Home2 Suites by Hilton Sarasota - Bradenton Airport, FL

Peggy, who works in the lobby in the late afternoon, was a delight. She was welcoming and informative, and I wanted to give her a shout-out as a great addition to the team. We also had a bathroom issue, and maintenance was sent up right away. I'd recommend this hotel to others.

Home2 Suites by Hilton Sarasota was an easy place to reach local attractions and dining, and the price was excellent for the quality of the stay. The whole property was spotlessly clean, and my room was immaculate, which made the visit comfortable and reassuring. From arrival, the staff were welcoming and helpful. They made check-in smooth and were always ready to answer questions or offer recommendations. I had a wonderful stay and would definitely choose Home2 Suites by Hilton Sarasota again on my next visit.

The room was spacious, with lots of seating and storage in both the bedroom and the area with the pullout sofa. The bedroom was separate from the kitchen and living area, so cooking smells wouldn't reach where we slept. The bathroom was roomy too, and its sliding doors weren't right beside the shower like in many hotels. There were plenty of outlets, a bathroom nightlight, and lots of supplies, including bar and hand soap, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I rented a hot plate and pot at the front desk and appreciated that they provided stainless steel instead of nonstick cookware. The cleanliness and maintenance were a serious problem in both rooms. In room 1, a whole TV and remote were missing from the bedroom, there were dead bugs on the washroom floor and more appearing daily by the window and sink, and a cleaning rag had been left in the shower. The AC smelled musty and humid, getting worse each day. The office chair had questionable stains, the main bedroom light bulb was burned out, and the fridge stopped working, so we had to change rooms. The window shade panel was broken off and dangling, with odd stains on it. Room 2 had ants all over the counters, splattered liquid on the bedroom wall, and questionable stains on the office chair. There was also underwear left in plain sight on the closet floor by the previous guest. We had to get a bag from the desk and throw it away ourselves. The front desk asked if we'd like someone to remove it, which shouldn't really have been a question. WiFi didn't work in the bedroom. The facility had its own problems. The small gym needed more supervision. Kids under 13 were regularly playing with equipment and trying to flip the Peloton bike upside down, and nothing was done for over an hour, though it was all visible from the desk. Dumbbells and towels were left on the floor, creating a hazard. Water also dripped from overhead onto the treadmill by the window, and during my run it splashed on my head. Breakfast items weren't labeled properly, for example, eggs were labeled as bacon and bacon as biscuits, so it was hard to tell what was what. There was only one pair of tongs for the meat, bread, and eggs, a cross-contamination problem for anyone with allergies or dietary restrictions. The bathroom door handles made no sense and were so difficult to open that I thought handles were missing. That's a problem even for an able-bodied person, and I can't imagine it for seniors, kids, or anyone with accessibility needs, or when sharing with someone you're not familiar with. Most staff didn't seem to know how to handle guest service and seemed bothered when approached. The maintenance gentleman who worked weekend nights was an exception, as was Shay, who was as helpful as she could be at night when the fridge failed. The weekend was busy, but only one employee was running the desk. Please staff better for your employees' sake. One morning we waited at the desk while the front desk agent prepared their own breakfast off to the side, with nobody covering the desk. That should happen before breakfast starts or when the lobby is clear of guests. The thermostat is motion-activated for some reason and shuts off when you leave the room. It also shut off in the middle of the night when it didn't sense movement. The sheets were polyester, with no cotton option, which was disappointing. Laundry cost more than at nearby hotels too. As a longtime Hilton member, this was below even basic expectations. If you value basic cleanliness, this isn't the place to be.

The room still smelled musty the next day, though things were more normal and there weren't any further hiccups. That was our first and last stay here. It's disappointing for a Hilton property because it doesn't come close to Hilton standards. We arrived late with the family after checking in on the app and stopped at the desk for a physical key. The woman was nice, gave us the key, but didn't mention breakfast. In the first room, the kids' sofa bed had sheets but no pillow, so I went downstairs to get one. Once everyone was in bed and the TV was off, the AC was impossible to sleep through. It made a mix of vibration and wavy low-pitched noise. It was late, but another front desk attendant moved us to a different room. Its AC was much quieter, but the room smelled humid, and there were visible signs of mold in the bathroom. The odor was strong, though better than the noise in the first room. On Saturday we came down for breakfast around 9:15 and found it was already over. In my 49 years, I'd never seen a hotel breakfast end at 9 on a Saturday. There wasn't a single sign in the building showing breakfast hours, and nobody told us at check-in. When I asked, the man at the desk said we had been informed because the hours were on a note in the room key pocket. I showed him ours, which had no note or hours or anything. He realized someone had messed up and contacted the restaurant lady, who was the nicest person at the property. She got some leftover food for my family, but it was cold and there wasn't much.