HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof Orlando South

We’d only just checked in after driving from Jacksonville for a week in Orlando when the trouble started. The room door wouldn’t lock, so for five days we had to leave it partly shut and worry about someone getting in. We kept our things in the car because of that. Staff tried several times to repair it, but it never got fixed, and we couldn’t comfortably leave to shop or go anywhere. When I asked to move rooms, I was told there weren’t any available. I then asked for a refund so I could take my family elsewhere, and got a sarcastic “If you want, you can check out now.” The front desk receptionist, Toyota, had been rude and disrespectful from the start. This was frustrating and completely unprofessional. I wouldn’t recommend staying here if you expect basic respect and a secure room.

I complained about the stay and tried to get some accommodation, but the female manager seemed more interested in proving herself right than helping. She came across as unprofessional and inattentive, and the amenities weren’t working either. I arrived for my first stay at this resort on January 31, during the coldest day in Orlando. I’d seen the awful reviews mentioning roaches and hoped they were just someone else’s bad experience. That hope ended as I was closing the broken door and a roach crawled onto my hand. Later that night I found the bathroom wasn’t working properly. I called the front desk; first I was told maintenance would come, then I was told I had to come down to get a plunger. I was embarrassed because I hadn’t known about the problem. Save your money and your dignity. The manager made an already horrible stay feel even worse.

There are cleaner hotels in Orlando, so stay well away from this one. We checked in on January 17 and found German roaches in the bathroom and bedroom, plus a dead one on the stove. We checked right back out, but I still haven’t received the refund I was promised despite calling several times.

We found several roaches in the room, and the sheets looked as if they’d been used by the previous guest and left on the bed. Parking was also limited for the number of rooms. The motel was worth what we paid, which is about the only positive I can offer. Its location could be much better, right in the middle of semi traffic. We won’t return if we’re in the area.