LEGOLAND® Pirate Island Hotel — Hotel in Winter Haven

Sad to say but this was our first and probably our last time at the hotel. it’s not a cheap hotel and a lot of things didn’t go well for us and not much help offered from the manager in charge our first night. When we arrive at the hotel, it was complete chaos as expected from a hotel centered around kids. Lots of things going on lots of kids screaming and running around. Check in was very easy though got a notification Our room was ready went to a kiosk where you are supposed to print your keys. The machine was not printing so we had to speak with someone at the desk they got our keys fairly quickly, went straight up to our room immediately realized it was directly in front of the elevator. The elevator plays this jingle every time it opens and it’s very loud so yes we heard it all night, long along with all the commotion from the people coming in and out of the elevator. As soon as we walked into our room We were smacked in the face by a terrible smell of urine, damp and just dirty. We soon realized our toilet didn’t flush and with the smell of the room and feeling generally dirty and being In front of elevator we decided to go down and request another room as It was still very early we were sure they would somehow help us.The employee who we spoke with communicated our concerns with the manager, and that manager communicated back there was nothing she can do but initially did not come out on her own to address our concerns. My husband requested the manager come out and speak to us in person, and she finally did basically told us she could not give us another room because ours would need to be fully cleaned for another guest since we walked into it and housekeeping was no longer there but they can send a different type of housekeeping who cleans smaller areas to freshen it up for us. I don’t think that room was properly cleaned in the first place. Maintenance was up fixing the toilet before we even got back from speaking with the front desk. He was very friendly and got it done quick housekeeping came while we were at dinner and we come back to find our room left open for anyone to just walk right in!!!! At over $600 a night I would expect a fully cleaned room to start with And for it not to be left open for anybody who walks off the elevator to walk right in and help themselves to our belongings. We fought long and hard about our concerns and got nowhere that night we were told we had to wait until the following day to get a room. It was disgusting to have to stay there. That night, we realized my son‘s iPad was missing. We thought it might turn up in the morning after cleaning up and packing up all our stuff, but it didn’t we instantly assume housekeeper took it or someone walked into our room and grabbed it since it was left open by HOUSKEEPING!! We have been victims Of being stolen from by housekeepers in the past so it’s hard not to assume. My husband went downstairs to speak with the front desk when it did not turn up the next morning , and somehow they had it there we were so confused but they did not offer any excuses as to howthey got it. We packed up our stuff and left it with the bellman that morning we headed to the park for the day. Once we returned We were able to get another room for the Second night that room did indeed feel much cleaner than the first one And smelt better too. Maybe the housekeeper in charge of that floor was trained a little bit better. We realized our toiletry bag was left in our first room not sure why, but they weren’t able to track down the housekeeper all day or our bag the manager in charge that night did try to help us he kept checking and felt bad and gave us toothbrushes and toothpaste after we waited a few hours for it to turn up and it didn’t. It’s unfortunate because my little one did enjoy himself, he is on the spectrum and this trip was for him because he is currently obsessed with anything LEGO but he doesn’t understand issues encountered.The theme is very cute the room kept my little one occupied I just wish I would’ve brought a giant...

We stayed 3 days at Pirate Island with two park days. The first day we arrived we booked a master build for the earliest time. (2pm)(booked 2 weeks prior to the day I just put it in my phone and had no trouble getting the times we wanted) and enjoyed the castle lego play area in the main lobby and the lego hotel side pool which connected to the pirate hotel by a short hallway. Our room wasn't ready until 5 but they said sometimes the text don't go out. My kids were having so much fun in the pool we didn't really notice. The slide at the legoland pool wasn't open when we got there but it open around 4. It looked like the pirate hotel pool was closed when we got there also but later that night we saw people in it and enjoyed it one night after our park day. The pirate pool is just a little smaller with no slide but both pools have the cool lego float toys that my kids loved. (4,5 and 8)

Our first night we had booked Shipwreck for dinner and they texted us 15 min before our reservation to let us know our table was ready. Dinner was delicious and our kids loved the play area inside the restaurant. We enjoyed the free breakfast every morning, Shipwreck was our favorite to sit and eat they just bring you a huge breakfast platter to share. One morning I ventured over to Bricks and ordered to go breakfast which was really nice if the kids were sleeping in because it gets pretty busy and is honestly a little loud and over stimulating in the morning. Our fist park day we did legoland and the Waterpark with no wagon. Their favorites were Masters of flight, The Dragon coaster, and the wave pool. We went on everything they wanted with an average of 5 min waits. The longest we waited was the great lego race coster and it was 30 min. I thought this was amazing considering we were here during springbreak. The Waterpark is a pretty far walk and it definitely took us half the day to work our way back there but it was a much needed break. They have life vest for the littles and if you don't have your own towels you have to remember to get them at the hotel pool before you leave. They do have an area at the park you can return them right before you leave the Waterpark. We did the later masterbuild( 730,6) classes on our park days but we still kinda had to rush back to make it in time but for my 5 and 8 year old it was worth it. My 4 year old was exhausted and honestly couldn't focus enough to build anything after the parks but she enjoyed the little creature after. We did a hedgehog, a rocket and a dino. The night that we did the 6 o'clock master build we had a reservation for Skyline at 630 which is perfect because it is right by the classes. Skyline was a good burger and chicken fingers place also close to the castle playplace thay the kids loved but was very loud.

