The Daytona, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Daytona Beach

We recently stayed at this hotel, & while some aspects were enjoyable, several issues left us disappointed. Over the years, we’ve often brushed off unpleasant experiences to avoid conflict. However, this time we felt it was important to share our concerns.

Before our stay, we confirmed the mini fridges had freezer compartments but they did not, so we had to throw out items. This was frustrating & wasteful, especially for guests who need to store medication, follow strict diets, or budget carefully. We also emailed the hotel a couple times about the executive suite & dining packages but never received a reply.

Upon arrival, we found a large popcorn dust ball on the floor, sauce on the balcony table with orange crumbs underneath, & a thick layer of dust on the nightstand. Housekeeping often forgot basics like toilet paper, fresh towels, & trash removal, so we frequently had to step into the hallway to ask. We never declined housekeeping but still received a notice saying we had. At one point, a staff member opened our door while my younger sister was indecent & our pet nearly escaped. She was apologetic & explained the latch’s orange light didn’t trigger due to a fault. Thankfully, the latch held, stopping the door from fully opening. I stopped our pet & the staff member didn’t see my sister. While the beds were clean & nicely made, these oversights left a poor first impression.

When our exhaust fan stopped working, there was no clear or consistent explanation. I’m immunocompromised due to a congenital autoimmune disease, so airflow, odor control, & moisture removal are vital for my health. The engineer claimed the hotel only had AC vents & lowered the room temperature as a solution, but cold exacerbates my chronic pain. The problem was never temperature but ventilation & air quality. AC vents don’t usually have switches, but exhaust fans do yet the engineer remained adamant. Hotel staff later confirmed the bathrooms do in fact have exhaust fans, & even called saying it should be working, but it wasn’t. We reached out again, but no got back despite assurance they would. The conflicting info & lack of follow-through was especially frustrating.

We also had an uncomfortable interaction with an older white male staff member as we exited the elevator. In a rude tone, he asked where we were going & if we were guests. When we confirmed, he asked again for our room number. We hesitated, understandably uncomfortable as three women being questioned on the spot by a stranger. He claimed he needed to verify because we were “going swimming,” which was odd since we weren’t in swimwear or carrying towels. We could have been returning from the restaurant, but his demeanor & assumption felt like snap judgment.

While we understand hotel security’s importance, he was not clearly identified as security, which made his aggressive tone feel out of place. There are more respectful ways to verify guests without making them feel singled out or accused. We hadn’t caused trouble or lingered suspiciously & had passed through multiple times without issue. We never saw anyone else asked to confirm guest status. Later by coincidence, he shared an elevator with us & by then his tone shifted completely & even started a friendly conversation with us. Still, the initial approach left a lasting negative impression.

We were genuinely excited to stay here but while this wasn’t the worst experience, it certainly wasn’t the best. In fact, we had to trim many details to fit the review character limit, which says a lot about our stay. We didn’t expect so many issues, especially from a Marriott hotel. Despite trying to enjoy our visit, concerns about privacy, frequent inconveniences, & genuine medical concerns not being taken seriously impacted our experience. We hope the hotel understands this feedback isn’t meant to tear it down, steer anyone away, or criticize for the sake of it, but to share an honest & fair perspective so improvements can be made. If we were to return in the future, we hope for a stay that truly reflects the property’s...

I was excited to stay at this property as I haven’t stayed at this particular luxury property in the past and I like to experience the property before I recommend them to my clients and my following. I typically pay for my room upon check in to prevent holds on my cards which I have been doing since I joined the hospitality industry almost 10 years ago. Upon check in I exited the elevator and looked around for the check in desk. I saw two people standing to my right staring at me. I looked over and I was not greeted or directed to approach the desk. When I asked if this is where I check in the woman behind the desk answered a short “yes.” I stated that I wanted to pay for my room upfront and to place any additional holds on my card. The front desk supervisor stated I was not able to due to it being a one night stay and the hotel only takes cash room payments at check out. I informed her I didn’t want the hold on my card and asked if this was presented anywhere on the booking. She said no and continued to stare at me along with her coworker who was standing next to her. Being that this is a luxury property my standards for customer service are higher than if I stayed at a Ramada or a embassy suites. I left to go to the bank which I was not given instructions or assistance on where to find a bank as I am not from the area. Upon re arriving to the property I was again not greeted by either supervisor. I then asked if she had a copy of this policy as I have never heard of this type of policy before and she stated it is a hotel policy not a brand policy that this specific property has and that it is above her. However she will let management know to inform corporate being that I suggested this should be stated to avoid any confusion with future guests. She then proceeded to inform me that she needs a card on file because people tend to trash the room and they aren’t able to recover the damage without a card. This was honestly insulting as that stigma has nothing to do with me or my stay. I would also like the add that not once was I not willing to provide my card for a hold I simply wanted to pay for my room upfront. I handed her my card which she didn’t even swipe and she proceeded to tell me that I should have been charged for my stay upfront but it wasn’t charged in advance on the hotels part. As to insinuate that I didn’t have the money to pay for my room or that I should be grateful. Neither staff had a mask and she coughed...

Expected a LOT more from a claimed "upscale" hotel. I have worked in the hotel industry for a number of years, and my wife travels regularly for work (IOW, stays at a lot of hotels).

Pre-checked in via the app...arrive and go directly up to the room, msg Front Desk on the iPhone app to ask about how to get an additional "virtual key" for my wife - after 10 mins, FD finally replies with "come to FD to get a key card". I again state I'm asking about a 'virtual' key for her phone like I received, again, after a 10 min wait, simply told nope, come to FD to get a key card. Finally go down to get the inconvenient physical key - stand there for 10+ mins while others are served; despite standing in line, another person comes straight off the elevator and walks right up to the 1st FD agent, skipping the 3 of us in line, and the FD agent happily serves them and ignores us. We left.

Go out to check out the balcony - took 10 mins to get the door locked again as all the screws for the latch plates were loose and prevented the door from closing or locking. One of the chairs legs is missing its foot = wobbly.

Bathroom section where the toilet is, there are multiple areas of the wall where they missed rolling the paint. There's a bunch of jagged wood at the base of the door frame (by the toilet),almost ripped one of our bags. Shower supplies bottles all have the pump tops just set into them vs being screwed in (and they won't screw in), looks cheap and a pain to use. Shower door handle loose, feels like it's going to crack the glass door. Sink faucet handles loose.

Room mirrors were a mess, wiped down with dirty cloths, streaks, etc.

TV remote barely worked at all.

Bed/mattress not at all comfortable. Pillows are flat and useless (and I'm pretty sure were down, despite asking for a feather-free room).

No DND door placard anywhere, so at 9:00am room service knocks very lightly (could not tell if it was even our door) - then just walks in, then just closes the door and leaves - never to return.

Many non-guests trucks were parked in the stalls reserved for guests due to the gates not being utilized. No security or staff paying any attention to the parking lot; beer bottles, etc. everywhere. Had to move them out of a parking stall to get parked Fri, Sat and Sun. The cans that we moved from the stall on Fri, were still on the grass behind the stall where we moved them on Sun.

It was made quite obvious that no one at this...