Inn On The Lakes — Hotel in Sebring

After getting home from a two day stay at this hotel, I checked my credit card charges. In addition to the room charges that I signed for at checkout, I was charged an additional $107.50. I called the hotel to find out what this was and was told I was being charged a pet fee!! I DID NOT BRING A PET!! I was told that after we left, housekeeping found dog hair in the room?? We never saw any. Had we, I would have certainly let someone know! I never walked on the floor without my sandals, so I can't say I noticed anything in the carpet. My husband also kept shoes on. Hotel floors can be nasty! There was certainly no dog hair on either bed. It took a couple calls on my part, then I called my bank, who then made three avoided conference calls before I finally got a call back from a manager. She didn't seem to believe me, but said "as a courtesy" she would credit my card back for the pet fee. That's the same as calling me a liar and a thief! We were there in Sebring for our grandson's baseball tournament. There was a whole ball team staying there. I was also told many others were over billed and the coach had to call to get it all straightened out. As for the hotel. I can only speak for the room we were in. Parking lot side, seemed to be maybe an older part of the building? Room did have an odor. Looking at the outside and the hype on their sign about #1 on Trip Advisor, I expected it to be a lot nicer than it was. No bath tubs, just showers. So if you stay here, have someone look at the room with you before you leave. This sounds like a big rip off to me. No reason for this. I know they have security cameras and all they had to do was check the footage. They would have seen that we, at no time, had a dog. Housekeeping even came in our room twice! Once while we were there and once while we were gone.

...In response to your reply, I'll be happy to screenshot my phone log for you. I also have the name of the person from my bank that made the conference calls with me on the other line. Happy to give you her name, number, and extension if you'd like it. She didn't go into detail with the person that answered the phone, but did identify herself and the bank she was calling from. She asked to speak with the manager and was forwarded to voicemail each time. Again, your still trying to make me a liar. If there was ANY dog hair in that room, it would only be because the previous occupants had a dog and the room was not properly cleaned. But I really don't think that's the case at all. After much thought about this, I really think the housekeeper saw my catheters in the trash, they're red. Along with gauze pads. (Only 2" x 2") and didn't know what all of that was. So you assumed it had something to do with a dog. You see, I had bladder cancer just 2 years ago. My bladder was removed and a "new one" made from my intestines. I cath through a stoma in my abdomen several times a day. The bandages are for covering the stoma. This could have all been avoided if you had only been honest with me and called to ask. But thank you for adding stress to the life of someone just getting past cancer. Our reservations were made with a baseball team. Pets are not allowed at the field. Housekeeping was in our room while we were gone to to games. Do you honestly think we brought a dog and left it in a vehicle in 100° temps to hide it! Are you just idiots?! My dogs were at home being cared for by my son and a dogsitter while he was at work. I'm sure they both would be happy to verify that for you. But then, you never did really see any dog hair. You rummaged through our trash and made an assumption based on your ignorance. Either that or you just tried to steal $107.50 from me and hope that I wouldn't notice. That was just your excuse. We actually had a conversation with 4 of your housekeepers standing just outside our room as we left it. Where was this dog then??!! And did you check you check your security camera footage like I asked you to do. We were parked way out by the road. Had to walk all the way across the parking lot. Surely you got...

The hotel itself is attractive and offers a nice alternative to the usual mid range chains. Our (road/parking lot), front-facing room over the lobby in the Main Body of the hotel was accessed steps from the elevator in the interior, through the lobby. It was off season and quiet enough that we weren't bothered by anything. It offered great natural light, was spacious and relatively clean, despite tiny, almost invisible bugs, that seemed drawn to paper towel and sugarless hard candy, so we kept all food products in the fridge or well-sealed containers.

Furnishings were "eclectic" along the lines of IKEA meets patio, plus vintage colonial and offered little in the way of useful storage. We loved the clean feel of a lack of carpeting. Our king size bed was big, but hard. We appreciated the table with comfy arm chairs as well as the coffee and mini fridge station. The bathroom was very functional and nicely modernized, but could use a grab rail in the shower.

