Cliff View Inn is a delightful lodge on the Jackson River, about 5 miles north of Covington. It offers 9 bedrooms and 9 baths, great views of the looming cliffs and is surrounded by an 18-hole golf course. My close group of friends who have been getting together on camping expeditions and trips for 41 years have been staying there, renting the entire inn for the past 15 years or so. Mostly, we’ve had wonderful trips, but not this one.
We had booked the Inn for the third week of April 2021 back in October of 2020 with the owner and confirmed the reservation just three weeks ago, but when we arrived, three other guests had already checked in. We rent the inn on an exclusive basis. We have made it perfectly clear that if we can’t have the inn to ourselves, we would make other arrangements. That was non-negotiable. I had hoped that maybe the other three had a late check-out or something and would soon leave. We asked what the situation was and the son of the owners, now in charge, said that someone who took the recent reservations for the three guests did not know that it had already been reserved, and that was that.
What that apparently means is that multiple people take reservations and are remiss in checking with others about previous bookings.
This is most difficult to accept because Cliff View can now be booked on-line by various agents. TripAdvisor would not be happy to make bookings that were not honored. That is a cardinal sin in the hospitality industry.
We were totally miffed and our semi-annual get-together had been ruined, but people make mistakes. When most people make mistakes, however, they say, “I’m sorry. What can I do to make this up to you.”
Strangely, there was no apology. Rather, we received something of a lecture and an ultimatum.
Either stay at the inn and share the kitchen, dining room and limited living quarters with three perfect strangers or turn around and go home. Take it or leave it.
We left, and we won’t be coming back.