Comfort Inn Brandon

The bright, clean lobby and the clean, comfortable, modern rooms made a good impression. It was quiet too, so sleeping was easy. I needed a room and went to the comfort inn Brandon, and this one met my expectations. I’ve never had a bad experience at any Comfort Inn I’ve stayed in. A nice, quiet hotel by the highway.

The hotel itself is dated, with stained carpet, old furniture, no thermostat in the room, and an ancient heater and AC unit. I can live with that for a stay, but the internet and spyware issue really pissed me off. Malware and spyware got installed on the open network. After it was identified, blocked, and removed, the speeds were so badly reduced that even a basic YouTube video at 240p kept buffering. The internet was absolutely terrible.

Management is now refusing to refund us, saying that if we felt unsafe, we should have left in the middle of the night instead of locking ourselves in. We had our dog and baby with us, and changing hotels that late wasn’t a viable option. Earlier, my partner spoke to security twice in the hallway and urged them to call the police because they clearly weren’t handling the situation appropriately. Noise continued past 1am, with children and teenagers banging on doors, doors slamming, and verbal fights in the hallway. At 1am, security rattled the handle and spoke loudly while trying to get into the room next to ours. The hotel was loud and filthy, and the walls and doors let in every sound, making sleep impossible. When we arrived, the parking lot was full of vagrants, and people approached me trying to sell half-drunk bottles of liquor. Three security guards were in the lobby when we entered. That should have been our first sign to leave. This was an extremely unsafe and awful hotel experience, and the terrible customer service is another reason not to visit.

We got a terrible night’s sleep. We went to bed around 10 pm, but people laughing and knocking on doors woke us at 2:30 am, and the door knocking carried on until about 4 am. Someone nearby was smoking pot, too. At 8:30 am, two “security guards” were chatting downstairs at the end of the hall. What’s the point of having them on morning duty if nobody makes sure the overnight noise and pot smoking are dealt with? Breakfast was the usual horrible hotel breakfast, which we expected. We didn’t expect the worker in the attached kitchen to bang pots and pans around. She clearly hated her job, and I hope she finds one she loves. If you’re in Brandon to party in your room, this is the place. If you want a good night’s sleep, go somewhere else. The beds were comfortable, but the pillows weren’t.