Pestana Orlando Suites Lake Buena Vista — Hotel in Dr. Phillips

I waited a full week to write this review to see if the $100 deposit and the promised $50 credit for the multiple issues during my stay would be processed—neither were. I had called ahead to share that I was coming for my birthday and also to evaluate the hotel for future business stays—for both myself and my employees. I was assured I’d be placed on a high, quiet floor and receive a one-hour late checkout. None of these promises were honored at check-in.

There was no birthday acknowledgment, no proper greeting, and certainly no recognition of my Expedia Gold status, which includes complimentary upgrades and VIP perks. Despite this, I was charged an unexpected resort fee at check-in. This fee is completely unjustified—this property is hardly a resort and offers absolutely no perks or special privileges that would warrant such a charge.

I was placed on a low floor in an adjoining room next to a coughing, loud guest. When I asked to be moved, they initially tried to charge me extra—even though I refused and explained my Gold status. The next day, I was finally moved to a similar room on a higher floor with zero assistance, which was frustrating.

I Woke up the third day of my stay and was also double charged a $100 deposit WITHOUT MY CONSENT!!! —later dismissed as a “human error.” Communication between staff was poor and unprofessional, with front desk employees yelling back and forth to each other across the lobby during my almost 30 minute check-in…with no one else waiting but me.

The pool was dirty every single day of my stay—there was visible debris inside the water and dirt particles floating on the surface. Additionally, ants were everywhere. I sat near the rocks surrounding the pool and watched as ants crawled across the chairs and benches—completely unacceptable for a property of this category.

The gym had no mats, no cable machine, and the antibacterial wipe dispenser was empty the entire time. Despite three requests for it to be restocked, I was handed Kleenex once and nothing was done thereafter. Housekeeping was also minimal—just the bedsheet was changed. No vacuuming, no moping, no counter wipe-downs. I also requested five large towels each day and would receive two or maybe three at most.

As for water, they provide one glass Voss bottle upon arrival, which they call “complimentary,” only for you to find out that every following day, you’re given two very cheap plastic water bottles. It felt like a bait-and-switch tactic.

The TV has maybe 30 channels it is not a Smart TV (so no Netflix/YouTube capabilities)

The only thing I can honestly say I liked was the comfort of the bed. But if you’re looking for a truly professional, comfortable stay with reliable service and communication—this is not the hotel. If you simply want a place to shower and sleep, it may be fine. But if you expect even a basic level of attentiveness or a standard of hospitality, you’ll likely walk away as disappointed as I was.

Update!!! And Edit!

I’m genuinely shocked that instead of offering an apology or taking responsibility, this hotel chose to respond with defensiveness, misstatements, and blame-shifting. The “VIP upgrade” was merely a higher floor—identical room, no connecting door. Housekeeping never mopped floors, cleaned counters, or mirrors. The gym lacked wipes, mats, and basic hygiene—offering me Kleenex instead. I was charged an extra $100 without consent, and your staff clearly stated it was human error—not technical. Criticizing my towel preference and questioning my booking price through Expedia is unprofessional. If you don’t want Expedia guests, don’t list your property there. I never said I had a “fantastic” stay—what I said was the bed was the best part. It’s now been over two weeks, and I still haven’t received my refund. Every point in my review was honest and justified. Your response only reinforces the poor service I...

Edited on August 20th, 2024 (see below for original post) In response to the managers comments, as I said, I contacted my CREDIT CARD company and EXPEDIA to try and get the refund for the remaining days but according to them, if the manager on site had picked up the phone and APPROVED the refund I wouldn't have had any trouble returning to NY at that very moment. As for the pool incident, staff said it was being treated but a few minutes after I found a family of 7 enjoying the pool. I reiterated what I experienced.

Orginally Post August 15, 2024. This place used to be Comfort Inn & Suites. I love the policies of Comfort Inn & Suites. Pestana is very clean, I'll admit... but I had an emergency back home in New York. My stay was from August 2nd to August 10th. On August 7th I was trying to leave to come back home. I couldn't get anyone to help me with getting a refund for the remaining days. I called my credit card company and Expedia which they had to call Pestana manager to speak about a refund. I cried to these people and no one felt any compassion. I did speak to the front desk receptionist who spoke to the manager and she told me he wasn't going to give a refund and there is nothing they can do according to Pestana policies. That to me is ridiculous. Emergencies are just that, we don't know when or what can take place. There was no compassion at all. I even offered to show them hospital papers that I wasn't lying and it was indeed an emergency and I just wanted to be home... no one helped. I was stuck in Orlando for the remaining time very hurt about the whole situation and just couldn't wait to be home. My daughter and husband wanted to use the pool, we were told they had to do maintenance and they were closed, they didn't know when it would open again. Less than half an hour later we see a family of 7 in there. I was shocked because we were told they wouldn't open due to maintenance and didn't know when it would open again, sounded like it wouldn't open that day. I don't know what was going on but I found it skeptical that there was no maintenance done and a family of 7 was in there shortly after we asked.

The only great thing about staying here was that my 11 year old daughter made friends with one of the receptionist. She made our stay a little more hopeful and easy emotionally with her vibrant,...

The hotel stay was all good and well! Everything was perfect until the last night of my stay when they authorised charges on my card (on top of the deposit that I authorised when I checked in), before check out (and btw I had nothing pending on my bill, the whole of it was already fully paid in advance). Naturally, I was surprised, and found it suspicious, so I came down to the reception to ask them about it, unfortunately they had no explanation for it whatsoever. The manager came to face me with no justification whatsover, I could tell that he didn’t know what was going on, but instead of understanding my frustration, he threatened to call 911 to have me kicked out of the property, thankfully that was my last day, on said property and just checked myself out. Funnily enough, even though they were adamant that they were gonna reimburse me for said charge, still nothing. I have been back to Morocco for 5 days now, and they still have my 100$. Shameful from a hotel, with a big franchise name to have that kind of sketchy behaviour. Because they obviously ended up blaming it on the system, while promising a refund. Ruined the whole stay, right there and then. It’s not even about the amount taken, but it’s about the unauthorised transaction, without the card owner’s consent. For that alone, I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. I would like to point out that the staff were very friendly and helpful throughout the stay, except for the leader of the pack, who should, in my opinion, get a refresher course on hospitality. Also I could tell that even his colleagues were surprised by the way he reacted to my inquiry, which is completely justifiable. Hopefully this situation gets resolved in the upcoming days, because the hotel was really nice, until it wasn’t, and that led me to start my 24 hrs trip back home on the wrong foot, as it ruined to whole stay. And now as it happens, after reading a whole lot of reviews, I realised that I am not the only person who hasn’t gotten their money (half of my deposit 40$ and some+ unauthorised extra 100$ charge) back by this hotel!! SHAMEFUL! The real blame goes out to me for not reading up on the reviews before picking the place. But then again, naturally I was the only person who was threatened by the manager, as if I was wrong,...