Unscripted Durham

Chesley Waddell

I had higher expectations. I’m pregnant and wanted to fun night away so we booked a night at the hotel. Everything about the stay has been great but the blonde lifeguard/server at the pool was extremely rude to us. I had a hotel branded bottle of a water with me and was told I couldn’t bring it in. I’m clearly pregnant and it’s summer time so I need water. I was told I’d need to purchase a new water even though I had the same unopened bottle water from my room that they were selling. Next time going across the street to 21C.

Jake Nelson

Staff was extremely professional and respectful. Service at the poolside was attentive and courteous, but I was very disappointed to learn their staff is not allowed to sit down even when the temps are above 95 degrees. That’s a sign of management that is MUCH less attentive and courteous than their staff. Shame!

Tyler B

Pros, room was clean and the location is great. For the negatives, a lot. If booking through anything other than the hotel’s site be aware that an “interior” room has no windows, and barely enough room to get out of bed. It’s so small in fact that you can’t take a shower without the steam setting off the smoke alarm, which according to two staff members happens with some regularity. After multiple calls to the desk and 20-25 minutes it was not shut off (can’t be shut off in the room) so we ended up leaving our room well before we intended to check out, while the alarm was still screeching. That same smoke alarm also has a very bright flashing LED all night which doesn’t make for a great night’s sleep in an otherwise pitch black room WITH NO WINDOWS. Also parking is an additional $20. Resort fee another $10. So what is just supposed to be a simple and affordable place to crash becomes a $200 windowless closet with bad service and an unusable shower. I addressed these issues with the manager, Paul, who was quite curt and offered no apology or resolution, and borderline accused me of being cheap for not wanting to upgrade to a room with windows. Fortunately the third party I booked through offered some restitution. But honestly I wouldn’t stay here again. It’s trendy but WAY overpriced for how little you get and a how poorly the manager runs the establishment. Also the pool (which was closed) is basically the size of a hot tub if you’re interested in that. Try The Durham next door instead.

Susan Jennings

I went with a group of 7 friends last week to eat in the igloos. It was really fun and a beautiful night to be there. Our waiter was very attentive and friendly. I personally really appreciate that they have an extensive nonalcoholic drink menu because I don’t drink alcohol and it is often hard to find good nonalcoholic drink options. I got the ginger beer mocktail which was really good. We ordered a ton of food because we knew we had to make the spending minimum. We liked all the apps. The entrees were not as exciting in my opinion. I got the burger which was just fine but nothing special. We brought our own birthday cake and they sliced it and served it for us without charging a plating fee which was nice. We ended up staying an extra hour past our time slot and we really appreciated not feeling rushed. We were some of the only people there so it would have been rude for them to kick us out, which I know has happened in the past. I know this place has gotten negative reviews in the past for a variety of reasons but overall we had a lot of fun and the igloo atmosphere is super cool.