TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I rarely write reviews this harsh, but my stay at the Residence Inn by Marriott Orlando at SeaWorld was one of the worst hotel experiences I've had. The room was not clean on arrival. I asked housekeeping to clean it several times, and each time they refused. Paying for a room and being denied basic cleaning is unacceptable at any hotel, let alone one carrying the Marriott name. The towels had blood and makeup stains on them. I found bugs not only in my room but throughout the property. For a family-oriented location next to the parks, the lack of basic sanitation is alarming. On top of that, parking was expensive, which made the poor conditions even harder to accept. When I brought these problems to the front desk, the staff were rude and dismissive. No apology, no attempt to fix anything, and no sign that guest satisfaction matters here. Save your money and stay elsewhere. I will not be coming back.

My wife and I stayed at the Residence Inn Orlando from 29 August for 14 nights, and this was our 10th visit to the hotel. We always choose to stay here for our anniversary, which really says everything about how much we enjoy this hotel and the experience it provides. Once again, we had a fantastic stay. From the moment we arrived, the hotel was clean, tidy and welcoming. Our room was spacious, comfortable and clean, with comfortable beds, making it a great place to relax after a busy park or shopping day. A special mention has to go to Aileen, the Hotel Operations Manager, who was, as always, incredibly helpful and accommodating. Having stayed here so many times, it’s lovely to have someone who recognises us and consistently makes us feel welcome. Aileen was fantastic at making sure our requests and requirements, which we had discussed prior to our arrival, were all taken into consideration. Nothing was ever too much trouble. The staff were also incredibly kind and made us feel genuinely welcome and appreciated as returning guests. They were also extremely helpful whenever we needed advice, whether that was recommending restaurants, suggesting places to visit or helping with any other amenities or requirements during our stay. Unfortunately, during our holiday my wife experienced a medical issue, and this was where the staff really went above and beyond. A special thank you to Danielle Annalise, who was particularly helpful, supportive and caring while my wife was dealing with the situation. She helped advise us on what to do and where to go for assistance, and made sure my wife felt supported when we needed it most. The hotel staff were incredibly understanding and compassionate throughout. They even allowed my wife to use the hotel phone free of charge to make the necessary calls. We honestly could not have asked for more. They bent over backwards for us in every way and made what was a very stressful situation considerably easier. The breakfast team also deserve a huge mention. They were always friendly, welcoming and happy to see us each morning. They were particularly accommodating with my wife’s gluten-free dietary requirements, and it was lovely to see the same friendly faces each day. The breakfast area was always clean, organised, with a variety of options available. The hotel is also in a fantastic location, ideally situated between SeaWorld, Disney and Universal, making it a great base for exploring everything Orlando has to offer. The hotel also provides shuttle buses to SeaWorld, which is a great added benefit. We hired a car during our stay, so we didn’t personally take advantage of the shuttle service, but it’s certainly a useful option for guests who don’t have their own transportation. Overall, the hotel was consistently clean, comfortable and well maintained, but it is the staff and their genuine willingness to help that really make this hotel special for us. After ten visits, we can honestly say the Residence Inn Orlando feels like a home away from home. We wouldn’t keep coming back for our anniversary every year if we didn’t feel at home here. We would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Orlando, and we are already looking forward to our next visit.

