Rodeway Inn North Conference Center

I stayed here again and can see a big improvement in the appearance and service since the new management took over. This place has a lot of potential, and I think it’s moving in the right direction. I used to bring my kids here when they were younger, so I have many memories and have watched it change over the years. We all deserve another chance, since none of us is perfect. My loyalty is here.

We came for the annual Fellowship of Christian Magicians conference, and the stay was a huge disappointment. The air conditioning failed in much of the building, with many meeting rooms over 90 degrees, and the Caribbean Cove Water Park, which we were told would be open for the conference, wasn’t. About half the elevators had “under maintenance” signs, and no maintenance was done during our week there. Service in the rooms was inconsistent. On the second day, our beds weren’t made. We were told beds are left alone if anything is on them, in our case a child’s blanket and a stuffed animal. Another day our room wasn’t serviced. My wife asked at the desk and the housekeeping supervisor was extremely rude, saying we had a Do Not Disturb sign up. We were surprised to learn housekeeping makes one pass through the hotel and won’t return if they can’t service a room then. Neither that rule nor the rule about items on the bed was posted anywhere. It would have helped to know. For the first few days, the desk clerk was the only staff member in the hotel apart from a maintenance man. They couldn’t leave the desk to get towels or other items that hadn’t been replaced during room service. By day four they were keeping supplies at the desk for people with the same problem. Several people in our group were also confronted in their rooms and told their reservations were over and police would be called if they didn’t leave. It turned out staff had the wrong reservation name. Some other guests had their AC fail or plumbing problems. One family with plumbing trouble on the last night was offered a bathroom in a nearby supposedly empty room rather than moving. They had a key card, but found a man in his underwear on the bed. The next “empty” room they were sent to was occupied too. My grandson found a curly french fry by a hallway wall and took a photo of it. It was still there all five days of our stay. The only bright spots were two staff members. Brandi Tate at the front desk was bubbly, friendly, and helpful, exactly the sort of person a hotel needs there. Anthony Murray, one of the breakfast servers, went out of his way to provide excellent service and helped with special requests when he could. Keep these two.

The exterior looks somewhat run down and deserted, while the lobby and pool areas are nicely designed and kept up. Breakfast tasted good, although there weren’t many choices. The room was clean, but the bed and linens weren’t comfortable.

The place used to be Caribbean Cove, with plenty of bad reviews. It seems to have new management now, but it still isn’t nice. The accommodations are bare minimum: shower soap and shampoo, but no conditioner; coffee in the room, but no cup for it; no water glasses or alarm clock. Even the free breakfast was below what I expected for a continental spread. There were bagels and English muffins, jelly and cream cheese that wasn’t refrigerated, oranges, and a bucket of rice crispies. The elevator made scary noises. There was