A favorite of many Brookings visitors celebrated its silver anniversary this month. The Ocean Suites Motel at 16045 Lower Harbor Road has been renowned for its customer service and cleanliness for 25 years.
To celebrate their two and a half decades of award-winning service the Griffith’s, the long-time family owners, hosted a celebration. The anniversary brought together long-time regulars, former employees, and architects that worked on the original building.
In fact, the motel’s very first guest, Martha Harrison, returned for another stay. Arriving with her late husband Jim back in 1999, the Ocean Suites showed a level of customer service that is still a part of the motel’s lore. The Harrisons had brought along Jim’s recliner, which helped him sleep better with a bad back. Loren Griffith, and his son Don, helped to carry the recliner up to the second floor, and back down again after the stay.
It was this interaction that inspired Loren and Dee Griffith to include recliners in every suite moving forward. Why?
“Because that’s probably what you would have in your own home,” states the Motel website.
Since then, the Harrisons made it a tradition to come up and stay at the Suites, with kids, grandkids, and eventually great-grandchildren in tow.
“It was always a favorite because of what Loren and Dee did. It’s not like a regular motel. It’s like a family. They have so many amenities for a motel, and they keep improving all the time, I can’t believe it,” said Martha Harrison, now 92 years-old, during her most recent stay.
“They got to know our family and we loved them, so we’d always recommend [The Ocean Suites] to our friends… The children have taken over and they’re doing a terrific job. Everybody knows us by first name and everyone remembers, so it’s just really a special family motel”
Loren and Dee retired back in 2015, but still maintain the important relationships that have helped the Suites shine. Now Don and his wife Susan run the motel in their stead. As such, it hasn’t lost a beat on its customer service forward mission.
“Ocean Suites is a very special place. I’ve worked in a lot of hotels on the road. I’ve never worked anywhere like this. I’ve never worked anywhere where the staff knows so many of the guests by name. Where we have so many repeat guests,” said Stacy Lowry, currently a manager at the Suites.
“Dee and Loren were always really big on customer service and making everybody feel at home. And when you go into the rooms, all the little touches, you can see that they actually make people feel that way. And our reviews say it all… We are the highest rated in town for a reason.”
You cannot have a ‘home away from home’ without family. That is what makes the Ocean Suites so successful, earning a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 9 consecutive years. A family establishment should understand what home feels like, and that is a philosophy that is extended to everyone at the Suites.
“One of my housekeepers just celebrated 5 years with us. We have a lot of longevity with our staff, which you don’t see in hospitality. And it is because of Don and Suzie. They treat us more like family, than like their employees,” said Lowry.
For more information on the Ocean Suites and how to book a stay, visit their website:
OceanSuitesMotel.com
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