Daytona Inn Studios

The building is old, but that's no excuse for letting maintenance slide. Unit 104 has mold all along the wall by the bed, with the curtains open for anyone to see it. I also saw mold in and around another unit's AC. The HOA that owners pay doesn't seem to care about black mold, and building owners are trying to deny that it's there. This is dangerous and crazy. They need to gut the moldy units, because the longer mold is left sitting, the worse it gets.

The room was decent, but the building felt very run down. The elevator's certification expired in 2019, and I could feel it sway while we rode in it. The lobby is being renovated, and it's clear some updates are already happening, with new windows and door handles installed in many rooms. I expect this could be an amazing place once the work is finished. For now, maybe take the stairs and enjoy the lower rates.

The unit owner was wonderful and helped me whenever I was stuck and needed somewhere to go on short notice. I appreciated my time in the condo for that reason, but I would never use itrip again, rent through them, or have them manage a property of mine. The owner uses that management company, but it clearly isn't doing the job it's paid for. I rented from an online owner at Daytona Inn Beach Resort while waiting for an apartment to be ready, and kept extending the stay. They knew from the start that I had two ESAs. My check-in email said two parking passes would be in the unit, but there were none. I contacted several people and was told I could be towed, so I stayed elsewhere the first night rather than risk my car. The next night, a temporary pass was left in the room. I displayed it clearly on the dashboard, but my vehicle was towed the following day. That derailed the day: I couldn't pick up a 6-year-old child from school, so we had to Uber the child to us, and I missed work that evening because getting the car back took so long. I had to pay to recover it and then demand reimbursement for what I considered a wrongful tow. The towing company said someone had authorized it and that my temporary permit wasn't valid, but nobody at the condo or condo association would say who had approved it. I stayed twice, for about 30 days each time. The AC was unreliable during the first stretch and nights were quite warm. During the second 30-day stay, we had no AC for about a week in the heat. They apologized for the inconvenience, saying corroded wires were being replaced, which suggested the system hadn't been maintained well. There were maintenance workers on site nearly every day, but they seemed to handle only the outdoors and pool. Unit issues had to be called in for a separate maintenance person. The HOA complained about my ESA dogs and basically said they weren't allowed, claiming they were only service-dog friendly and didn't consider an ESA special. The cleaning staff exaggerated too. The owner asked why I'd broken the kitchen table, among other things. I sent pictures from departure and she could see nothing was broken, though it seems the cleaners or itrip had sent her different photos. Without contacting me, itrip tried charging several of my cards multiple times. After I sent photos from arrival and departure, the explanation changed to excessive dirt and damaged linens. My photos showed it wasn't excessively dirty: we cleaned the unit before leaving. We did notice a little dog hair behind the sofa, but had cleaned nearly everything and paid a $100 cleaning fee. They still felt justified charging more. Wiping counters or mirrors and sweeping or vacuuming again is ordinary cleaning, in my view.

The best part was how close we were to the beach. Our ground-floor unit's sliding door opened onto spectacular views and put us right there, with hardly any walk at all. The resort sits right on the beach, has a lovely pool, and is handy for walking to local restaurants and activities. It's also a reasonably priced way to relax and unwind, and we enjoyed our stay and would go back. The outside is rough, and when I first saw the older concrete building I thought, “Oh no!” I believe someone told us it was built in the 1940s or 50s. The privately owned units are small but laid out well, and many have been remodeled. Ours was an updated one-bedroom efficiency with a full kitchen but no dishwasher. The main room combined kitchen and living space, and the building's age showed outside. These units are only suitable for 1-3 people. The AC was near the end of its life and barely working, but our ground-floor place stayed comfortable.