SpringHill Suites by Marriott Sarasota Bradenton — Hotel in Sarasota

We usually enjoy staying at Springhill Suites when we travel. This was no exception! For a family of 5 it's a good sized room and a reasonable price. Night Staff was very good, Adam and Abraham attended to everything we needed. Room and bathroom were clean. Breakfast was the usual for Springhill-pastries/bagels/toast, oatmeal, cold cereal, fruit, eggs, different meat sides all 3 days; which was nice for variety. They kept the food full right up to the end. Overall no complaints from myself, hubby or the kids on the food.

I had read a number of reviews on this hotel (smells, bad staff, odd rooms, breakfast, noisey). My experience... --I personally didn't smell or see any mildew or mold-its is an odor but I think its just the way the water smells in FL. Smelled same odor in higher end hotels. I am allergic to mold/mildew and had little issue in our room. --Night staff definitely friendly and helpful. Day staff...eh...they just do their job. --This particular location does have a very weird setup for the rooms- there is little room for suitcases/bags near the beds if you want them to be accessible all the time. Bathroom needs more hooks in the shower area (they want you to hang up your towels to reuse but 5 people use a lot of towels-1 hook won't cut it. Also needs a shelf near the sink. (3,4,5 people have a lot of toiletries and 1 vanity isn't enough space). The pull out bed-when pulled out-actually blocks access to the door from the main bed and bathroom area (fire hazard?) and our suitcases as it were. Big work area-desk, mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker, sink. --The A/C unit is right next to the bed closest to the window which worked ok for us as my husband prefers it to be very cold. But I couldn't deal-frigid! (Keep fan on constant to keep room cool) --I only heard 1 airplane during the 3 days we stayed there and no road noise but we were on the far side of the hotel away from the road and airport. --BTW my kids enjoyed the pool (3 or 4 feet deep) just enough to cool off in. FYI-hot tub is no longer in use. (It's now a lovely planter). Overall the stay was what we needed-a place to drop our stuff and get some rest as we explored Sarasota and surrounding areas. Only complaints are the lack of shelving/hooks and room set up-aggrevating but doable. Definitely will return if...

I stayed at this property in February. I booked a king size suite that was not even close to being considered a suite. My brother-n-law who had a double queen room had more space then I had. He also had two televisions in his room. I should have gone with his style of room.

The television was mounted in the narrow hallway between where the king bed was and the couch in the "sitting room". You could not even watch the television from the bed because you had to turn the tv on such an angle that it blocked the "hallway" between the two areas.

The closet was very hard to access because the king bed blocked the entrance to the closet.

On one of the nights we were there the entire parking lot was roped off. When I asked why, the person at the desk could not give me an answer. I was told to park at the hotel across the plaza from their property.

Needless to say, I was not the only one to complain. Others were complaining as well. I ended up removing the rope and parking my car in the parking lot I was paying to stay at.

The next morning we found out the reason the spots were being roped off was a car show was taking place the next day. My response was fine, block the spots as they become available. Don't block them all out the night before.

We purchased orange juice from the store behind the desk. The orange juice was sour. It was a greyish color. We asked for a refund, NOTHING.

I finally had to call Marriott Corporate to complain. I was promised a refund for one nights stay. That was back in late February. I still have not received my refund. According to Marriott the hotel was refusing to issue a credit. They wanted to give me rewards points. I said that is not what I was promised.

Today, April 11, 2016 I was told I would be receiving a refund in the next 3 to 10 business days. I was also told I would receive an email confirmation. As of 9:41 am I have not received the email.

I will be back on April 21, 2016 to let you know if they actually refund the money.

I would avoid this property. I never had a problem with a Marriott property before. I have stayed at many Springhill Suites. This one is the first sub-standard Marriott property I have stayed at.

Because of this experience I will not stay at another Marriott property...

Let just say I am pretty pissed 😡 staying here. This will be my first and last 3 days. From day one my room key was not working, had to walk back to the front desk and they told me the key card is very sensitive and I can't put it near my cell phone. Really? I know most of us travelers heard this before at other chained hotels as well and it's annoying. Where else can I put my keys and cell phone? To me they all go into my purse! Tonight is day 3 after a long day at work and my key is not working again, the front desk person acted like it was my fault, "you can't put it near your cell phone" he said.

Another issue I had was on the first night, the smoke alarm went off at midnight and woke me up! The front desk called and ask if I was smoking in the room. Yes I am offended with that question 😡 I am NOT a smoker and I was sleeping. I had to use a newspaper to fan the smoke alarm for the sound to be off. I asked the front desk why the alarm would go off like that and will it happen again? She said I hope not. Geez that makes me feel better now. And her explanation was sometimes the AC doesn't circulate the air appropriately and that sometimes set the smoke alarm off. Seriously? It's August in Florida!

I mentioned to the front desk the next day about the smoke alarm and why they would assume that I was smoking it the room. The answer was that's how they were trained to ask questions and that I should contact Marriott with it.

I would not stay here again because of room key issues and the smoke alarm...