Courtyard by Marriott Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village — Attraction in Dr. Phillips

I’ll start this by saying that I very rarely ever write a review. The fact that I am writing this now should signal to you to avoid this hotel at all costs. It was constant issues and headaches. I stay at hotels about 75 nights a year and this was a top 3 worst hotel experience. The hotel management seriously needs to look in the mirror to understand what can be done to improve.

First issue - Check in. They were oversold and stated that they did not have my room that I reserved a couple weeks in advance. The person in front of me in the check in line had the same issue, so by the time the front desk agent got to me, it was 20 minutes since only one person was on the desk. The agent told me that I couldn’t get a room at the Courtyard but that they could move me yo the Springhill Suites in the same set of three properties in the same parking lot. I reluctantly agreed, because I didn’t want to stay at a lesser property with fewer amenities since that’s not what I booked. I’m used to Courtyards and enjoy them for the consistent layout of the rooms and services offered for business travelers. I got to my room at Springhill Suites and to say it was underwhelming would be an understatement. I booked two queen beds and was given two double beds, also the entire hotel was dated and not to the standards I would choose to spend a few nights in. I’m not the pickiest person, but this was not what I signed up for. At this point, it was 11PM and I was prepared to cancel this all together and find another option if the Courtyard couldn’t accommodate.

Second issue - I was able to get a room in the oversold Courtyard after having to speak to a manager. I first went to the front desk, and the front desk person was the rudest I’ve ever had the chance to speak with. He needs extra training in customer service. I ended up speaking to the manager on duty who was very nice (the only pleasant thing I can say about this stay), and he ended up getting me into the Courtyard. I was happy and thought all was good, until I got to the room. It was evident that flooding must have occurred on this whole floor recently and there was good reason for this room to sit empty. As I am sitting here now, It smells very strongly of mold/mildew. I’m concerned that everything I brought with me stinks from sitting in here all day. I didn’t have the energy on the night I had arrived after an hour and a half total trying to get adequate accommodations so I stayed. I should have left when I smelled that smell.

Issue three - this property is under heavy construction and the roof is under construction. At 7:45AM the very, very loud banging started. This banging continued until past 6:30PM. What good is a hotel you can’t sleep in? I reported this to the front desk who said that they shouldn’t start before 8:30AM. It remains to be seen if anything changes in the morning.

Issue four - the shipping center doesn’t ship without you providing your own labels and they’ll do nothing to help you. You need to bring your own labels printed off, so they directed me to the business center. This should be a fairly easy thing for a shipping center to accommodate helping with, but they wouldn’t. More of an annoyance than anything.

Issue five - good luck trying to get something at the front desk late at night. I wanted a bottle of water and waited 10 minutes before ultimately bailing on that effort and going to write this review in my room. The $10 room credits are useful if you have to wait in never ending lines to use them. Get some extra front desk help.

TLDR - Terrible excuse for a hotel. Look elsewhere and please trust me on that. This Courtyard does not come close to living up to the branding guidelines set forth by the Marriott Courtyard brand.

I’ve never been so...

We stayed here for 7 days and booked for a room with a kitchen and balcony on Booking.com, but when we arrived we were not told what room we would be getting (which was our fault for not asking the desk lady first), so instead we were given a small room with no balcony and no kitchen. Not really a problem but just wanted to point that out. Free bus shuttle to Disney parks which was great, really smooth ride to and from our hotel. 24 hour fitness center and clean swimming pool area. Located in a convenient area near Vineland outlets also.

However, there were too many problems we had here, please continue reading:

We booked this hotel specifically because on Booking.com, it stated that there was a car rental service here by Hertz, but when we came here the company no longer ran their rental in this hotel and moved out far away near Epcot. We asked the front desk where we could rent a car and she said we could walk to a hotel car rental place near Disney Springs, but that was literally not possible because the way to get there was meant to be traveled by car on the highway. Even if we walked there, it would have taken an hour to get there by foot. Very misleading and inconsiderate.

