Element Orlando International Drive — Hotel in Dr. Phillips

MALICIOUS HOUSEKEEPER(S)

My husband and I went to Orlando and stayed at Element earlier this year (late February to early March 2023).  Their customer service was very poor and room amenities needed updating.  The clothing iron in the room was not working very well.  At first we brought down the bad iron to the front desk to ask for a new one.  The front desk employee said they would have to put in the request in the computer and then someone would bring us a new one. I think it took them until the next day for a new iron to show up.  And we’re pretty sure they brought the same mal-functioning iron that we had rejected back to us.

My husband was also fighting a cold so we asked for an extra box of Kleenex.  Basically anything we requested (the box of kleenex and the working clothing iron previously mentioned), we would have to wait at least a full day to show up.  Even worse, we’d have to call down to remind them we were still waiting on the item.

NOW, about the MALICIOUS housekeeper which made us furious:

For the whole time we were there, we put up the "Do Not Disturb" sign.  I personally don't like strangers touching my stuff, and also I'm a pretty organized and clean person.  I can make my own bed and all that.  So we didn't need housekeeping.  However, one day when my husband went to brush his teeth, he noticed that there was some pink liquid on his electric toothbrush.  Neither of us had any pink-colored liquid toiletries and so that was, of course, very strange.

We ran through some scenarios and thought maybe housekeeping came in, DESPITE the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, and somehow spilled their cleaning detergent or toilet cleaner?  That didn't make sense because the room wasn't made when we came back.  On top of that, someone would have to be DELIBERATE to leave the pink liquid on his electric toothbrush, as it was not just sitting on the counter.  It had been tucked away in its case inside my husband's toiletry bag.

My husband naturally could not use the contaminated toothbrush and went down to the front desk to ask for a clean toothbrush.  He also asked to speak with the housekeeping manager to inquire about the incident.  They should have electronic keycard access records of who entered our room and when, so it should be pretty easy to identify the individual.  And we want to know why someone would do this.  Later, we did get to speak to a housekeeping supervisor.  He took down information and told us he would escalate it upwards then get back to us.

That was near the end of our trip and we didn't get a call back until after we'd returned home.  Unfortunately, my husband missed the call from the hotel general manager.  My husband did, however, call back several times and left messages, but never heard back again.  So I don't know if it was because we were no longer on property and therefore out of their hair, that the general manager just decided to ignore us.  So we were never able to find out who did it and why they did it.

Anyway, this review did take a while for us to submit, because, well, we're busy with life.  But as we recently were chatting with some family members and remembered the incident, I decided this should be documented.  This was a MALICIOUS act committed by an individual with INTENT TO CAUSE HARM.  Needless to say, cleaning detergents are not meant for human ingestion as they're poisonous and could inflict serious bodily reactions.  So be wary of housekeeping staff if you do decide to stay at...

As a Marriott Bonvoy member, overall I was disappointed with the penny-pinching vibe of an otherwise clean and safe hotel near Orlando's family attractions.

CHECK-IN MISHAPS: Arrived at midnight, waited 30 frustrating minutes for a parking pass that was already included in our reservation. The staff member initially tried to charge us before we clarified the package details. Requested a luggage cart, but were met with the explanation that "people don't always return them." That's all she had to say about the matter. This forced us to make multiple trips up and down to our room at a late check-in time.

INCONSISTENT HOUSEKEEPING Given the extended-stay nature of the hotel, we weren't expecting daily deep cleaning, but housekeeping fell short of basic standards. Daily calls to the front desk were required for basic items like towels, toilet paper, soap dispensers, and even paper towels. Trash removal had to be requested. Oftentimes, housekeeping would come by and take towels, but not leave replacements. They saw that we had half a roll of toilet paper left but didn't leave an extra roll. The body wash dispenser remained empty for the entire duration of our stay (thankfully, we had brought our own soap). Requesting linens for the pull-out sofa (which should have been readily available in the room) turned into a 6+ hour ordeal. While we were out and about, I requested the linens via text, and they said it was handled. We arrived back at the hotel around midnight and had to call and wait again.

UNWELCOMING POOL On the first night at the pool, there were no towels available at all! We had to return to the front desk and wait almost half an hour for them to be restocked. Despite advertised closing at 11 pm, a staff member (the same one who checked us in) approached us at 10:52 pm and pressured us to leave the pool because "maintenance wanted to start cleaning." This felt unnecessarily rushed, especially since we planned to be out by closing time. The awkwardness was amplified by the pool maintenance worker holding the gate open and watching us as we dried off and left. When we acknowledged him on our way out with a "good night" and "thanks" he just continued staring at us.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT The furniture in our room showed significant wear and tear with scuffs all around. The toilet paper holder simply fell off the cabinet during our stay. The closets lacked any hangers upon arrival, requiring yet another request and wait.

POSITIVES Perfect for theme park access. The hotel offered strong WiFi and the TVs worked well, both essentials for a smooth stay. The pool was a great temperature, felt clean, and offered the novelty of being a saline pool. Unlike the worn-out sofa bed, the actual bed was comfortable.

The location and some amenities were decent, but the lack of consistent service and the prevalence of minor inconveniences significantly impacted the experience. With Marriott's usual standards in mind, this stay fell short of my expectations as a...

We just returned from staying at Element Orlando and it was a mixed bag., but overall it was good. So our first room had an insanely sticky door which made it very, very hard to open. I had to push so hard on that door to open it which was just not normal. I brought this to the front desk attention and was told that this was somehow a safety thing and that door hadn't been updated yet (more or less). This was Thursday when we checked in. I complained on Friday...nothing. I complained on Saturday and the front desk sent the maintenance guy to check it out. He couldn't fix the issue and I was offered another room which was an upgrade....sweet. Found out that the phone wasn't working, it would ring but they can't hear you, nor them. I didn't think much of it because I just used my cell to call the front desk. However, when we ordered Uber Eats the front desk would call the room and when I went down to get the delivery I let them know again that I didn't answer because the phone doesn't work. Eventually maintenance came for the phone issue on Monday and he said he would be back with a new phone, but as of check out on a Wednesday he never returned with the phone.The broken phone is probably still in the room. A couple days after we moved to the upgraded room, I noticed these teeny tiny bugs crawling around the countertop in the kitchen area. They were very small, but I can identify at least five of them at any given time. The following day I noticed the bugs on the side table by the couch. I didn't complain since I already had two problems since arriving and I didn't want to look like an annoying Karen. The rooms are very nice as well as the bathroom, however I thought tub/shower combos were listed on Expedia. I was informed that they do not have bathtubs and my lil boy doesn't take showers yet. Needless to say I couldn't bathe him for the whole stay which was 6 nights. The pool is very nice and clean, but they can use more umbrellas for those of us who want shade I think there was a total of 2 umbrellas. Plenty of dining options in the area and the location is convenient to all theme parks. Everything was within a 15 minute car ride. Sea world is pretty much next door. There are no theme park or airport shuttles offered at this hotel which makes it less family friendly than other Orlando/Disney hotels. Complimentary breakfast was a bonus but can be repetitive in their offerings. We just went around the corner to Denny's a couple of times to change it up a bit. I also like that there was always coffee and water available in the lobby. Not sure if the water is filtered but it's fruit infused so it tastes better...