Comfort Inn & Suites Near Universal Orlando Resort-Convention Ctr. — Hotel in Dr. Phillips

I regret to say that my experience at this hotel ruined what should have been a memorable vacation. While I appreciate that the housekeeping staff did their job well, with daily cleaning, fresh sheets, and new towels, the hotel’s tactics and their association with the Holiday Inn Vacation Club left me feeling scammed and deeply disappointed.

Here’s what happened:

The hotel advertised that we could purchase discounted tickets for Universal Studios directly from them—$35 off per ticket if booked online. It seemed like a good deal, so we proceeded. However, there was a catch: the tickets would only be provided if we attended a Holiday Inn Vacation Club presentation. Essentially, the hotel held our tickets hostage unless we agreed to participate in their timeshare sales pitch.

After researching the Vacation Club online, we immediately decided against it and went to speak with Victoria, the representative. We asked for either a refund of the discounted tickets or the ability to purchase the tickets at full price so we could avoid the presentation. Instead of accommodating us, Victoria pressured us to attend, claiming it was “no big deal” and assuring us we wouldn’t have to buy anything. Her tone was dismissive and condescending, and she insisted we go just so she could meet her quota.

Reluctantly, we went to the presentation, which began at 8 AM and lasted until 12:30 PM. Despite repeatedly making it clear that we were not interested, we were forced to endure hours of pressure-filled tactics and presentations, including speaking with four different people trying to sell us a timeshare. By the time we were released, we had already lost half a day of our precious vacation. The park closed at 6 PM, leaving us only a few hours to enjoy the attractions we flew all the way from Canada to experience.

Let me make this clear: the $35 discount was not worth the time, stress, and frustration. This ordeal completely ruined our vacation. I felt deceived and manipulated, and as a result, I will no longer support Holiday Inn properties for personal or business purposes. As a Gold member who regularly books hotels for contractors and construction work, this experience has caused me to lose all trust in the Holiday Inn brand.

On top of this, the Holiday Inn Vacation Club itself is a scam. Here’s the financial breakdown they presented during their high-pressure pitch: • The “deal” was a 40k timeshare with 16.5% interest for $545/month over 10 years, plus an annual maintenance fee of $2,200. This provides you with 200,000 points (roughly two weeks of vacation per year, if availability aligns). • Doing the math: • $545/month x 120 months = $65,400 • $2,200/year x 30 years (though maintenance fees are perpetual) = $66,000 • Total = $131,400 for two weeks/year

Now, compare that to simply booking vacations on your own: • $150/night average for two weeks per year for 30 years = $63,000 • With no maintenance fees, no restrictions, and the flexibility to vacation wherever and whenever you want.

The math doesn’t lie—this “deal” is far worse than just planning your own vacations. Yet they used relentless tactics to convince us it was worthwhile.

This entire experience has left me feeling cheated, manipulated, and disheartened. My long-anticipated vacation turned into a nightmare thanks to these deceitful practices. I will never recommend Holiday Inn or their Vacation...

My family and I planned a 4day vacation in Orlando and stayed at your hotel (room 430) from 3/19/24 - 3/22/24. During our first night stay, my wife and I discovered a colony of ants walking along the a/c unit and wall near our eating table. I immediately called the front desk and housekeeping numbers from the phone in our room between the hours of 11p and 1am. Keep your mouth shut. Furthermore, we could not reach anyone at those same numbers on our second night (3/20/24) when we called about the same issues. On our third night, we observed roaches of different sizes (smaller and larger cockroaches) In addition to the colony of ants. At that moment, we had enough of the built of this hotel. Finally, between 11pm and midnight on 03/22/24, I was able to reach a gentleman at the front desk from the same number that I was unable to contact anyone on for the previous days. When I explained the situation to the front desk attendant, he said he will call me back. However, shortly thereafter, he arrived at our room and stated he had room 318 available for us to relocate to for the remainder of the night, and would give us a 20% discount off the overall cost of our hotel. He further advised That due to the remodeling of other rooms, this likely caused the disturbances of the ants and roaches. I showed him the large cockroach crawling on wall above our eating table. And he acknowledged it. However, I explain to him that those rooms, including mine should’ve been fumigated for if that’s the issue. However, we relocated to room 318 in the middle of the night. Not only was this he could be used for me and my wife, but I had to wake my children up and we had to move our to a different hotel room. When I put this hotel, it was going to be pretense that it was a four star rating and a convenient location that was suitable for me and my family wellbeing. However, even with a 20% discount, it was a disgrace to have stayed at such hotel. Furthermore, I felt devalued as a member of Choice Hotels with the treatment and lack of consideration by the response given by the attendants and service offered by such. Additionally, I videotape the ropes on the wall inside our room and anticipate placing the video description on social media toward others...

My family and I planned a 4day vacation in Orlando and stayed at your hotel (room 430) from 3/19/24 - 3/22/24. During our first night stay, my wife and I discovered a colony of ants walking along the a/c unit and wall near our eating table. I immediately called the front desk and housekeeping numbers from the phone in our room between the hours of 11p and 1am. Keep your mouth shut. Furthermore, we could not reach anyone at those same numbers on our second night (3/20/24) when we called about the same issues. On our third night, we observed roaches of different sizes (smaller and larger cockroaches) In addition to the colony of ants. At that moment, we had enough of the built of this hotel. Finally, between 11pm and midnight on 03/22/24, I was able to reach a gentleman at the front desk from the same number that I was unable to contact anyone on for the previous days. When I explained the situation to the front desk attendant, he said he will call me back. However, shortly thereafter, he arrived at our room and stated he had room 318 available for us to relocate to for the remainder of the night, and would give us a 20% discount off the overall cost of our hotel. He further advised That due to the remodeling of other rooms, this likely caused the disturbances of the ants and roaches. I showed him the large cockroach crawling on wall above our eating table. And he acknowledged it. However, I explain to him that those rooms, including mine should’ve been fumigated for if that’s the issue. However, we relocated to room 318 in the middle of the night. Not only was this he could be used for me and my wife, but I had to wake my children up and we had to move our to a different hotel room. When I put this hotel, it was going to be pretense that it was a four star rating and a convenient location that was suitable for me and my family wellbeing. However, even with a 20% discount, it was a disgrace to have stayed at such hotel. Furthermore, I felt devalued as a member of Choice Hotels with the treatment and lack of consideration by the response given by the attendants and service offered by such. Additionally, I videotape the ropes on the wall inside our room and anticipate placing the video description on social media toward others...