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Yet Another Reason to Steer Clear of Hotel Parking

Where: 92 Cordova St. [map], St Augustine, FL, United States, 32084

We've made our distaste for hotel parking quite clear here in the past. When we're paying (usually) more than 20 bucks a night to keep our car at our hotel, we expect our shiz to be taken care of properly by the valet — and yet, day after day, we hear horror stories about leaving cars in hotel custody. There's the story about the valet who racked up parking tickets and stuck the guest with the bill; there's the one who took a $284,000 Lamborghini out for a spin and then, um, completely lost the car altogether.

And then there's the valet parker who drove a car straight into a hotel. Whoops.

According to the Miami Herald:

Five people were injured after a valet at a landmark hotel inadvertently put a car in reverse, sending it through a set of double doors and into the hotel lobby. The crash happened Thursday at the Casa Monica hotel in downtown St. Augustine, a castle-like structure built in 1888.

Officials said two men were standing near the doors when a Honda crashed into the lobby, flinging glass and plants across the room and knocking paintings from the wall.

According to reports, the staffer behind the wheel thought he'd put the car in park and hit the brake — but, unfortunately, he'd put the car in reverse and hit the gas. Oy.

Tags: Hotel Hell / Florida Hotel Reviews / → All Tags

Guest Hastily Checks Out of St. Augustine Beachfront Resort

Where: 300 A1A Beach Blvd [map], St. Augustine, FL, United States, 32084

[Ed. Note: Every once in a while we post some hotel hell experiences of recent guests. Keep in mind this is just one person's side of the story. If you feel similarly or differently, then comment below the story. Now, enjoy.]

From Hotel Maven Joyamg....The St. Augustine Beach Front Resort is a run down, old "hotel" in complete disrepair. I was shocked when I checked in because it was very expensive and I assumed it was a nice resort. It took about a half hour wait until I was able to check in because their computers are slow and outdated. The room was dirty, the carpet was worn out, the air conditioning unit didn't work properly, the sheets were so worn out it was unbelievable. here was rust all over the appliances.

I was so disgusted I had to check out the next day. There are many nice hotels in the area and this is not one of them. What a terrible experience.

Related Stories:
· St. Augustine Resort reviews [TripAdvisor]

Tags: Hotels / → All Tags

Hit Florida Before The Heat

Where: 95 Cordova Street [map], Saint Augustine, FL, United States, 32084

The calendar says May, you know what that means?  One more month to get to Florida before the panhandle state is stuck in an insufferable five month heat wave.

When we go to Florida we like to search for the fountain of youth, and St. Augustine, between Daytona and Jacksonville is not a bad place to start your search.

St. Augustine is the self proclaimed "oldest city in the nation,"  thus everything in the city is prefaced with the "oldest" moniker--Oldest Drugstore, Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, etc. (Somewhere in Plymouth, fueled by the anger of reading the blasphemous previous sentence, a Masshole in Plymouth just put his hand through a plate glass window.)  

In any event, the real reason to hit St. Augustine is to stay at the rejuvenated Casa Monica Hotel.  The Casa Monica is a beautifully renovated Spanish style hotel that mixes old world décor with new world service.  Plus it is right in the middle of town, so you can walk to everything.  Well, unless you go in August, where the stifling heat will make you want to stay in your air conditioned room and order room service.

Related Stories:
·   Casa Monica Reviews [TripAdvisor]