DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Orlando East-UCF Area — Hotel in Alafaya

I have stayed at the Hilton DoubleTree near UCF numerous times over the past few years, and it was because of those positive experiences that I felt confident booking rooms here again for a critical business trip involving myself and two colleagues. Unfortunately, this time, what we encountered was not only unacceptable in terms of comfort and amenities but also deeply frustrating due to the poor management and lack of basic customer service.||Let me start by stating the core issue: the air conditioning in the entire hotel had not been working properly for several days, yet at no point was this mentioned on the hotel website or communicated during the booking process. In May, in Florida, this is a major issue. Temperatures outside were hovering around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Inside the hotel, they were only marginally better—around 85 degrees in the lobby and other common areas. Imagine trying to conduct critical project work in such conditions.||We arrived with a tight deadline and needed to work collaboratively in a quiet, well-ventilated space with adequate seating and table access. Normally, we would set up in the lobby as we've done in previous stays. It's a large, open area that typically offers comfort, stable temperature, and a conducive environment for focused work. This time, however, it was stifling hot and completely unusable.||When we brought this up with the hotel manager and explained our situation, we asked if we could use a boardroom or conference room, as those often have separate AC units and might be cooler. To his credit, he agreed to let us use one. However, when we got there, the room was nearly empty. There were only tables — no chairs. So I returned to the front desk and politely asked if they could provide just three chairs so we could work.||What happened next stunned me. The manager, rather than accommodating this very basic request, snapped back at us and said, “I’m doing you a favor — you’re asking too much.”||Excuse me?||Asking for three chairs in a hotel that we’re paying for, while trying to work in unbearable heat due to a failure on the hotel's part to disclose a major facility issue, is asking too much?||He then ordered us out of the boardroom and said, “Go sit in the restaurant.” So we did — only to find it just as hot as the lobby. Once again, we returned to the front desk to inform him that the restaurant space was also too hot for us to work effectively. His response? “Well, it’s 100 degrees outside. Compared to that, 85 degrees in here is a lot better.”||At this point, I was livid.||When I told him again that we couldn’t work in these conditions and just needed a reasonably cool space for a few hours to finish critical deliverables for our project, his attitude became even more aggressive. He then told us that if we wanted to use the boardroom with air conditioning, we’d need to pay $500 — or, and I quote, “we can check you out.”||Let’s recap here: we were guests at the hotel, we booked multiple rooms, we had an established relationship with this property from past visits, and we were only asking for chairs and a cooler space to work due to the hotel failing to disclose that the AC was broken — and somehow we were the problem?||The lack of professionalism, empathy, and basic hospitality skills from the manager was truly appalling. Instead of owning up to the inconvenience and working with us to find a reasonable compromise, he chose to bully and gaslight us.||We couldn’t leave at that point due to how late it was and how close our deadline was. So we ended up working in the hot, stuffy lobby, surrounded by frustration and discomfort, feeling completely unwelcome in a hotel we had specifically chosen because of our past loyalty and its reputation.||It’s also worth noting that at no point did anyone at the hotel — not the manager, not the front desk staff, no one — even apologize for the AC situation. There was no effort to offer partial refunds, complimentary water, fan rentals, or any gesture of goodwill. No communication was posted on the website, in emails, or even at check-in to notify guests about the air conditioning issue. That is a clear breach of transparency and guest rights.||To be clear, we weren’t asking for luxury. We were asking for the bare minimum:||Functioning air conditioning (or fair warning it wasn't working),||A quiet space to work in during the day,||Basic seating (i.e., chairs),||Respectful communication from the hotel’s leadership.||We received none of the above.||This experience was not only uncomfortable; it actively interfered with our work. We had to submit client deliverables, conduct video calls, and collaborate on sensitive work in temperatures that made us sweat through our clothes and struggle to stay focused.||This was not a luxury leisure trip where you could lounge by the pool and wait out the heat. This was a mission-critical business trip and the hotel not only failed us — they treated us like an inconvenience for simply asking for help.||I can’t stress enough how disappointed I am, particularly because this wasn’t my first time here. I had sung this hotel’s praises before. I had recommended it to colleagues and clients. I had trusted that it would be a reliable choice. And now, I feel completely let down.||A few points of constructive feedback for Hilton and this location:||Always disclose major facility issues like broken air conditioning — especially in hot climates.||Train your managers on how to speak to guests professionally, with empathy, and without condescension.||If you choose to offer a solution like a temporary boardroom, make sure it’s actually usable (i.e., it has chairs).||Don’t treat paying guests like they’re asking for handouts when they’re simply requesting what should be basic amenities.||Consider creating contingency plans for these kinds of situations — fans, portable ACs, room credits, or temporary workspace alternatives — to ease the pain for guests caught in these scenarios.||I expected better from Hilton. I expected better from DoubleTree. And most of all, I expected basic hospitality, which we absolutely did not receive.||In conclusion, this stay was a disaster. We were made to feel like a burden, dismissed when we raised legitimate concerns, and offered zero real solutions. If this is how the Hilton DoubleTree near UCF now operates, then I will be taking my business — and my team’s — elsewhere in the future. This experience was not only unacceptable — it was...

