My boyfriend and I stayed at Excellence Oyster Bay from Saturday, April 12 to Saturday, April 19. While the resort grounds were beautiful and the waitstaff and bartenders were exceptional, we experienced a deeply troubling and traumatic incident that we feel compelled to share.
At approximately 1 AM on April 16, we woke up to a strong electrical/fire smell and discovered our room was filled with smoke. Power had gone out in the entire room except the closet, and we immediately evacuated. Once outside, we realized the third floor above us was on fire. We heard two women screaming for help from their balcony — trapped and terrified.
Alarming as it was, no fire alarms were sounding. We attempted to pull the alarm outside our room, but it didn’t work. My boyfriend ran to the main lobby for help and returned with staff who grabbed a hose and went toward the source of the fire. Still, there was no coordinated response or sense of urgency. The screaming from the trapped girls stopped, and realizing they hadn't been rescued, my boyfriend ran upstairs. He found the staff using the hose in a neighboring room — not the one where the women were trapped. He personally helped get the girls out, as no one else had taken action.
At no point were other guests in the building alerted. Rooms were smoky, and many of us had endured long periods of smoke inhalation. We went to the lobby seeking next steps and were told to return to our rooms and pack.