BARONS BY THE BAY INN FAIRHOPE

My reviews of this place are mixed. First, it is no longer "Barons By the Bay" although the sign is still out front. It is now the "Magnolia Beach Inn." The motel is supposed to be undergoing a total renovation and facelift; so, the outside looks quite sketchy and neglected. The rooms on the inside were clean and pretty much modern. It is located right across from the beach and less than a mile from downtown Fairhope.

Barons was great! We just happened upon this little place and fell in love. With the bay across the street, the quaint and beautiful small town feel, an amazing restaurant called Gambinos next door and a clean room. Don't expect to get anything fancy, but it was comfortable and cozy. Our only issue was that we were told the price was $149 a night. We arrive and the man at the desk said we would get a $20 key deposit returned to us when we turned in the key. We paid $174.50 and at check out the same man said he didn't charge us the key deposit. I let it go just in case both of us heard him wrong, even though we were postive that is what he said. So don't expect a key deposit to be returned if you are told that. I decided if he needed it that bad, $20 wasn't worth us not ever staying there again. This is the only reason for 3 stars instead of 4. Also, if there hadn't been the room on the end with so much traffic that seemed like drug activity. Thanks Barrons!

We had to evacuate the Gulf Coast due to Hurricane Michael, and the first hotel rooms we could find were at the Baron Inn in Fairhope (which is a darling little town with a cute downtown area and adorable vacation cottages for rent). Given our circumstances, we didn't have much option to shop around. The rooms were recently redecorated (thankfully, because I later saw "before" pictures). We stayed one night and paid $159 per room. The second night we were able to leave, so we tried to check out according to the "Late Check Out Between 11:00 am - 2:00 pm $8.00 Charge" sign on the front desk. We were told we had to let them know we wanted late check out when we booked the rooms. Since it was past 11:00 am we would have to pay the full rate of $159 per room again (even though we weren't staying). To add insult to injury, the price they were advertising rooms for online for that night was $89. When we asked why couldn't they charge us the rate that was online for that night - they told us the rates change day to day (??) and that we were in the Executive Deluxe rooms. Certainly seemed like price gouging, even though the Governor was warning against business doing just that to take advantage of those who were evacuating because of the hurricane. If you are staying here, make SURE you are in a Deluxe room (or take a good look at the non-Deluxe room pictures) and check the internet to see about booking a room online... because at the front desk the prices/policies change "day to day".