TownePlace Suites by Marriott Orlando Theme Parks/Lake Buena Vista — Hotel in Dr. Phillips

I booked this hotel for four nights starting on 02/23/25 for my wife’s birthday and to take the kids to Disney World. Upon arrival, we were told that the room was not ready yet, which is understandable. However, this is where everything started going downhill.

While waiting in the arcade area, I decided to get an arcade card. I went to one of the kiosks and spent $60, but the game card never dispensed—so that was a complete waste of money, and I still haven’t been refunded.

Then, we decided to go outside. We walked around the outer part of the pool area, which is gated and requires a key card to enter. In this spot, the floor was wet, and my 18-month-old daughter fell and scraped her knees.

Once we were finally able to check in, we received our room assignment. However, when we got to the room, it was not the one I had booked. I had reserved a Family Suite, 2-Bedroom Residential Suite with Bedroom 1: 1 King, Bedroom 2: 1 King, and a Sofa Bed. So, I called the front desk to let them know I had been given the wrong room. They assured me a manager would call me back.

About five minutes later, someone knocked on my door. It was a housekeeping staff member who came to check the room. I explained the situation to her, and she told me that the room I had actually booked was right next door, but I needed front desk approval to move. So, I called the front desk again. They apologized and said a manager would call me shortly.

An hour passed, and still no call. I called again, and they told me to stay on hold while they transferred me to the manager. After holding for five minutes, the front desk agent got back on the line and said, “The manager will call you right now instead.” Well, guess what? That never happened.

At this point, I was beyond frustrated. We had wasted so much time that we couldn’t even start our planned birthday celebration for my wife. So, I went down to the front desk and spoke to a nice lady, telling her I needed to speak with a manager. She went to get the manager, and when the manager finally came out, she was rude from the start.

She asked, “What do you need?” I replied, “I need the room I booked.” I showed her my reservation, and she immediately said, “That room is unavailable.” I asked, “What do you mean? I booked it, and someone from your housekeeping team told me it’s right next door.” She insisted that it was impossible. So, I asked if she didn’t believe me, and she said yes because that room was booked. I told her, “See? You have the room, but you gave me the wrong one.”

She replied, “Well, that’s the only room I have for you.”

At that point, I had had enough. I told her, “That’s BS! I booked this a month ago.” Then I said, “Give me my money back—I’m leaving.”

She processed my refund, and I told her, “I’ve been a loyal Marriott customer for years. I only stay at Marriott hotels. But guess what? You just ruined that, and I will never stay at one again.”

I left, downloaded the Expedia app, and deleted my Marriott Bonvoy app immediately. Through Expedia, I found The Grove Resort and Water Park, and let me tell you—it’s 5 STARS! They have a free water park, a huge hotel, beautiful views, and friendly staff.

They got my business for our four-night stay. Marriott will never get another penny from me again. I travel about four times a year for personal trips and about ten times a...

Called days ealier about early check in around 1030am informed that it was good turned up at 1030 and then informed that our room would not be ready, then then told me they would call me when room is ready, they did not call. This is not being snobby by any means but when I spend a fortune at marriott i would like that to be recognized with a Thank You and being a marriott rewards member i was not,  its the small things that matter to me.   Anyways I Asked about cheap discount tickets for the parks, we were informed they didnt do any and had nobody that could help me i.e no conciege desk/person, later that evening found the conciage desk that did discount tickets but they were not there, they did leave a notice with a number for contact so i send a message waited for 20 minutes for a reply explained situation and silence, 2 hrs later after sending 2 more messages they said they dont do one day discount tickets, but what is the kicker the employee of the hotel tried to send us to embassy suits behind the hotel to speak to them to get cheaper ticket cause they didnt do discount tickets yet they have a small desk with somebody who sells discounted tickets,  how do you not know this.

In the evening has to asked if they had any flyers for pizza or knew of any close pizza places they had no flyers and knew nothing about the local area,   came back to front desk again to get drinks buy soda,  the fridges have no soda just beer, microwave meals and gatorade at 4 dollars a bottle no vending machines on site which is a total joke bar closes at 11pm another total joke.  Front desk staff on cell phones when its quiet had to disturb one employee from watching a video and another playing some game.   Now buffet.    Its not self serve, employees will pass you the hot food on a plate and hand you a bagel of muffin from behind the counter.  I asked for half and half creamer which was there the day before and apparently they  had none for that day only flavored creamer which i dont like one employee just ignored me and another just told me that they had none, one did try and look before i went and just got some milk from the machine.  Towels at the pool go quick i had to inform front desk twice they needed towels.  Food is mediocre you cant really mess up the basics,  ordered pizza it had no wax sheet underneath the pizza inside the pizza box so the crust stuck to the box..  Room is clean and spacious. Hosekeeping only comes after you leave you need to call front desk for towels, or for anything else you nees to the room.  spoke to other guests in passing, service and staff in this hotel is terrible which is a shared sentiment.  I will never stay at this hotel again.   On the last night i found some car keys next to the complimentary computer, i went over to  guest services and handed in the keys, he just took them off me and that was it no thank you nothing.  Thank heavens its the last night been here for 4 days and still no soda in...

Pros: Extraordinarily clean. The hotel common areas and room were immaculate. Staff were all very professional and friendly. The minor issues I encountered (a fridge door not closing properly) were handled very quickly. Requests were also responded to quickly (we asked for a pack n play and extra towels). And when I say quickly - I mean within minutes of putting down the phone someone was at our door. That was nice. Nothing beats having a kitchen even if you don’t plan on cooking. So nice to have a big fridge to store beverages. Rooms are large. Location is great. Short drive to local attractions. Multiple grocery stores and eating options within minutes from the hotel. Pool area was very nice. The fountains and sprinklers at the shallow end were a hit with smaller children. Two big, clean Weber gas grills were also available to guests. Cons: Due to covid, they are not serving breakfast. While I understand that hotel buffet breakfasts may be a thing of the past, I travel frequently and have experienced decent grab and go breakfast offerings in their stead. They’re usually comprised of coffee, cereal, fresh fruit, pastries, etc. This hotel doesn’t offer anything - - - not even coffee. This may not be a big deal for some, but coffee is a huge deal for me. Though, yes, they do provide coffee makers and coffee in the room, let’s be honest: if you’re a coffee drinker...the kind of coffee drinker I am...the I cannot function properly after opening my eyes without the caffeine kind of coffee drinker, then you’ll likely agree that the coffee they provide in the room is “eh” and there’s never enough of it. That said, they did waive the parking fee when we stayed to make up for it. Housekeeping doesn’t come daily due to covid. Again, I travel frequently. So I know that other hotels are finding better workarounds. I’d prefer for this to be voluntary. Opt out of housekeeping for points, for example. Or require that guests not be in the room when housekeeping enters. However, this hotel only provides housekeeping every five days, I believe. So if you’re staying for less than that, you won’t see them unless you request towels or soap or some other amenity which they’ll bring to your door. Here’s the major problem with not providing more frequent housekeeping: These rooms have full kitchens!!! I’d wager most guests staying here do so because they plan on using them. How many people go five days without vacuuming, mopping, or spraying down their kitchens? Very few. And there’s not exactly a vacuum or mop or some Lysol handy. We basically just had breakfast and the occasional sandwich in the room. But it still needed to be cleaned up. I was without the tools to do so. All in all, I recognize that my only complaints are covid related. In every other respect, it was a five star stay. I can honestly say that it was better than many of the “luxury” Marriott properties...