FL Orlando Fairfield Inn I-Drive

[Shingwedzi]

In honor of bturner13, I dedicate this review--he certainly forewarned me about what I was getting in to here!

I was shocked by the first floor room I was given at checkin. It was tiny, it had a red ant problem--but most of all it gave off an unbearable stench. I could not determine if it was unusual mold/mildew from water in the walls or what. The thin rug was even wet, which probably contributed to the problem. It was very difficult to breathe in the room. I walked back to the front desk and requested another room. I was told they were full that night and the next night. I was told I could use a dehumidifier the following afternoon. Apparently the hotel had three and they were all in use. I was also told "All hotels in FL have this problem, "This is an old hotel," "This hotel is 14 years old" as explanations for the horrid smell. I went back to the room. My son begged me to just let him sleep in the rental car. There was a foldaway bed, but the bottom of it was broken so it was not stable or comfortable. He is the type of kid who can be happy to just sleep on the floor, but this floor was gross and he was having trouble breathing in the room.

I called the front desk back and politely requested to be switched to another Fairfield Inn in the area since she'd said this one was full for these two nights. She immediately countered with "They are all full too"--without even checking. I asked if it was possible to switch to another FI under such circumstances and was told this doesn't happen with Priceline customers. (That made the sixth time Priceline had been mentioned in my total dealings with the desk to that point.) I was told that I could call in the morning and speak with the manager, who would be in then. I was given the manager's name.

Suffice it to say that we spent a miserable night there. I would rank this not only as my worst room on Priceline but my worst room in any hotel, period.

In the early morning I was back at the front desk. I clearly hadn't slept, I asked for the manager by name and was told not only wasn't she there but that she was not expected in at all. A fellow behind the counter was merciful and gave me the key to a third floor room (which was available even at that hour). I checked it out and was greatly relieved. Now this was a 2* room. The first floor room had been less than a 0* room. Yeah, this new room had small problems--like extremely smokey pillows in a non-smoking room--but the desk heard no further complaints from me.

My two rooms seemed to be from two completely different hotels. The contrast was such that I do not believe this hotel should be affiliated with Marriott in any way. It would not surprise me at all if Marriott brass are only exposed to the third floor rooms at this hotel when inspection time rolls around.

Ironically, the hotel places signs in the rooms stating that they promise fresh clean rooms, etc. There is even a dry-erase board with employee signatures near the desk guaranteeing their customer service. My first night there certainly did not involve a fresh clean room or customer service!

As a result of this fiasco, I won't be staying at another Fairfield Inn again.