EVEN Hotel Sarasota-Lakewood Ranch by IHG — Hotel in Sarasota

Our experience at this hotel was nothing short of disappointing. We arrived exhausted after a long day of travel, only to find the check-in desk completely unattended at 9 pm. After waiting 10 minutes, I had to track down a staff member by walking into the back halls—only to find no one. Eventually, the bartender begrudgingly helped find an attendant. When she did appear, she was pleasant, but the delay and lack of staff set a negative tone for our stay.

When we finally entered our room, we were hit with a horrible stench. The musty air mixed with the strong smell of dirty mop water made it unbearable. To make matters worse, the floor beneath the A/C unit was soaked. We asked for a new room, and while the desk agent managed to find one, despite claiming the hotel was "sold out," it also smelled unpleasant. It was less musty but still far from fresh. We resigned ourselves to staying in this room, where the smell lingered for all three nights of our stay.

Beyond the room issues, the hotel itself was in poor condition. The infused water in the lobby lacked cups, the "living wall" was mostly dead, and the second check-in desk agent we encountered was dressed unprofessionally, wearing an unbuttoned blouse that revealed far too much. For a hotel that’s part of a well-known brand, this lack of decorum was unacceptable.

The room’s layout was also bizarre and impractical. EVEN Hotels promotes a healthy lifestyle, but having exercise equipment fixed to the ceiling in the center of the room was overbearing and disruptive. It felt intrusive, especially when trying to relax or watch TV. There wasn't even enough space to actually exercise in the room, rendering the whole concept pointless. The inclusion of an outdated dry-erase board was another strange, out-of-touch detail. It seemed like someone designed the room with no thought to functionality or guest comfort. As for decor, there was none—just two cheesy motivational sayings built into the furniture and bare walls, which gave the room the ambiance of a basement.

Adding to the frustration, the sofa-style chair in our room was broken, the floorboards were warped due to water damage, and the carpet near the A/C was drenched. The so-called "business center" in the lobby was laughable—just two chairs and a monitor in a noisy lobby. When we asked to use a quiet space for a work call, we were told we’d have to pay to rent an empty conference room, which felt like a money grab.

Additionally, about 12 hours after checking out, my brother realized he had left his jacket in the closet. We called to see if it was turned in—and of course, it wasn't. So, either the cleaning staff decided to keep it for themselves or just totally disregarded cleaning the closet entirely, so the new occupants had his coat in the closet when the arrived. Either way, there's obviously a lack of attention to detail, even in the small things after check out.

All in all, this hotel fell far below the standards expected of an IHG property. I would never recommend staying here, whether using money or points. This experience has seriously tarnished my view...

This hotel exceeded my expectations in every aspect possible. The rooms were spacious and comfortable, the decor was beautiful, the staff were friendly and professional, the surroundings were gorgeous, and the food was delicious, too. I am a meeting planner who is always looking for professional meeting space and rooms at reasonable rates. This hotel is WONDERFUL. It definitely exceeded expectations of even the best Holiday Inn. Every single person we encountered from check-in to drinks to breakfast to housekeeping was very polite, professional, and helpful. I found it interesting that many of the staff have worked there for more than 10 years...clearly they are happy and take pride in their work, and that makes all the difference in a hotel stay. This is highly unusual in the hotel business, and it made our stay so nice.

I stayed in a king suite, and it was AMAZING! Mine had a jacuzzi tub plus a walk-in shower, a refrigerator, microwave, separate sleeping quarters, a spacious living room, and more. It was so comfortable...it was the best night of sleep I had in a long time!

The surroundings were peaceful and beautiful. The view from my window was of a large pond where I enjoyed watching cranes resting in the trees and flying by. It felt like you were in a sanctuary, though apparently they are building a very upscale mall nearby. I am not a fan of shopping usually, but my conference attendees usually are...and I love that there is an Apple store in the mall as well as lots of restaurant options nearby.

The hotel restaurant and bar area was also great. I have a service dog, and I am always impressed when people offer to bring him water at a restaurant without me having to ask. Before I was even seated, a member of the restaurant team kindly offered. Also, the breakfast buffet for $9.99 was a good deal with plenty of fresh fruit, eggs, meat (which I don't eat), pastries, yogurt, and much more. We also had drinks in the bar in the evening, and the bartender was excellent.

For anyone else planning meetings, this was a great place for smaller groups up to about 75 people. I like that the hotel is smaller, so your meeting space is very close to sleeping quarters. The A/V is updated with projectors mounted in the ceilings as well as with pull-down screens. The meeting rooms are very nice and allow for breakout sessions, too. There is also a great board room for smaller groups of up to about 12. Perhaps even more importantly, the sales team led by Rob Ferguson is professional, accommodating, and savvy.

In summary, this hotel exceeded my expectations in every aspect possible. I highly recommend staying at the Holiday Inn Sarasota Lakewood Ranch. I look forward to returning and to hosting...

We checked in two days before Hurricane " Milton." I checked online and the price was double what their normal rate is when I called to make a reservation, but when I checked in it was three times their normal rate. When I got there, I asked if there will be a back up power incase the power goes out, the manager, Adri Gonzalez, told me rudely that this is not a storm shelter and there will be no back up power. We stayed for three nights and the bill came out to be more than a thousand dollars, this is outrageous and price gouging considering there were so many issues with the room.

When I first checked in, I noticed a foul odor so I called the front desk, they sent a guy up to spray a lemon scent that masked the odor and in some way made it worse. I also noticed the carpet was wet around the AC unit. On the way back from getting stuff out of my car, I saw a wet vacuum sitting out in the hallway, so I asked the cleaning lady if I can use it. I took it to the room and started vacuuming the wet carpet around the AC unit that keeps cutting on and off and made a loud noise. The next day the carpet was still wet, but soaked this time and the odor was still there. I called the front desk and they sent another guy(Sebastian) up. He proceeds to vacuum around the AC unit and has taken the unit apart, it was wet and dirty and it looked disgusting, see attached pictures, and also the bottom of the pan was full of water. Although Sebastian was very accommodating, he couldn't remove the bad odor. It took him two trips back and forth to empty the water out of the AC unit and on the third trip, he came back with a big fan to blow dry the carpet. The fan is loud, we left it running for about 90 minutes as we were told to do, but the carpet was still wet and the odor was still there. I had a severe bad headache due to the odor the whole time I was there

The room is very small with thin walls, you can literally hear the people next door on both sides and foot steps walking above. The shower is very tiny and tight, and there was no hot water on the second day. The front lobby has urine spots here and there. The hall way carpet was never vacuumed the whole time I was there. The people at the front desk were friendly until I brought up the issues I was having, then they weren't so friendly anymore. This is a very low quality Hotel with low quality service that overcharged during a very stressful time. I or anyone shouldn't have to stay in a wet carpet room with strong bad odor and a dirty AC unit that half the time wasn't working properly. The only good thing I can say about this place is they allowed pets. I had the worst three days of my life in this place and it has nothing to do with...