REVIEW: CHERRY GROVE BEACH HOTEL

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THE CHERRY GROVE BEACH HOTEL
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CHERRY GROVE FIRE ISLAND NEW YORK
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Junk Stored At Grove Hotel

Molded Grove Hotel Bathrooms


I just got back from one of my favorite places, Cherry Grove in Fire Island. Over the next week, I am going to give our millions of readers reviews on several places there, but the first one I have to give you is on The Cherry Grove Beach Hotel. And it is not happy. Having stayed there so many times over the years, I knew this was no Hilton Hotel. But they always had reasonable rates ( compared to Fire Island standards ) and last summer the place was sold to a new owner. I have been very busy all summer in the Hampton's and working on our websites, but after so many e-mails from the new owners saying how packed the place was and when I looked at their website, all the rooms now had Air Conditioning and TV's, and even know the room rates went up a huge amount, I booked a room there thinking the place was finally fixed up. How wrong I was.
The Cherry Grove Beach Hotel is the biggest dump I ever saw, worse than when the old owners had it. There rates for this dump vary from day to day but they go as high as $500.00 a night. And you may ask what do you get for this? Well you don't get beds like they advertise, you get more like cots. You get a bathroom with mold all over the ceilings, walls with pipes hanging out of the walls, ripped carpeting, linen that is never changed while you are there and windows that are painted shut. You get a TV that almost every channel says can't get a signal. The lock on the door was broken and every time it took me 10 minutes jiggling the key to get in. My lungs are killing me from breathing all the mold spores in the room. I woke up with bite marks everywhere, and I don't know what was biting me in that room. You can't even go to the front desk and complain and check out and get a refund, because they do not give refunds. There website uses photos from probably 25 years ago of everyone dancing in there club the Ice Palace. It says dance till dawn. I guess you could, but you would be dancing by yourself. Even at there highpoint on Saturday night, the place would be considered dead by almost any club standard. There looked to be very few people even booked into the hotel. They used to give after summer discounts, but this new owner still thinks its summer with these outrageous prices.
I talked to one guest from New Orleans. He said he had been coming there for years and would never stay again. He is going to go to the Belvedere, which is one of the best guest houses anywhere. I talked to Fire Island residents and former business owners there. They said because of the shape of the hotel and the very high prices, people are just going elsewhere and the businesses all over Cherry Grove are suffering. I had my best friend come over to the island and he was so disgusted by the room, he went elsewhere. The fact remains, you can get along just so much by ripping off customers before they go somewhere else. I consider this hotel unsafe, Garbage and wood stored on the side of the hotel, Rusted fire extinguishers. Toilets that take 3 or 4 flushes to flush. No ice machine and they tell you to go to the bar, but if it isn't open, you are out of luck.
One last note, I also noticed that the owners apartment on top of this garbage dump was being renovated to look beautiful. I saw them working on french doors and workers painting his place. Nice to have another greedy business owner in Cherry Grove !

Comments

Anonymous said…
James
Having just battled mold in the lungs from a work place... and a 10 day hospital trip... I would report them to the county health department. This stuff is NOT healthy to breath in and damn well might kill a person! PS You can check out a place with a ten dollar mold testing kit from hardware stores. I suggest everyone check their homes and their work places. Much of the US has had excessive rain this year.
Anonymous said…
Wow. I love the Grove Hotel, but what you're saying is true. Insiders stay there because we know it's a dump and go there when we want to act like pigs. A newbie to Cherry Grove would be shocked, as I was my first time there. It was a long time before I was convinced to go back. I went with trepidation, but after a fun filled night at Cherry's, meeting the a young hunk, seeing the expression on my roommate's face when he flug open the hotel room door to see me bent over one of those cot like beds on my knees panting and moaning, I can't complain. It is way overpriced though. I'd compare it to a run down Motel 6 and think that $75/night is the max they should charge for a Saturday night there. I was kept away more because of the limited ferry service and their awkward hours that make me feel trapped out there. For example, I need to be back in NYC on Sunday mornings before 11AM to sing in a choir, but the first ferry gets me in too late. I can never get a ferry when I want to go spontaneously, so it takes long range planning to go there only when I know I don't have to be back in the city for a few days(never). The prices do make Fire Island prohibitive in general and that's why you usually see the same old trolls there year after year instead of new young blood in the Meat Rack, like you used to. Now the main thing you'll find there are macho "straight" Mexican workers that will let you give them a BJ. As far as the Belvedere goes, I'm sorry to disagree with you. Their prices are outrageous! Something's gotta give if Cherry Grove is gonna survive. The handful of places to stay is pushing customers like me away.
James Edstrom said…
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Anonymous said…
I've stayed at the Grove many times based on location and price. The rooms are absolutely awful. I was set to book there again when I decided to check out the Belvedere after a long absence. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I could actually get a room at the Belvedere more reasonably than at the Grove, and for a bit more I could book a deluxe terrace room looking out over the bay (which I promptly booked). I know from my Cherry Grove visit last year that Belvedere has done some serious renovation since I last stayed there, so I'm eagerly anticipating a great experience this summer.
Anonymous said…
or check out the dune point inn...www.dunepointfireisland.com
Anonymous said…
I stayed at the Grove Hotel for two nights. On the second night while I was in bed with my partner we heard some snickering from outside our window. Our blinds were closed, the door was closed. I looked through the blinds and saw four men scream like girls and then run away laughing. I saw all of their faces. Two of them were staff members.

Unless you are into lecherous staff members spying on you during intimate moments don't go. Disgusting. I'll never be back and will never recommend this place to anyone. I was completely embarrassed and humiliated and it ruined our trip.
James Edstrom said…
I think the place is horrible... No concern for the guests and it's all about getting every last dollar. Stay at the Dune Point Inn, ask for Petra, and you will love your stay..

James