Comfort Inn & Suites Fort Walton Beach - Destin West

We came to Fort Walton for a family wedding, and the hotel was easy to find. The lobby was spotless, and the front desk staff were warm and friendly. They always greeted us and our kids when we returned from the beach or a day out. Breakfast was good for a hotel breakfast. The pool hours, 12p-9p, were the one small disappointment; we wished we could stay longer, though it was off season and we weren’t upset. Five stars from us.

It’s been a month, and I still haven’t gotten back the $142.80 they charged me for the deposit and a duplicate destination fee. I was told the total should have been $100. The hotel says it released the money, but my bank says it hasn’t, and Choice Hotels agrees the issue is with the hotel. After several calls I finally reached someone claiming to be the manager. When I said I’d have to take further steps to get my money back since she wasn’t helping, she hung up on me. She seemed to know very little, so I’m not even sure she was the manager. On top of that, my room smelled like piss, the card keys never worked, and although I was told the pool was open, I could never get in. Management was rude and unprofessional. The worst hotel experience I’ve ever had. Pure joke.

Keila at the front desk was the best part of our stay. She was helpful, professional, and polite, and my kids still talk about how kind and interactive she was a month later. The breakfast was pretty limited compared with other Comfort Inn locations I’ve stayed at. The hotel itself needs repairs: the spa was out of service, and there was damage and broken equipment in the rooms and outside. Our tub didn’t work properly, and the wall thermostat kept the AC running, leaving the room feeling damp. My family stayed the second week of August, and it was a decent experience overall. I’d give the hotel a 2, but the staff a 5.

We left and found a much better hotel after the front desk manager refused to compensate us for the inconvenience. She offered a refund so we could go elsewhere, but was rude and tacky and never made us feel welcome or tried to solve anything. When my husband and I first entered our room, it smelled moldy and mildewed, was dusty, and didn’t look or smell clean. The bathroom light was out. Maintenance came after we called, but replacing it took 15-20 minutes, something that should have been taken care of before check-in. The next room they gave us was missing a shower curtain and other amenities. We were tired and just wanted to settle in. The housekeeping manager clearly isn’t checking the rooms properly. No one deserves to be treated this way.