stayed one week 8/29-9/5. when we arrived, the front desk was helpful, nice, he told us about the shuttle service & gave us small gift bags(chips and water). that night issue number 1 arose. our room was a 1bedroom( two queen beds and sofa bed for two adults and three kids) my oldest son was going to use the sofa bed, when we pulled out the bed, there were no sheets on the bed. okay fine, found one flat sheet, one pillow and one light brown wool like sheet in the closet( so thin i wouldn’t call it a comforter) so i used the flat sheet as a fitted sheet on the mattress but then he would have nothing to cover himself with as the light brown sheet looked scratchy and thin. my husband called the front desk and asked for more sheets, they said “be right up”. minutes go by, an hour goes by, we called again and get told “it will be up in 15 minutes, sorry we’re backed up”. 15 minutes go by, another hr goes by, we all fell asleep, my son used the itchy sheet over a fleece blanket thankfully we bought to use on the plane for my daughter. no one ever came. next morning i went to the front desk and told front staff what happened, a gentleman apologized and said ill have someone go right now. we stepped out when we came back to our room later that day, there was one flat sheet and an extra pillow waiting on the table. issue #2: we decided we would take advantage of the free shuttle service being offered by the hotel to go to seaworld. we thought great we don’t have to worry about looking for parking and the parking cost. the shuttle bus needs a major upgrade btw. schedule says the last shuttle will pick up at 9:30pm from the park to go back to the hotel. well seaworld had a fireworks/drone show at 9pm which we wanted to watch. by the time we were walking out of the park, my husband was walking alongside the shuttle bus almost at the door, when the shuttle bus drove off! thankfully my husband had taken a picture of the entire shuttle schedule that was posted at the hotel, he called a number, was told driver leaves at exactly 9:30, you should be at the stop 15 minutes before pickup and there’s nothing they can do. so we walked about 26 minutes from seaworld to the hotel! i believe if you are going to offer shuttle bus service, you should be aware of seaworld’s schedule because if that’s the case that we needed to be there 15 minutes prior that means that we would not be able to enjoy the firework/drone show which is not fair and we would have to miss out especially it being our first time in seaworld. They should take into account that if there is a show at 9 o’clock, give or take it’s about 15 to 20 minutes, then the time it takes to walk thru the park with everyone else leaving, they should extend the pick up time to at least 9:45, 10pm the latest. rather wait for shuttle then get stranded! issue #3 that thursday we were going to Aquatica. Same shuttle service can take you to Aquatica & it says you can reserve your spot on shuttle bus. so wednesday night my husband made the reservation online which was being offered for 10:55am as the park opens at 10:30. well we get to the lobby at 10:30, spoke to the lady at the seaworld counter & was asking her if there is anything we need to know about aquatica as we never been. she gave us a 10% discount card to use in park, we thanked her and we told her we’re waiting for the shuttle bus. she said next one was at 11:25. told her we made reservations last night for 10:55 and showed her our confirmation email. she said she has no idea because the schedule she has says 11:25 and that was an updated schedule she received in the morning, she doesn’t know what else to tell us and can’t help. so again my husband called the company because the lady at the desk wasn’t going to help & was told “yeah schedule changed and next shuttle is at 11:25”. so now if the shuttle service is going to be changing the times of pick up, don’t you think the shuttle bus company or someone should be looking at the reservations, call/email those and say “hey there have been some changes by the way, here are the new times”. so now it’s either we wait almost an hour for the shuttle or we drive, so we drove. the shuttle service i do not recommend, i thought it would be a plus but ended up being a huge disappointment! the breakfast being offered was mid. one morning the waffle makers were being hogged by one lady and her kids, when there is a sign that says use one waffle maker/per family. another morning the waffle makers were completely covered as in do not use. the whirlpool was not on and looked like it had not been cleaned in months. no one is monitoring the parking because the handicap parking spots were taken by cars with no handicap placards which we do have. cleaning lady was nice but cleaning of the rooms was supposed to be done every other day, so we checked in saturday, room was cleaned monday and wednesday. we thought it would be cleaned on friday but no one ever came. we figured maybe they didn’t want to clean because they knew we were checking out the next day. gym is small, laundry room was fine they had some free detergents/fabric softeners. sorry to say but i would not stay again. only plus was that when we went to seaworld, jovany (i believe his name was) at the seaworld counter gave us fast passes to use and a discount card.

On arriving £600 was taken as security and i was reassured that these funds would be returned after i had left them providing there was no charges made against the room. Today i noticed that over £400 has been taken!!!

We returned from our stay at this hotel last week. Upon arrival, we had been given a room that was extremely dated, unclean and unsuitable. We raised this with the front desk team member (Anderson) but unfortunately he wasn’t particularly understanding or helpful. When I requested a speak with a manager or supervisor he said there wasn’t anyone available or onsite. When I asked when a manager or supervisor would next be available, he said he didn’t know. After travelling for over 20 hours and with two very tired children, this was unsettling news. The staff member then insisted that we would have to pay for a different room and asked the security guard to show us to the room. Fortunately we were escorted by security guard Corey who was much more helpful and welcoming. Corey was kind and friendly in a difficult situation. When we returned to the front desk after viewing another totally unsuitable room, I was shocked to see and learn that there was a manager there. We then had the pleasure of being assisted by Danielise. Danielise was instantly warm and reassuring. She was able to instantly make us feel heard and welcome. It was clear that Danielise exhibited a professional, compassionate and solution based approach when speaking with guests. We had previously stayed at this hotel 6 years ago, and although there wasn’t much change cosmetically since our stay, we was glad to see that the vast majority of staff are incredibly hardworking and really do go over and beyond to look after the guests. We noticed that the breakfast (albeit complementary) was less varied and more repetitive than when we last stayed. Thanks very much to Danielise, Corey and all the amazing team at Residence Inn for all that you do. If the review was based purely on yourselves it would definitely be 5 stars!