I am appalled by the managers of Thomas Beach Vacations in Myrtle Beach South Carolina, and anyone considering a stay at Cole’s Gold should be prepared to deal with bed bugs!
First, despite the clean linens on the beds, the company clearly doesn’t follow any protocol to check for bed bugs between guests. Second, the bed bugs attacked a guest when she arrived on Wednesday and took a nap after an hours-long drive, and again on Wednesday and Thursday night. We had no experience with bed bugs, and the bed linens appeared to be clean. We first thought that the guest might be allergic to something in the pillows or coverlet, so we washed them. But, the bumps spread from her hand and neck to her face, ears, back, and arms. They continued to swell, itch and cause pain. Third, when we brought the concern about possible bed bugs to the company’s attention, it took 3 hours for a pest specialist to arrive. He clearly knew where to look and confirmed to us that there were bed bugs in that bedroom. After another 2 ½ to 3 hours, we were the one’s to call the management company back. They did not call us! They offered to have us complete our stay in a vacation rental that was not comparable to Cole’s Gold but we rejected the inadequate substitute.
Our vacation was ruined! Our guest had bumps, welts and eruptions on her face, neck, shoulder, arms, lower back, and legs. She was traumatized that, while she slept, bugs were crawling in her ear, on her face, and on her neck, biting her. She had to seek medical attention at urgent care. Despite the fact that she washed everything in her room, she also had to worry that, when she left early to go home, she could possibly be taking bed bugs back to her house! Moreover, our guest is a professional who had to see clients in person or on Zoom with unsightly bites and welts plainly visible on her face and neck. Although none of the rest of us were bitten, we also were horrified by the experience.
To add insult to injury, Thomas Beach Vacation’s management did not respond adequately to this disruption in our vacation and our lives. We were only provided a partial refund. They did not offer any compensation to our guest who was the victim of the bed bug attacks. They did not offer any compensation for the groceries we had to leave, or for the guest who had to change her travel at an additional cost. We attempted to reach the manager, Ted, several times but he never returned our calls.