DoubleTree by Hilton Sarasota Bradenton Airport — Hotel in Sarasota

I'm a loyal Hilton Honors member and stay in hotels almost as frequently as my own bed... But when I'm in Sarasota, which has no shortage of Hilton properties, I always choose the Holiday Inn Airport instead.

Why?

A real full service hotel - The restaurant and bar at this hotel aren't just perfunctory amenities to satisfy brand standards. You'll always find regulars from three locall area enjoying food and drink here, as well as guests if the hotel, which really makes it a lot more appealing just to dine at the hotel while staying here.

Superior construction standards - I'm always requesting a top floor room because I don't like hearing the footsteps of guests above me. But not here. This building was constructed with quality, not cost, in mind. Each and every floor is separated with a solid concrete slab, not just stick construction like most hotels, so the sound insulation here is vastly superior when compared to most (even high end) hotels.

Less transient feel - This hotel is located conveniently next to the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, but around the side where it's less likely to be noticed by casual travelers. As a result, most of the guests are longer term and regular guests visiting the many nearby corporate campuses. This means that the staff and management here really care to provide a consistent high quality experience, as they can't rely so much on the throngs of transient travelers flowing through the airport that may never return no matter the quality of the experience. The business travelers at this hotel may spend many many nights here every year, and as a result the hotel goes above and beyond to provide an experience that ensures those business travelers will always return when working in Sarasota.

I lose a lot of Hilton Hhonors points by staying here instead of at Hilton properties when traveling in the area, but I don't think twice about it. This is clearly the highest quality and best value lodging experience available anywhere in the Sarasota/Bradenton area.

Thank you to the excellent management and staff at the Holiday Inn Sarasota Airport! I can't...

This review is in no way a reflection of the rooms. They were great. I stay in a lot of Hilton properties and the rooms here are generally very nice.

This has to do with my experience with the staff and overall service. My original stay for 12/22 - 12/24. During this time, it is posted in the elevator that if you’d like turn down service, you can request it, OR it happens every other day during your stay. We extended our stay by a day making our stay 12/22 - 12/25, meaning that the turndown service should have automatically applied and happened, independent of us having to ask for it.

We were gone for most of the day, and when we returned, it hadn’t happened. So there are now no towels we can use in our room, so I had to go to the desk to ask. The current desk agent downstairs is not kind. He was incredibly dismissive of anything I had to say and was exuding a lot of attitude. All I did was ask for towels and remark on the POSTED policy, and was met with dismissive nosies.

We had a somewhat emergency situation come up and had to rush into the hotel momentarily to grab some things, which meant my wife was temporarily holding a dog that would be staying offsite. The desk agent called our room as we were leaving, and brought the same warm attitude to use remarking that because a dog had even TEMPORARILY entered the room, for now no more than five minutes, we would be subject to a $70 cleaning fee, which is egregious considering most hotels, even Hilton properties, charge you $50 for having an animal stay the night in your room. But don’t worry, he was willing to “speak to a manager” to try and waive it.

His entire attitude and demeanor towards myself and my wife has soured us towards this hotel. The other staff during the rest of our stay has been great. It only takes one person to sour...

THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I'VE EVER HAD.

As a Hilton Honors Member who has stayed with Hilton properties around the world during my service in the United States Air Force and throughout the U.S. since then, I’ve come to expect a certain standard of hospitality and integrity. Unfortunately, this DoubleTree location completely failed in both areas.

Upon checkout, I was charged $210 without notice or explanation. The hotel later claimed that I broke a coffee table — something I never saw, used, or even knew existed in the room. I had driven four hours with two young children, arrived late, put them to bed, and left early the next morning. I spent less than 12 hours in the room and did nothing but sleep.

When I called to dispute the charge, the front desk repeatedly ignored me, transferring my call over and over. When I finally reached Manager Dave, I was spoken to disrespectfully and condescendingly. He told me it was my job to inspect the room for damage upon check-in, accused me of lying, and even said I was "lucky" he only charged me $210. He then hung up on me and told me not to call the front desk again.

Amy at the front desk was similarly dismissive, showing zero empathy or professionalism throughout my attempts to resolve the issue. Not a single person has provided proof of this so-called damage — no photos, no report, nothing.

This is, without question, the worst customer service experience I’ve had in my life. Manager Dave lacks integrity and leadership, and Amy displayed no interest in assisting a loyal guest. If this is how they treat Hilton Honors members and veterans, I fear for how they treat everyday travelers.

Do not stay at this property. There are better-run Hilton locations that respect their guests, provide transparency, and understand what hospitality...