Hampton Inn Winter Haven — Hotel in Winter Haven

My stay at Hampton Inn Winter Haven was a bit of a mixed bag, but overall I would definitely stay again.

Location wise, it's a little tricky to find since it's right next to a Holiday Inn and for some reason the parking lots are connected. Speaking of the parking lot, it's HUGE compared to the actual hotel itself.

The lobby was clean and somewhat small, but that's usually how Hamptons are. Their breakfast options were fairly limited and one of the waffle makers had a broken timer, which made using it kind of tricky. They had apple cinnamon waffles, which I thought sounded great, but there was barely any cinnamon flavor and the apple part was non-existent. The elevator worked, but it was fairly slow and made some pretty concerning noises on the way up.

They have the standard Hampton Inn amenities like a fitness center and a pool. Well, the pool was kind of just a small square of water. It looked clean, but we didn't swim because it was too cold. The fitness center was small, as with most Hampton Inn locations, but it was modern and very clean.

Another somewhat unexpected feature was the outdated vending machines on each floor. Usually you'll find a drink machine or a snack machine, but these were a two in one package. Not sure how that works, but I guess it's practical... ish?

The room itself was clean and spacious, but the bathroom wasn't great. The door was old, dirty, and didn't close properly. The bathroom floor was gross and sticky, like walking on melted candy. To top it off, apparently the cleaning staff forgot to empty the trash can in the bathroom, because there was still stuff inside when we arrived.

Overall, the staff was friendly. The woman at the front desk who checked us in was sweet, and there was a guy who was cleaning the breakfast area that I also thought was nice. He even offered to take our luggage cart back inside for us once we finished loading our car. The only staff members who weren't all that friendly were the morning front desk workers who didn't even acknowledge our existence.

If you're planning to visit Legoland, this hotel is conveniently nearby. This hotel is also within walking distance of an Outback Steakhouse and a Red Lobster. Not to mention, there's also a KFC, Panda Express, Chick Fil A, Panara Bread, Starbucks, Olive Garden, and even a Walmart just minutes away.

Pros: • Pool & Fitness Center • Friendly Staff • Overall Cleanliness • Proximity to Legoland & Various Restaurants

Cons: • Dirty Bathroom in Room • Less Than Satisfactory Breakfast • Somewhat Confusing Location

Overall, the hotel was clean and spacious, but a few small issues, like the sticky bathroom floor and the broken waffle maker, keep me from giving five stars. If I could give four and a...

The front desk ladies, housekeeping, breakfast ladies, maintenance were all very nice, knowledgeable, helpful, all around good people and not standing around but getting things done, all to me, are assets to your company. Having a pet I guess it'd be safe to say there are assigned areas as it should be, but by the housekeeping area, luckily my dog didn't bark but was very curious because it was loud. The staff should be aware of this and keep it down in that area especially when right in front of guest door. At least it was laughter. Now had I been woken up by it...might feel different. The walls seemed pretty thin and the platform bed loud even the slightest move to adjust yourself made a noise. I felt safe even with a back door near my room. On a couple occasions I discovered the door wasn't latching or just wasn't closed properly. I can't remember off hand if there was a fee for my dog and didn't think to ask if a fee included service animals, my dog is one and maybe ask guest if theirs is as well. Also didn't realize that when I asked to stay an additional night the cost would be different. I stayed because my mom is in the hospital and her AC has gone out in those conditions, I know for me, I need extra help with thinking... I would have loved to have stayed longer. Being close to everything I needed is another reason I chose Hampton Inn. I had no problem with cleanliness of the room, it was nice and comfortable. Over all it was an enjoyable stay and I wish I were there right now to rest through this difficult time. Keep up the excellent work everyone you made my stay well worth it I finally got a great couple of nights sleep. Oh and the breakfast bar was great. Made my own waffles and thank goodness the ladies were there to tell me to turn the griddle or it would not have tasted wonderfully. The had a bit of everything I really enjoyed it as well as using the commercial microwave a night to pop...

Well, this is the second time I’ve written part of this review, so let’s see if this one gets “accepted.”

We usually stay at a neighboring hotel. This one had a better price, we’ve stayed at Hamptons in the past and they were fine, so we thought this would be fine as well.

On our first full day, we realized that the refrigerator was not working. Calling down to the front desk, I assumed it would be no problem to have someone come to check it or replace it. I was told that WE should find the outlet, which was behind a large unmovable piece of furniture, unplug and then plug it in. If that didn’t work, the WE would move to another room. Thankfully, it did work, after crawling around under the desk to find said outlet, as we really didn’t want to gather up all of our things and move.

The second night, we returned to the room to a very noticeable smell. Bug spray? Marijuana? We didn’t know. We turned on the AC, which eventually did clear the smell out. We later smelled this same smell in the elevator - two days after it was in our room.

Throughout the stay, we would need to remove the top to the back of the toilet and move the mechanism to get it to fill up. The bathroom door dragged on the floor and wouldn’t stay in place due to a missing pin in the bottom hinge. The thermostat would reset itself to 70, no matter how many times we set it to 68. The parking lot had trash in it, not a little trash, every day. A section of the fence was broken and not repaired.

Combine all of that with the fact NOT ONCE, as we left or returned, did any front desk personnel acknowledge our presence, wish us a good day, etc. NOT ONCE.

Our experience with the refrigerator was the beginning of a ridiculous number of things that point to poor management and poor customer care. Now we know why the price was better than we expected.

We have family members in the area. We will be back to the area. We will not be back...