Hotel in zona YMCA of Martha's Vineyard, Oak Bluffs

Having stayed at countless IHG properties throughout the years, my partner and I usually are content and happy with our stays. However, this time around was not that case. More so, our stay at the Holiday Inn Cape Cod Falmouth was one of our worst hotel experiences ever. In fact, it was so awful that we actually left a day early and sacrificed a fully paid night. We faced many issues at this sad and rundown place starting with the extremely noisy room heater. The heater was so loud that we had maintenance came by to fix it and yet the noise was still as loud as a plane engine. We tried to change rooms but were told the hotel was fully booked and that we were stuck with the room. Considering the parking lot was not even a quarter full and that we did not see more than a few guests on the property in the less than 24 hours we were at the hotel, it felt like we were either being lied to or that many of the rooms were blocked off and not rented out. Since we were stuck in the room with the extremely noisy heater, we decided on shutting it off at night so that we could sleep. Freezing in the room (it was 20 degrees outside that night and yes we did freeze) was more appealing than being warm but being kept awake by the loud noise all night long. Unsurprisingly, we did not get a good night sleep, whatsoever. Our next issue was the bathroom. Not only was it very small and cramped, but, the tub a while to drain, and, worse, the shower had black mold. Even though the room itself was musty and in need of a major renovation, the bathroom was so bad that it made us almost forget how smelly and outdated and dirty the room itself was. As said earlier, we were stuck in this hellhole of a room with toxic black mold because the hotel was supposedly booked solid. The last major issue we had was not with the room but with the fitness center. We lower our expectations at many hotels, knowing their fitness centers are not going to be as well equipped as most gyms. However, we do expect that there would be towels, hand sanitizing liquid, and other items that could cut down on health hazards. We must have had too high of expectations as the fitness center did not have any of those items. Even the bathroom in the fitness center was out of order. Looking back on our stay this hotel, IHG should be appalled. It is chock full of issues, especially health hazards. This hotel clearly needs a full on renovation/overhaul. Until it does, I recommend avoiding this place at all costs.

I had low hopes for this stay and those hopes were even beyond than I could have imagined. We walked into the room and it already smelled like dead fish. The room looked somewhat updated but don’t be deceived. I logged into my computer to finish work for the day and was greeted with tiny flies. They swarmed my head and became more annoying as I sat there on my call. I then went to get my bathing suit and there were bugs on my bag and some of my clothes since my bag had been opened so my kids could get their bathing suit. First floor room, zero privacy, people constantly walking by and looking in to see what was going on in the room, closing the shades meant being a vampire on a beautiful day. I finally head out to the pool and thought something was wrong with the pool, it was beyond cloudy clearly over chlorinated. Not a single pool towel could be found either. Day 2 more bugs in the room. They give you shampoo, body wash, and a soap bar but no conditioner. the towels were a perfect size for our toddler not an adult and they only gave you 2. No tissue box under the tissue dispenser. TV would turn on but never worked. Two doors in the room, there should be a high deadbolt especially for first floor rooms. We had to barricade the doors at night to ensure the kids didn’t get up and leave the room. By day 3, we were ready to leave and the fridge is finally cold. It’s like they tried to update it cheaply but its true colors came out. Can’t put lipstick on a pig, it just doesn’t work.

We were so looking forward to the long weekend. I am not a camper but the kids had been asking. When I found what looked like carefree glamping, I thought it was perfect. Check in time is later - 4 p.m. - but I thought we'd at least get the chance to walk the grounds and hang out. When we got there we couldn't find a parking space anywhere so we drove up to the front of the clubhouse and there was a large wedding reception. We literally walked into someone's wedding reception with our luggage. It was so loud we couldn't hear any details from the front desk. We grabbed our keycards and were bummed to see that the entire clubhouse and lawn were taken by the wedding. This is a big part of their advertisement. The space doesn't lend itself to hosting a function like that and not having it be at the expense of the guests not attending the wedding. An earlier check-in or some sort of acknowledgment you were being cheated would've gone a long way in the hospitality dept. We got to our airstream which was clean and in a good spot. However, we were sparse on any extras - cookware, flatware, outdoor lights (no latern), matches. As I mentioned - not a camper and this felt like you still needed to bring everything so what am I paying a premium for? The wedding was also super loud so we spent the first night inside our very crammed quarters. Didn't hear much after 10 though so it was an early shutdown. When I made the reservation I asked if the pull out would fit two kids and was told that would be fine. It was incredibly tight and uncomfortable. It's a very small, thin lean back which leaves a big space right down the middle which we stuffed with towels. The bathrooms are large and modern. The water pressure is better than I anticipated for a campground. The next day there was granola, tea, coffee and cocoa with other items available for purchase. At around $450/nt I think a big tub of granola is a bit sad. A toaster with bread or yogurt to go with the granola would've looked like at least some effort was made for the cost. Overall, a cute idea that looks great for your social photos but not at all worth the price. And, the space simply doesn't lend itself to having a large function that overtakes all of the common areas.

My wife and I go in February most years. The units are nice and roomy (about 1100 s.f.). Front desk staff is helpful and very nice. It is within half an hour of any of the places we like to frequent on the Cape. We have found, over the years, a unit or two that might be in need of a little updating, bit overall our experiences there have been very positive. Very well equipped kitchen, a bedroom up and a bedroom down, fireplaced L.R. Just a terrific place to skip down to for a little winter getaway an hour and a half away from home.