I don't think I can convey how terribly disappointed I was in this hotel stay. I booked this hotel because of it's proximity to SeaWorld and because it had a toddler's pool area. I knew about the parking fee ($28.00 a day for self park) and resort fee ($30.00 per day, for what I'm not sure), so that was not an issue. I expect that in high end resort hotels. I also expect high end resort hotel service.
The hotel is massive, but it is tired. There have not been any updates in some time and this is obvious. The kids pool area is very nice for the kids, but it is only open 10-7 and when we are on vacation, we like to be up and out early and sometimes come back to the pool after dinner so this was disappointing.
Our room was supposed to be the upgraded SeaWorld View or Pool View room. I'm providing a picture of our actual view. At night , the lights made it better, but quite frankly, we did not look out the window much. The room was large, but also very tired. The carpets were badly stained, the furniture very dated. Due to Covid, there is no daily maid service, so your trash is never emptied, towels are not changed, etc. They will bring you towels if you call. There is no room service, no valet, no bellman to be seen (though I did see one about a day into our trip, just not when we looked for one). I've included the picture of the desk chair, this is what should be in a 4/5star hotel? Clearly, no one inspects the rooms for quality or repair/replacement of furniture.
The waitstaff was lovely. Particularly Daisy in the restaurant and the bartenders at the pool bar. They have placed their best people in the venues where the hotel will make more money. The front desk staff was cold and impersonal, not particularly friendly and clearly appeared frazzled. I have the app, I had pre-registered and checked in, yet I still had to go to the desk to verify all my information again, to get an electronic key etc. So why have the app.?
The biggest disappointment I had was on Saturday. We came to Orlando to visit my adult son, who lives there. We decided to meet on Saturday and have lunch at the pool. When we went down to the pool, we were given wristbands like a theme park, this was the first time this happened during our stay. There was a guard at the gate. I was told only registered guests could have a wrist band. I went out to the front desk and asked if I could pay for a pool pass, I was bluntly told no. We eventually, got a pass when our other friends who were staying at the hotel with us did not use theirs, but my goodness, this is certainly not the service I was paying for.
We spent the day at the pool and my four year old needed to use the restroom. I took her into the restroom by the pool and it was so horribly filthy, I walked her all the way back to our room to let her use that bathroom. This restroom was disgusting, there was no attendant, no one there cleaning it. There was a lady changing the trash can liner outside and I told her how horrible it was and she just said ok. I texted the front desk via the app... never heard a thing. While there, I saw, three guards come around checking the locks on the exit gates to the pool. Maybe they should have used one of those people to clean the pool bathrooms.
This hotel has a lot of issues that they are attributing to Covid. While their problems may be a result of Covid, because they don't have the staff, they have done nothing to mitigate the damage tto the quality of the service, by accommodating their guests in other ways. They are still charging a resort fee and providing none of the services, they are still charging a parking fee to park your own car at the hotel where you are paying to stay.
Sadly, the Marriott Bonvoy brand has lost my business. I will stick with another high end brand, whose service is still top notch, and respects the quality of service their customers are accustomed to.