Vacation Village at Bonaventure — Hotel in Weston

TLDR: Extremely rude guest services woman on the afternoon of December 31st, stinky suite that smelled like mold and piss, housekeeper that barged in.

I checked into the one-bedroom suite at Flamingo I on the afternoon of December 31st. We pulled up in our Uber to Flamingo I and were never told that check in is a 15 minute walk away at the resort's other building. No transportation was provided so I had to leave my bags behind at the first floor of Flamingo with my family while I walked all the way to the check in 15 minutes away.

We were successfully checked in and I walked all the way back to Flamingo I to find that the carpet in the bedroom we were given had a combined stench of mold and dog pee (and pee marks on the carpet). We called Guest Services promptly and asked to be moved to another room. The woman on the phone initially said they would find another room, but then called us back to say they have no rooms available and can't do anything for us except move us to another room in 4 days. 4 DAYS! Our check-out was IN 4 days. She was giggling as she said "Yeah, we have no rooms." I then informed her that I had heard people getting room upgrades at the front desk and offered to take one of the rooms those people gave up. She giggled again and replied "Room upgrades aren't free, just so you know." I told her that I am aware but I am not asking for an upgrade, I am asking to be moved to a room that doesn't smell like dog piss and mold. I pleaded with them to do something as we had paid for this room and this was supposed to be a NYE vacation for my mother and I. They offered to send someone up to scope out the issue, and I agreed but said I imagined the only way they would be able to get rid of the smell is by deep cleaning the rug. Again, she giggled and said there's no way they can do that.

At this point, I had accepted that I was stuck and even Postmated candles to try and get rid of the smell. The employee did come up to scope out the issue and he grimaced at the smell upon entering the room. Somehow, miraculously, there was TWO available suites ready for check-in quite literally across the hall from us. We were given the keys to it within 20 minutes. It appears it took the employee to verify the stench before the woman at Guest Services could be convinced to do something about it.

Ultimately, the unprofessional woman at guest services working on the late afternoon of the 31st wasted around 2 hours of our time in that smelly moldy room as we were supposed to be getting ready for our NYE plans, made fun of me for asking to be moved, and straight up lied about the availability of the rooms simply because she didn't want to do her due diligence and would rather leaves guests on vacation in a moldy pissy room. She had no professionalism and was completely unfit to be resolvin guest issues.

The second suite we were moved to was much better and a decent suite. We were satisfied with it except for the slight stuffiness of the living room area, but loved that there is a full kitchen area and the bedroom was cozy. All was well until the day of our check out, which was at 10am. At 9:50am, the housekeeper started banging on the door asking us to get out, and when I opened the door, she actually tried to barge in. Although our second room was decent and the resort was convenient for our purposes, the service was absolutely atrocious (particularly that guest services woman). Not sure if the employees aren't being paid well or what, but I wouldn't recommend staying here again unless you absolutely have no other choice due to the ordeal that it was to get checked in and find a room that...

Complaint Against: Vacation Village at Bonaventure

Stay Duration: October 24 - 28, 2024

Desired Resolution: Full refund of $400 for unsatisfactory stay

During my stay at Vacation Village at Bonaventure, I encountered multiple issues that made my stay uncomfortable and inconvenient. Despite reporting these problems, the hotel staff was unresponsive and did not provide adequate assistance or compensation. My experience reflects poorly on the property’s commitment to maintenance, guest comfort, and customer service.

Maintenance Issues in Rooms:

First Room (210 Flamingo 504B):

The air conditioning in this room was non-functional, and the thermostat remained at 73°F, leaving the room at an uncomfortable 78°F. I reported the issue, and I was moved to a new room at 3 a.m. but did not receive an apology for the inconvenience.

Second Room (210 Flamingo 503B):

After relocating, I found this room had no hot water, and several light switches were not working, including those in the bathroom. I was forced to shower in cold water and darkness, significantly impacting my comfort.

Lack of Accountability and Poor Service:

Staff suggested I move to a different room each time a problem arose, which was highly impractical, as I had unpacked and stored items in the room’s fridge.

When I asked for a maintenance check, they refused to send anyone to address these issues while I waited for a maintenance worker to verify, stating that they would only check after my departure. This approach made it feel as though they were avoiding accountability.

Despite paying at the property, I was redirected to Expedia when I initially requested a refund. When I eventually reached a manager, I received only a partial refund ($192 plus deposit), which does not fully compensate for the discomfort I experienced.

Concerns with Transportation Services:

At check-in, I was informed that transportation services were available for guest safety; however, when I requested a ride, I was told transportation was down. This left me stranded away from the main office, as I did not have a car.

Due to the cumulative issues, I believe a full refund of $400 is fair compensation. The partial refund provided does not adequately address the significant discomfort and inconvenience I experienced. I hope Vacation Village at Bonaventure will issue a full refund as a gesture of accountability and commitment to guest...

I’ve stayed in a lot of vacation resorts over my lifetime because we have a timeshare, but this is probably the worst place I’ve traded into through Interval International.

We were assigned to the building Heron II. Of note, the photos they have online must be of newer rooms, as 702B in Heron II looked nothing like this. We checked in late in the evening to find hair everywhere in the bathroom. Rust on the hardware and moldy caulking in the bathroom. When calling the front desk to let them know the room was filthy they said we would have to drive all the way back to the lobby when we had just unpacked the car. We opted to stay in the room we were assigned. Throughout the week there was no housekeeping which was fine, but when we needed new towels they wanted us to exchange the dirty ones for clean ones which was odd for a resort property. Kindly they delivered the clean ones and picked up the dirty ones.

The laundry rooms do not have quarter machines so you also have to go back to the front desk to get quarters. If you want to use their app, they require a minimum of $10 loaded onto the app to use the laundry machines.

This place is family friendly and one of the only pros I can think of is that they left pool towels out after the smoothie bar closed for the night.

Basically, spend your money elsewhere. I...