Oceanside Inn 701

We had confirmation, but Booking.com had issues and never sent the room code. We had to track down the owner, who wasn't expecting us, and the room wasn't ready. We finally got in far later than the latest check-in time. We only stayed because Daytona 500 was on and nothing else nearby was available. The place was so disgusting that I worried about sleeping there. We kept our clothes on and used a shirt over the pillows. The smell hit as soon as we entered, and there wasn't a bit of soap anywhere. Several dishes were filthy, as were the utensil drawers, so we didn't use the kitchenette. The coffee maker didn't work, which made the morning worse. We got one lousy towel each for three days and just two partly used toilet paper rolls, nowhere near enough for two people. The safe didn't work, there were no hangers, and almost none of the lights worked. The room was filthy on top of the smell. The old table was coated in scum, with bits of what looked like pot stuck in the cracks. The street was cleaner. When I called the owner, he told me to buy soap and toilet paper at a store down the street and said one towel each was standard. He was beyond awful. On Daytona 500 day, while we were at the race without a car, he called to say we were supposed to leave that day. I panicked, worried we'd miss the race and had nowhere to go. After I checked my booking and finally reached someone, they apologized and said it was coded wrong, and that I had actually booked for that day. It caused so much extra stress and wasted time on a big event day. Booking.com should remove this owner. His ignorant, rude behavior gives the site and the whole 'hotel' a bad name. This is an old building with individually owned units and no lobby or hotel desk. The elevators were broken the entire stay, and the laundry room was full of out-of-order machines. Booking.com did nothing when I explained what happened and took no responsibility for the booking. I feel offended and disgusted by the whole experience. Don't stay here, and don't use Booking.com. Stick to direct hotel chains. Third-party scammers don't deserve your business. They should rename it BOOKING.SCAM.

The room had two coffee pots but no coffee, and the host even tried to take back the so-called complimentary bottle of cheap Moscato. Extra pillows were yellow and stained, tucked on top of a George Foreman grill in the armoire. There were also two derelict bicycles under a rug in the corner. The sheets smelled, the mattress was stained, and the bathroom tiles were cracked. The shower felt like a poolside shower and needs repair. The towels were so dirty we had to buy our own. The toilet took two minutes to flush, with a warning to hold the handle down. No ironing board or hair dryer either. It wasn't worth the money, and I wouldn't stay again even for free.

The lobby is the only part that looks exactly like the photos. The privately owned condos are basically old hotel rooms. Our A/C barely worked, the toilet ran constantly, and the main light was out. The wall lamp was a huge fire hazard, and the black mold on the wall was awful. There was only one towel for two people. When I checked out and tried calling the condo's 'owner', nobody answered.

We paid $910 for four days in a 9th-floor apartment. The photos looked great, but the place was filthy and the bedding smelled so bad that we slept on our clothes as pillows. The couch was stained, and there was no notice at all about the construction. Before 8 AM, construction noise woke us up. We left after one night because it felt unsanitary. We asked for a refund minus one night and were only offered two nights back. Booking.com doesn't protect your trip.