FOUNDERS INN

By Trip Tutorial User from Louisville, KY • If you think you have a room because you paid for it already, don't be so sure!!!

Overall Rating: 2    • Service [2]

On arriving at the Founders Inn, we found ourselves 20+ deep at the front desk with only 2 people working to check the patrons in. Once at the desk we found our room, although paid for, wasn't available. Founders Inn explained "our room was still occupied and they don't have the authority to set the current occupants out. That is the law." This room had been confirmed and pa... [more]id for a month in advance. We were then instructed the shuttle would take us over to the Holiday Inn right down the road. Down the road and back on to the freeway, about a 15 minute drive, we arrived at Holiday Inn. We gave Holiday Inn the letter that Founders Inn had made up previous to our arrival. Holiday Inn hadn't been contacted by Founders to determine if they had rooms available. Holiday Inn had already recieved 3 other Founders Inn rejects and according to the phone call Holiday Inn initiated to Founders Inn with our check in should expect 14 more.
I travel quite frequently and in all my travels with a confirmed paid room awaiting have never had to find different accomodations than was expected. Founders Inn felt no remorse for the steps they were taking and told us to take it up with the state legislator? This, I can only assume was their way to shirk their responsibilty.
Our reason for being at Founders Inn was that's were the bride had picked to have her wedding. Being moved to a different hotel than the one the wedding/reception was being performed at was a big disposition for us and 4 other couples in our group.
Hopefully the rooms will be refunded without hesitation. Founders Inn handled this very poorly. This isn't an unusual occurrence there either. Unless you're going there for a conference, which Founders wouldn't want to loose next year, I would stay some where else. The few workers I had to deal with, were very stuffy and could care less. [less]
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By Trip Tutorial User from Madison, NC • Better than the Ocean Front

Overall Rating: 10   Location [10] • Room [10] • Service [10] • Value [10]

We had to make a choice to either spend $100 more and stay on the ocean - or save a little money by staying at The Founder's Inn. We could not have made a better choice.
The double QUEEN room was fantastic (feather beds and wireless internet)! Very quiet and relaxing. HOT, full course breakfast was including with our room. The pool and fitness center was EXCELLENT. And we even got ... [more]to see a garden wedding while lounging at the pool.
The staff was incredible and very accomodating. One warning - have tip money handy because they won't let you do anything on your own. When we return to Tidewater, we won't consider staying any where else. [less]
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By Trip Tutorial User from Schaumburg, IL • We were disappointed.

Overall Rating: 6   Location [6] • Room [6] • Service [6] • Value [4]

The Founders Inn has a great photographer, because the pictures we saw on the web made us think we were booking a luxury hotel, but, actually, this place is nothing special. Certain areas, like the lobby, are elaborately decorated, if you like that sort of thing. Our room was an eye-popping collage of mismatched patterns and colors, ranging from the rainbow-striped carpet to the aqua baroque dra... [more]pes. The room was quite small, with few ammenities, and was in a general state of disrepair: the sink was chipped; the wall was stained; the easy chair seemed worn and dirty. Of course, I cannot testify about the rooms in the main inn, since we were stuck in one of the "lodges," aka slave quarters, on the hotel campus. This was a complete surprise to us; at no time during the reservation process were we told that we would be in a satellite lodge.

I rated the service a 3 as an average of 5 and 1. The staff we met on the first night were so rude and nosy that we felt quite affronted. They flatly refused to let us use a luggage cart, saying only their employees were allowed to push one. Since we then decided to hand carry our luggage to the room rather than letting the bell staff have access to it, their curiosity must have been piqued, and they sent a crew of 3 snoopers to come to our door and have a look inside, with the excuse of bringing a portable playpen (which our children are both too old for). We sent them away, but not until they had craned their necks at the doorway, getting an eyeful. However, later experiences with different staff members were very good, and one man at the desk was extremely accomodating.

On another positive note, the food was excellent, and the room service waiter was attentive and kind. Next time we are in Virginia Beach, we will stay elsewhere, and visit the Founder's Inn restaurant. [less]
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