*Note: From the other reviews and photos the two motel-style, EXTERIOR HALLWAY ACCESS wings attached to this hotel appear to offer smaller, more cramped rooms. These are likely to be the more pet-friendly choice with screened, exterior hallway access for pet bio-breaks. Their mini split A/C units are also very likely to need to work overtime to cool and dehumidify, especially in humid summer weather.

We did not make use of the adorable little pool deck nestled in the crook of the building, straight through the charmingly decorated lobby, but would definitely come back for that opportunity. It is a picturesque setting directly on the lake and looks like an idyllic setting to float with a cocktail.

The in-house restaurant was very good, albeit pricey. We were mildly disappointed to learn from our waiter that the weeknight "mixologist" was not a REAL bartender, therefore unable to make a Vesper, despite having the key ingredients in stock. We didn't hang in the bar, but would consider it for our next trip.

The "Free" breakfast included and delivered directly to your door daily is definitely NOT the equivalent of the hot, fresh breakfast offered in most comparable hotels, especially in the south. It is limited to two mediocre choices with little variety and no extras, however it is sufficient to get you going in the morning. I preferred the sour, unsweetened Greek yogurt & granola parfait, but would have appreciated it paired with a healthier option than an overly sweet muffin.

*Book DIRECTLY with this hotel for best prices and enjoy the friendly and helpful front desk staff! If you use Expedia or another booking app, the room pictured in your choice is unlikely to be what you get, regardless of clear selections.

Bottom line is that we WOULD DEFINITELY stay here again in the main body of this hotel. It was a friendly and refreshing change from the big chain brands, despite...

unfortunately I can't give negative 5stars for this "hotel" but I would if I could! -the reality doesn't come close to the advertisement/propaganda ...we stayed 5 nights, we didn't expect much+ we got less than that... -2 people in the room but only has 1 set of towels + when we ordered extra (3 times!) we never got any -the TV is useless, TV channels aren't identified in the EPG so you have to wait for a commercial to identify the channels + only premium channel is HBO but there's no TV guide or EPG so you don't know what's on. "breakfast" is a doggie bag (delivered to the room👍) with cold coffee+ cold breakfast sandwich (with mystery meat🙄 - I can't explain how gross it is) they got the order wrong EVERY day -Pool was constantly dirty (couldn't go in most of the time) + there were never towels even though no one was there other than we 2 restaurant/bar was outrageously expensive -WiFi is Non-existent! lucky to get 1 bar in a room 30feet from the lobby. in the lobby I was lucky to get anything at all, couldn't see my email until I went to McDonalds where I got 4 bars consistently!!🙄 when I talked to reception about it they weren't even polite enough to hear me out because staff are just rude! (we're seniors but NOT DEAD so we don't want to be treated like that! ... in fact, if you're a senior stay away from this place because all they want is your money and they don't give a darn about your comfort or accommodation!)

We stayed at "Residence Inn" before but tried the "lake inn" because of the reviews (same cost for both)- BIG mistake, Massive Mistake!! obviously the reviews were padded!

Residence (ANYWHERE!)is vastly Superior to the "Inn" + we will never waste our money again at the "Inn". Cost over $200/night + a- "Motel 6" wouldn't have been worse

we tried to find the positive aspects but they're non existent -we feel cheated. this is a true unpaid, unsolicited review of our very recent experience so decide for yourselves...(I suspect most reviews aren't true because it's soo bad that the reviews couldn't possibly be real..) I'm retired, military and a senior and I enjoy all but I don't like being screwed by an uncaring, unhelpful organization that needs my money! I have never been treated as an "Old Person" before(I'm 63!!) but these people let me know how much I don't matter to them

I don't know anything about the management or organization of the hotel(I haven't seen either) but I do know from my experience I will never deal with them again... and if anybody asks me I will tell them the same...stay away ESPECIALLY if...