We recently stayed at the Double Tree by Hilton Orlando East - UCF area. We checked in on the app and selected a 3pm arrival on Friday, April 25, 2025. Despite a promised room by the front desk clerk by 3pm, we were not notified by the app that our room was ready. After numerous attempts to check in after 3, we went back to the hotel and were able to check into our room around 4:30pm. After check-in, I placed our plastic laundry bag on the hook on the back of the bathroom door. My husband, son and I placed our dirty clothes into the bag on Friday evening. We left our room on Saturday late morning and returned on Saturday night. When I went to place my dirty clothes into the bag on Saturday night, I noticed the plastic laundry bag was not on the back of the bathroom door. I immediately searched the room thinking the bag had been moved. I was unable to locate the laundry bag. I then contacted the front desk representative and informed the representative that the bag had mistakenly been taken from our room. The front desk representative acknowledged my concern and indicated I would receive a call from the housekeeping manager on Sunday morning. I explained we would be checking out around 9:30am on Sunday. At 9:35am on Sunday I went to the front desk and again explained our concern and that the laundry bag had mistakenly been taken from our room during the cleaning on Saturday. The front desk representative indicated that a manager was not available, but I would receive a call later in the day from the manager. At 11:15am on Sunday, I had still not received a call from the hotel. I contacted the hotel and requested to speak with a manager. The manager indicated she would investigate my concern and contact me later in the day. Again, I did not receive a call. I contacted the hotel again late Sunday afternoon and was told by the manager that the hotel was unable to find my laundry bag. I provided the manager with a list of the items that were in the "lost" laundry bag and she indicated she would investigate further and return my call. On Monday, I again contacted the hotel and was told that housekeeping never takes personal belongings from a hotel room. The manager kept referring to the “innkeepers bill of rights” during our conversation and expressed that the hotel was not responsible for the loss of my belongings. The manager then communicated that I needed to file a police report if I was in search of any sort of remedy or compensation for the belongings that the hotel lost. I communicated to the hotel representative that I would not be filing a police report and wasting valuable taxpayer dollars over an unintentional mistake made by the hotel's housekeeping staff. I requested a credit for my stay and acknowledgement that a mistake was made. The manager indicated that she was unable to provide any remedy for the situation. I requested a call from the general manager of the hotel and the on-duty manager indicated that the general manager was very busy and that she was unable to provide me with the general manager’s phone number. We have had Gold/Silver status with Hilton for many years and are seasoned travelers. I have placed my laundry bag on the hook on the back of the bathroom door for years without issue. I understand that mistakes happen. I also believe that when mistakes happen, remedies should be provided. The fact that this hotel was unwilling to investigate the situation and provide any sort of remedy is deplorable and unethical. We contacted Hilton corporate and spoke with a kind and knowledgeable representative that is attempting to provide us with a solution. In the interim, PLEASE do not stay at this hotel or keep anything of value – even dirty clothes – in the room as the hotel is “not responsible”. ...

We recently stayed here overnight one night. The building was neat, clean, and updated, and the front desk staff were very friendly. We were quickly greeted and checked in. Our room as nice and appeared updated. I read another review from just a week ago that described an outdated room and rusty bathroom fixtures. Apparently this may not be all of the rooms as ours was nicely appointed, newer and clean. The main reason I can't give it 5 stars was the bathroom. It was updated and appeared very clean, however, I noticed as soon as we entered the room there was an odor of mildew present. Upon entering the bathroom, I could tell this was the source. However, the sink, toilet, tub, caulk and floor all appeared to have been well-cleaned. But the strong odor of mildew was most prevalent in the bathroom. One reason may have been that it sounded like the air vent in the bathroom connected directly to other bathrooms near us. My wife commented that she could hear someone using the toilet in their room through the vent. Also, the bathroom had no fan, thus no way to ventilate the stale air. It may be that mildew was present in the vent system between the bathrooms due to the moist air not being vented properly due to the lack of a fan, and moisture not being evaporated by the constant use of A/C, which would be more prevalent in the summer. Whatever the reason, it was disconcerting and I'm glad we weren't staying for a long time, as this could have presented a health risk. Oddly, the hallways had a very "sanitary" odor, and reminded us both of a doctor's office. Although unusual, it was less concerning than smelling mildew. Water pressure in the bathroom was fairly low at the sink. The toilet paper holder was oddly placed very low next to the toilet, about 12 inches off the floor. There was plenty of room to raise it to the typical height, so I saw no reason for this inconvenient placement. Otherwise, I used the desk and chair, which was newer, for some brief work answering emails and it was fine. There was only one outlet on the desk, but luckily I didn't need to plug in more than one item. I have stayed at places that offered multiple plugs on the desktop (or USB ports for charging) which would be a nice feature to add here. The bed was reasonably comfortable, but a bit on the firm side. Of course, it's impossible to please everyone with something like bed firmness. Pillows and linens were clean and comfortable as well. We stayed here in December, and only used the heat, which seemed to work fine and wasn't too loud or distracting. We did hear some voices either from outside or in the room next door as we were getting ready for bed, but nothing too annoying. The walls did seem to be fairly "thin" due to the clarity of sound coming from outside our room. We brought our sound machine, so sleeping undisturbed was not an issue for us. I'd recommend one for sound masking any time you stay at a hotel if the sound of voices in adjacent rooms is something you prefer to avoid. I can't remember the last time I stayed in a hotel where I couldn't hear other people talking nearby, so this certainly isn't unusual. People, in general, seem to have forgotten the common courtesy of keeping their voices down in hotels, knowing that sounds carry and others not in their group are nearby and trying to relax or sleep. Luckily, this really wasn't an issue during our evening here. Overall, it was a decent stay, with a few nits that were annoying, and the mildew odor which was a bit more concerning. I'd probably stay there again if necessary, hoping that another room might have better ventilation and less mildew odor. I've certainly stayed in other hotels in this price range that were older, outdated, or...