The last day we went to Peppa Pig Theme Park for my daughter first thing in the morning. It's a 3 min walk from the legoland entrance. (We took the wagon the second day because we didn't want to be rushing the 4 year old all day) She loved it and it had some really cute rides. There is an awesome sand box my older boys played in and a splash pad everyone enjoyed. By noon we headed back to legoland to do their favorites again.

Our first night here was the last night for the pirate side lobby entertainment so we caught the last dance party. My daughter loved it. We went to a dance party the next night at the lego hotel and she also loved that but it was quite a bit more crowded and we ended up having to leave early because my son busted his head running into another kid. I know many are sad that the pirate side doesn't have entertainment but that area is still open and has lego movies running and a cool lego/cave prison pirate area that is quiter than the castle area at the lego hotel. It is also right across from a bar/area you can order pizza which is nice for a night you don't have dinner plans. Overall, we loved the ease of planning this trip and we're pleasantly surprised how smoothly everything...

I'd like to start off by saying my kids (ages 4, 6 & 10) had an amazing time. However, this will be our first and last time staying here. For the price point we expected a much better experience.

Pros- We had breakfast/dinner at the Bricks Restaurant each day. We had the pleasure of speaking with Chef Arman because our youngest has a peanut allergy. He made sure to walk us through what was safe for our little and also brought out a special dessert every night of our stay.

One of our waiters was also amazing- AJ - he was the only waiter to be on top of his job and also super friendly.

They have a few play areas which were a huge hit for our kids- endless playtime!

They had a pajama dance party every night which included 2 staff members running the show. My 4yr old is behind on his speech and when they brought him on stage I was nervous they would make him feel uncomfortable with not being able to understand him. They did the complete opposite- he felt so included and I was able to get great footage. Thank you for that!

Now for the Cons.......

For the price we paid man was this a waste of money! We got a Suite and it slept 7 of us.. Very crammed! The sofa bed was a disaster- regular hotels have better quality sofa beds. You could feel EVERY SINGLE SPRING. Felt like there wasn't a mattress on it at all. They do not offer mattress pads either and putting extra blankets on it did absolutely nothing.

Water pressure/temp was a joke. We were lucky if we were all able to get a hot shower. 3 kids had quick baths each night in hopes that the hot water wouldn't run out. 4 adults had warm/cold showers with low water pressure. The sinks water pressure were also low.

For our reservation having 7 guests on it you would think there would be enough blankets/pillows and towels. Had to request extras of everything.

This is a big one: MY 4 YR OLD FOUND A PILL MIXED IN WITH THE LEGOS IN THE KIDS AREA OF THE ROOM. I already reported this to a manager but feel this needs to be known to all parents considering this place. I believe it was just an ibuprofen pill but it could've been worse and I'm just glad my little one didn't ingest it! Cleaning crew needs to do a MUCH BETTER job at cleaning the rooms!

Food wasn't of Resort quality. I understand we were eating at the buffet style dinner but it felt like school cafeteria food. Most of it wasn't hot- we also spent a lot of time waiting around for them to refill certain foods (mainly the kids area which had chicken tenders, fries). The desserts were behind 2 enclosed cabinets, cabinets were just about broken and that area just didn't look sanitary. Only 1 pair of tongs were there to grab from either cabinet which resulted in kids grabbing with their hands.

One thing to keep in mind....... I get parents like to enjoy their time as well but there is alcohol served here and not many of these parents were parenting. Which definitely put a damper on our experience. Some parents left their drinks unattended and within reach of little ones. That shouldn't be allowed especially when lots of these parents aren't paying attention to their kids. I've witnessed kids ages 4-12ish being very disrespectful towards staff with words and actions as far as throwing Legos at their face and their parents could care less.

I took my kids to the bathroom and had to encourage a 4yr old to close the bathroom door while she was going potty as she was just about naked showing her privates to anyone who walked in and no parent in sight!

Sad to witness.

These are just the highlights of our stay btw.

BOOK YOUR STAY HERE WITH LOTS...