I booked a staycation here two weeks ago for two nights. I stayed zero nights because of the most crazy thing I've ever experienced at a hotel, let alone a "5 star" hotel.
I checked in on a Saturday and after dropping off my stuff in my room I headed downstairs to the main bar for a drink. I didn't realize it but this is apparently the only place in Newport for all the local pretentious finance bros and trust fund kids to hang out at. I had one drink then headed over to The Elwood private club that I was given access to as part of my stay.
Inside I was pleased to find a much mellower atmosphere. A live band was playing jazz. I sidled up to the corner of the bar with a direct view of the band. It was marvelous, I was by myself, having a drink, watching live music, minding my own business. It was an unfortunately fleeting mood. As I was watching the band, two early 20s couples walked in from the lounge area. One couple went off somewhere and of the couple left, I noticed the young man was extremely intoxicated. They were positioned between myself and the lounge/stage so I couldn't help but notice. The girlfriend wandered off somewhere and now the young guy was left just sort of standing there, wobbling in place. At this point this guy takes notice of me and I could tell, for whatever reason, he didn't like the cut of my jib and I became his project. He kind of sauntered over to me and then did this extremely weird overly fake slow motion stumble and then started touching my white kicks going, "ahhhh what's happening...I'm falling....ahh man sorry I touched your shoes. Those are some really nice shoes, so white." I just chuckled and said, "All good, bro." And continued drinking my drink, watching the band.
The kid then decided to sidle up to the bar right next to me. I turned to the bartender and ordered another drink. As I'm standing there drinking my drink, this kid was just staring at me, not saying anything, just super weird energy of contempt. I ignored him and sipped my drink. Then, still staring at me says, "You're a [adjective] [noun]." (I've had my initial draft marked for profanity so just imagine the worst two words you can say to someone and you're likely correct.)
Well. Now he had my attention. I immediately confronted him and asked why he called me a such and such and he immediately denied it so I asked if he was calling the bartender (a female) a such and such or was it me, because he definitely called one of us a such and such. One thing that really stood out during this heated conversation was he was oddly at ease. I found out why very soon. The kid put his hand on me telling me to calm down, I removed his hand from me and firmly returned it to his personal space. At that moment security swooped in and IMMEDIATELY came in and positioned themselves in a manner like he was POTUS' son. The kid said that I "pushed him to the ground" which was a lie and the lead security guy took that as the whole story. I tried explaining the sequence of events to the security lead and I looked at the bartender like, "hey, are you going to back me up?" but she was tight lipped yet I could tell she was very angry that she (it seemed) was not at liberty to speak, and the security lead had no desire to ask for her statement. In short, security told me that I could stay if I apologized to the kid, or I had to leave. I left, went upstairs, grabbed my stuff, and headed down to valet because I did not feel safe staying with how security was treating me. As I was walking from the elevators to valet, I was met by the security lead who decided enough smack hadn't been talked to me, so he talked smack to me as I walked out.
Luckily I live only an hour away so I wasn't forced to stay under such hostile conditions and I returned the next morning to cancel my second night and see what, if anything, was to be done to rectify the situation. Introduce, Austin. If you've read over some of the other negative reviews you will already be familiar with this useless person. Austin came out to talk to me and he had this immediately had an air of "you are a complete waste of my time". Austin said he was briefed by security, that I was the bad actor, but that he hadn't yet reviewed the security footage and he would refund me for the first night if he determined otherwise. I laughed because I knew there was no way I was getting my money back no matter how clearly the video proved me right. Sure enough, it's been weeks and I haven't received any communication from Austin and was not issued a refund.
As for the room itself, it was okay, definitely not 5 star hotel quality. You can tell this is a reno of an old building. For example, there was only one sink in the bathroom which is on the smaller side. More problematic, though, is that the Corner Ocean View One Bedroom Suite description expressly states, "Located at the end of the hallways away from elevators." Imagine my surprise when my room was LITERALLY the first room next to the elevators just a few feet away and not at the end of the hallway. I was treated to a truly Orwellian explanation by the front desk staff that lacked any grounding in logic or reality and offered no adjustment.
In conclusion, read all the negative reviews here and other review sites. Notice the common three themes: terrible locals, rude and unresponsive staff, and rude and demeaning security. Then book a much better stay elsewhere.
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