La Quinta by Wyndham Sunrise Sawgrass Mills

We paid $304 and were in the room for about 15 minutes, just long enough to book somewhere else and leave. The place felt damp and smelled moldy, with sagging sections of ceiling, poor repairs in the common areas, and visible mold and rust in the AC vent. There was a vape pen on the floor, makeup on the pillows, and old furniture. Nothing felt welcoming, especially for the price, which was high because of weekend “events.” I told the hotel we had left without staying. Now booking.com and LaQuinta are both calling the booking non-refundable. It’s ridiculous to expect guests to risk breathing mold and lose their money. I also know enough Spanish to hear the check-in person and a maintenance worker talking about us and laughing at what we paid. This is the right location. Corporate can reach out and make it right, or be accountable for the reviews. If I could give zero stars, I would.

We booked this place for one night because it was among the few “affordable” options nearby, but it cost over $300 and we left the room after about 15 minutes. The online photos gave a completely different impression. The mildew smell hit us in the lobby, partly covered by room spray. The elevator shook and sounded unreliable, so we took the stairs on our way out. Upstairs, the hallway had holes, sagging ceiling tiles, and smells of weed and mildew. The room was damp, the AC struggled and had rusty vents with visible mold, and the tiles sagged there too. There was dirt along the baseboards, trash under the bed, a vape pen behind the dresser, and hair on the shower walls. Dark spots and random paint strokes made it look as if mold had been painted over, but the smell was still obvious. We walked out less than 20 minutes after checking in, yet booking.com and this La Quinta location both refused a refund. They seem willing to have guests stay in moldy air instead of offering a refund or decent service. The owner can say it was the wrong property, but it was this one. I wish we'd stayed across the street.

The elevator was the first warning: its floor was taped up, and the doors took a few seconds to decide whether to open or close. Once I got upstairs, the place felt like a tenement, and the room looked like a cheap hourly motel. From outside, and even at the front desk, it had seemed clean and decent. It wasn't worth the price. I'd rather pay a fraction for a dump and save $125. I'll never stay at a La Quinta again. Horrible place.

We checked in, took one look around, and left. I should've read these reviews instead of the ones on hotels.com. The photos look nothing like the hotel, maybe they were taken 20 years ago. The place smelled of musty cigarettes and weed, the elevator wasn't working and shook, the room door didn't close by itself and had rigged deadbolts, and the baseboards were coming off. The AC didn't work and the TV only showed static. Laundry baskets full of things were left outside unattended, and it looked like a homeless person was often there. I wouldn't let my five-year-old touch anything, and I wouldn't have eaten the complimentary breakfast either. I returned the keys and told the front desk person we were leaving, but the manager wasn't there. No one asked why we were checking out early. We ended up driving three hours home because we had nowhere else to stay. At $130 a night, this was disgusting; it felt like a $60-a-night place. They still won't refund a room we refused to sleep in. They later said on hotels.com that the issue hadn't been reported. The front desk already knew we were leaving, and had spoken with hotels.com, while we couldn't find a manager on the property. That's a lie. I'm not someone who complains about everything. This hotel is just that gross, and I want my money back.