The room next door was a handicapped room and the only thing that separated us was a door in between the wall, and the people there always made very loud noises at 3 AM waking us up and slamming their door close.. We complained about this to the front desk but it seems like nothing was done about it. Since we stayed here for 7 days this was a recurring problem but somehow we got used to it.

The room service lady always threw away our plastic cups, plates and cups that we had brought with us from outside even though we cleaned it so we could use it again. The hotel does not provide any spoons or cups so we had to bring them from outside, and the room service lady ALWAYS threw them away when we were out. It seemed like every time we went outside she would sneak in always to throw away our perfectly clean cups and plates. We addressed this to the front desk as well, nothing was done about it. Room service literally does nothing except throw away our plates and cups, they never cleaned the bathroom or the room itself.

Swimming pool closes at 9 PM but when we were swimming there was only us and another family, and a man came up to us and yelled saying that the pool was closed even though it was 8 PM. I wasn't able to confirm if he worked at the hotel since it was dark outside, and speaking of that, there should be more lights installed at the pool area. It was completely dark and barely any lights. Situations like that made me afraid of random people coming up to us like that.

Fitness area is opened 24 hours which is really nice. The exercise equipments are great, but some of them were very rusty and didn't look safe to use. A bit of maintenance would be good on the machines. On our last day they installed 2 portable air conditioners but they barely blew out any cool air so it was very hot in the gym. Installing blinds on the gym's windows would be nice as well, there were many people just staring at us through the window when we were working out...

There were other small problems we experienced, but we're looking to come back in the future since it's in a pretty good location. Hoping to see these...

Do not hesitate and run as fast as you can, AWAY from this hotel!! The condition of this hotel is not worthy of the Marriott label. It is in such rough condition. Stained, ripped carpet throughout the entire building!! Upon entry you are treated with a dingy, smoke infested odor that has been treated with some kind of aromatic aroma. The attempt to layer the scents are not working; it’s quite overpowering and nauseating. The images online are easily 15 years old. The entire complex, Marriott Village is dated. Do not be fooled by the play on words; village implying amenities that one would like to enjoy and experience. It’s truly more like a dying shopping mall. The rooms, I’ve experienced 2 during this stay. The 1st was so badly consumed with the smell of smoke it left me unable to breathe and talk without choking. The 2nd room was an improvement simply because the smell of smoke was not so heavily concentrated. The doors of both rooms do not work properly. The locking mechanisms have to be toyed with in order to securely close the door. The bath tub does not drain. The shower curtain does not provide adequate protection from water spraying onto the tiled floor. The towels are so thin and old. The bed linens are minimal. The hotel has minimal items for purchase and the onsite food options are less than desirable. Maintenance paints hallway walls after 9:00 PM— the hallways on the actual room floors, not talking about the general meeting spaces of the hotel like the ground/lobby floor. This happened on the room floors after 9:00 pm!!! Smelling paint fumes is not ideal after a long day, why would you allow this??!!!! The lobby/ground floor does have a work space or lounge area. The furniture is really dirty. I mean dirty!!! So why did I come here? Why am I still here? We are here for a work conference and this is the lodging that has been contracted for us. It has already been paid for and the person I’m traveling with is being stubborn and refuses to leave and incur out of pocket expenses for this work trip. The pool situation is ….gross!! The pool and hot tub have not been maintained and it is obvious!! I would imagine at one time, 20 years ago, this hotel and the Marriott Village was once decent. Today- it is not!! Save your money and try an Econo Lodge or maybe even Red Roof Inn for a more upgraded, elevated experience. For reference, I generally stay at a Hampton Inn and generally choose a Marriott property for a nicer experience. This hotel and its village, is like a 1980s refurbishment project gone bad. Do yourself a favor, and do not choose this hotel for your vacation. This review is honest and directly related to my current experience. If the price point is $50 per night, I would say you get what you paid for. If the price point is $99 per...