I went to Steinhatchee in March of 2010 to check out the town. We know many
families that come to Steinhatchee to scallop every year. First trip was fine.
Was told by Julie and Madonna we could bring our dogs when we came back in July.
We also wanted to stay at the Steinhatchee Landing in July. A couple (Dean is
the husband-forget the wife's name) own Steinhatchee Landing (the husband) and
River Inn (the wife).
Put a deposit down in March at the Steinhatcee River Inn for our trip in July.
I paid for a U Haul for 7 days, plus extra insurance in case of damage/wreck,
drove 3 1/2 hours to get there. Once we got there we were told by Madonna that
the owner was upset because she saw one of the dogs. I was told later by the
owner that she was upset when she saw a crate. So don't know who is telling the truth. Regardless, the owner and manager allowed us to check in with our 3 dogs that we got prior approval from Madonna and Julie to bring.
Anyway, that was our first night. Obviously if we had not had permission we
would not have been allowed a key to the room. The room they put us in this time
was nasty. It was one of the rooms they allow dogs in. There was no where else
to go as the town was booked for scallop season.
A few days later we were told we had to leave because the owner did not want the
dogs there. She said there were too many problems.
One of my dogs loves to swim and jumped in the pool.
The other incident happened on the 4th of July (it was pouring down rain and the grills at the hotel were not covered) when I lit a mini/personal charcoal grilll (fits 6 hot dogs max) on the porch. Those were the reasons we had to leave according to Julie and the owner.
1. The dog jumped in
the pool
2. Where I lit the grill
3. Because we had dogs.
I was told by Julie in March that it would be great for my dogs to play with her
dog Hoss/Doberman. She said the owners were going to fence in an area for her
dog and they would all have an area to play. She said the owners had gone to
Georgia, that they own a cotton field and when they came back the area would get
fenced in.
Also when I called before I made reservations in March I was told they had a
pool. I asked to be sure so the kids could swim. When we got there Madonna said
we could not swim in the pool because it had not been cleaned. The next day
Madonna left to go to Gainesville (I believe it was Gainesville...maybe
Jacksonville) for something medical with her daughter and grandbaby. When she
left Julie said we could all swim in the pool. We did all day. The next day
Madonna came back and said we couldn't.
Why would I come to a hotel with 3 kids that can't swim in a pool? I left Julie
about 40.00 dollars worth of food. I told her there wasn't room in my SUV. She
said make sure I give it to her so Madonna doesn't take it and rolled her eyes.
I also told her I would send her dog Hoss 2 new dog collars. The one he had on was broken and rigged to stay on. I sent her 28.00 worth of dog collars/plus postage.
We were given NO notice. Just GET OUT. Julie tried to bust in the room with her room key. That is when we got into a verbal argument. She wanted me out that minute. I just couldn't do it. I had 3 dogs and 3 kids. IOW, 4 suitcases, dog crates, 7 days worth of food, etc. I had to pack up. They expected me to waltz out within minutes but it was impossible so they called the Sheriff's Dept. I had a U Haul, 3 children and 3 dogs. I had to throw tons of food away. I was told by the wife/owner of the Inn that we could not go to the Landing that we were not welcome there either since it was owned by her husband.
They looked up my credit card number they had on file from March and charged
hundreds of dollars and made many attempts to charge hundreds more but there
was not enough money. They tapped out the card. When I called Steinhatchee River
Inn Julie hung up on me. No one will call me. I had to call my cc company and
cancel the card and filea report for unautorized charges. They either went into my room when I was not there and got my cc number or looked it up from the trip in March.
I am contacting the State Attorney, Dept of Health and the agencies in charge of
hotels. I am contacting the BBB and some other agencies to make everyone aware
of what happened.
I have pictures of the filthy black tile grout, kitchen, couch, etc. Other than
dirty sheets, towels and bedspreads everything was cleaner when we left than
when we got there.
The Sheriff's Dept came in to make sure the room was ok when we left and everything was fine.
All I can say is what a bunch of lying, finger pointing people they are. They charged my credit card without my knowledge/permission. They were not even given my credit card for this trip. I do not know how they got access to it. Although the owner is upset about the dogs and claims it was not ok I don't understand why we were allowed to stay for 3 days. Madonna and Julie act like I just showed up with them. If that is the case I would think common sense would speak for itself. I would not have been given a key and allowed to stay for 3 days.
I would not ever recommend this hotel. If you do stay here I would recommend taking pictures (as I did), getting any type of agreements in writing and never give your credit card number out to them.
The worst part is I had conversations with Dean the owner of Steinhatchee Landing Resort. He said the Danes would be fine as long as they were nice.
I have photos and will be posting them as soon as my computer is fixed.
- Steinhatchee River Hotel
- Steinhatchee River Motel
