as you can see with the pictures there was even bodily fluids on the ottoman and it was supposed to be mountain views however it was views of people playing golf. Once checked in we went down and told them of the issues and the only choice we had was one other room that had a tub that felt like sandpaper since it was "concrete" and you had a huge step up to go to the restroom. The only thing they done was gave us the price difference in the room. Elizabeth did comp a meal in one of the restaurants and we told her she didn't have to but that food is was over priced and didn't have what you would call real seafood anyway. We either door dashed or went off grounds to eat. The spa is not unisex as most of the activities there you have to do with other women or men and not with your partner they don't tell you that in advance. They charge a gratuity of 22% on top of the $200 each for more or less a swimming pool. It was not the trip we thought it would be and needless to say we will find somewhere else for our 36th. I certainly would have expected a much more clean and nice environment for the prices and the general manager told my husband that pictures were taken over 20 years ago and that is normal and we should have expected that. I actually would have left the hotel had it not been 5 hours away and would not have had a place to celebrate at the last minute.

Hopefully this is a trend that every hotel will copy, the spa was legendary just check out the photos. Gorgeous property, prompt service, excellent food. Will return.