I had the most amazing experience spending time on Block Island, RI (view on map) last weekend. Everything about the island itself was fantastic, but there’s a customer service incident worth telling you about.
My friend and I arrived to the island around 9 am and knew there would be no way we could check-in that early. That being said, we had breakfast and made our way to the Atlantic Inn to drop our bags and then head to the beach.
Around 1:30 pm we left the beach to go check-in, but unfortunately that didn’t go as planned. The attendant informed us that “the rooms will not be ready until 3 pm.” I had previous knowledge that the room we were staying in was not occupied the night before so this remotely confused me.
I pressed forward and said, “Is there any chance you can check to see if the room we will be staying in is ready?” He responded by saying, “Unfortunately the rooms won’t be ready until 3 pm.” I then said, “So you are saying that housekeeping is currently in the midst of cleaning every available room?” He shrugged.
The manager then came out and stated that “it’s our policy not to allow check-ins before 3 pm.” I followed up with, “Even if the room is ready and you have guest that have been patiently waiting since early this morning?” She said, “That’s our policy sir.”
We turned around and walked off feeling a bit shocked that they were so hard pressed on this “policy.” Had they let us check in 1.5 hrs early (to our room that was ready) it would have been very much appreciated, and cost them nothing. Instead, the experience turned negative and it’s now the topic of this blog post and will result in me sharing my experience on TripAdvisor (which is something I don’t normally do).
This scenario was such a simple “win” for the Atlantic Inn, but the manager blew it. I appreciate policies, but I’ve stayed at a ton of hotels and the standard seems to be that if a room is ready guests are typically accommodated. It’s unfortunate that the Inn has such strict polices on an island that practically forces you to relax.
All that aside, if you have the chance to visit Block Island you should definitely do so. It’s probably one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been in the states. Check a few of the photos below.
