Comfort Inn & Suites San Marcos near Outlet Mall — Hotel in San Marcos

I don’t usually leave reviews, but after what happened during my stay at this hotel on July 3, 2025, I feel like I need to speak up and warn others — especially if you’re traveling with kids.

I was with my 12-year-old son, and right off the bat things felt off. When we arrived around 8 PM, the front desk agent was dealing with an upset customer who was complaining about some of the exact same issues I would end up experiencing — room problems, bad service, and maintenance issues. That should’ve been the first red flag.

Also worth mentioning: this hotel was priced a little higher than others in the area, so I expected better accommodations and service. Unfortunately, that’s not at all what we got.

We were given a room on the 2nd floor, and when we opened the door, I was shocked to find someone else’s belongings inside — the room was already occupied. I went straight back to the front desk to report it. A few minutes later, four women and a man (the actual guests) came downstairs clearly upset. The man confronted me until I explained the front desk had mistakenly given me their room. I showed him and the staff the key I had just been handed. It could’ve gone really badly. Walking into someone else’s room — especially with my kid — was scary and totally unacceptable.

They reassigned us to another room on the 4th floor, but it wasn’t the suite I had paid for. The lights didn’t work, the AC barely cooled the room. I had to go downstairs again and finally got a suite — but that one had no hot water. A staff member came up and said it would warm up after a while, but it never did. That night, the water was cold and we couldn’t shower. Later, the bedside lamps also stopped working and just flickered dimly. It was one thing after another.

We were supposed to stay for two nights (July 3–4), but after all that, we packed up and booked a different hotel for the second night.

I told the front desk everything and contacted Hotels.com, since I booked through them. They told me the hotel would have to approve any refund. I also emailed the hotel manager directly and reached out to Choice Hotels corporate. To this day, I haven’t received a single reply. Hotels.com later told me the hotel refused to offer any kind of refund or compensation. Choice Hotels never followed up either. The only thing I received was 50 points from Hotels.com, which doesn’t even come close to making up for the mess we went through.

Again, I don’t normally post reviews, but the way this hotel handled everything — and took zero responsibility — made me feel like I had to say something. I expected better, especially at this price point.

If something goes wrong at this place, don’t count on support, accountability, or even a call back. I’d strongly suggest staying...

Hair, bugs and horrible service. Upon checking in, the stay started off okay. Got to the room and began to unpack. Quickly noticed that hair was everywhere in the bathroom. Floor, tub, toilet and countertop. Cleaned out the bathroom as best I could so as not to upset my family and tried to keep everyone upbeat. When leaving for dinner, I discreetly asked the front desk attendant if there was anyone that could help clean up the bathroom floor while we were out. She said she would do her best. Upon returning for the night, the bathroom floor looked a little bit cleaner. Was it perfect? No. Anything was better than what we checked in with. The second evening we were there, I requested one additional towel, since there were three of us in the room, so that each of us could have their own bath towel. After the attendant at the front desk put her phone down to give me her full attention, she said that she had just given out the last towel and they were booked for the evening. I kindly made my point again that we would each really like to have our own bath towel, since there were only two in the room when we checked in. I asked if there was any way she could take a quick minute to check the housekeeping closets on a different floor to see if there were any more bath towels. Begrudgingly, she agreed. She returned a few minutes later with a towel and I let her know I appreciated it. Went up to the room to get showered for the night, and was about to hand my young daughter the towel from the front desk attendant. The towel was covered in something smudged and black. It reminded me of mascara and I assumed that at this point the towel was definitely not a clean. While running the shower faucet to get the water warmed up, the bathtub filled with water. The drain in the tub was open so I attempted to figure out what was going on. The tub drain was completely backed up and filled with hair. Since we have not used the shower yet, it was evident with the hair had been there well before we checked in. With all of these issues, there were many more. Overall cleanliness, inside and out of the hotel, were very undesirable. Three of the front desk staff that we had interactions with were on their phones before we were actually able to get their attention while standing at the desk. Would not recommend staying here if it can be avoided. Spend the extra 20 to $60 a night at a different property. It will be well worth it and a mistake we will...

DO NOT STAY HERE! If I could give this place ZERO stars, I would. This place is the most DISGUSTING hotel I have EVER stayed at. I read the reviews for the hotel and there were more people that said this hotel was clean and wonderful….lies. It is currently 3:30 a.m. ON MY BIRTHDAY and I was woken up by a roach crawling on me. You are greeted with the smell of mold when you enter the hotel. The floor and carpet were disgusting. The elevator disgusting. Our room ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING! The lamp on the counter didn’t have the screw to turn the lamp on. I noticed the lamp wasn’t plugged into the outlet. When I plugged the lamp into the outlet, the light turned on. I HAD TO UNPLUG AND PLUG THE LAMP TO TURN ON! The longer lamp didn’t have a lightbulb. I turned my flashlight on and there was CRUMBS AND FOOD ON THE FLOOR. I opened up the refrigerator to find the shelves were not in the slots and the lamp shade in between the beds was crooked. The crooked lamp shade and refrigerator shelve isn’t a big deal but housekeeping should have adjusted anything that needs to be tidied up. Little things like this just laziness and unprofessional. I get the ick after these discoveries. I went downstairs to complain…..not a soul in sight. After we checked in, I never saw an employee again. I checked the bed and sheets, everything looked okay. I couldn’t sleep well because I felt so nasty. I took a shower with ROACHES. There was mold in the top right corner of shower. I dropped my charger near the bed, when I bent down to get it….food was crusted on the side of the bed. When I picked the mattress up….CRUMBS EVERYWHERE. Who knows how long they have been there. Repairs that needed to be done around the room and hotel were done poorly. The place looks completely outdated and all the photos of a clean hotel we’re probably from a different location because this place is complete trash. I can’t wait to leave this place. How this dump of a place has 5 stars and good...