Mainstay Suites Tamarac

At about 1am, after finding multiple bugs in room 415, we decided we couldn't stay. We drove four hours home in the rain so we could properly clean our clothes and belongings. We worried they might carry roaches or possible bed bugs, and didn't want to spread them to another room or hotel. We had only spent about an hour in the room at check-in, but our things had been there all day. We declined the offer to move rooms because moving people and belongings from a possibly infested room seemed more likely to spread the problem. We didn't get to use the beds, shower, or breakfast. Earlier that night, around 11:30pm, we had returned from a concert and were getting ready to sleep when I saw a roach by the microwave and crushed it. A few minutes later, my daughter said she felt a bite while lying on the bed and spotted another bug. I pulled the bed slightly from the wall to see it, but it disappeared before I could photograph it. With my phone light, we saw more bugs on the floor behind the bed, likely small roaches. My family and I are campers and bugs usually don't bother us, but being bitten in bed and seeing what might have been a bed bug was too much. The room already looked generally unclean and poorly maintained when we arrived. The bedside lamps and outlets didn't work, the TV was out, and the desk outlets were too loose to hold a plug reliably. The toilet had feces streaks or questionable stains in the bowl, there were hairs on the bedding, and the bed looked slept in. Behind it were hairs and dried spilled liquid. We also found the light shade on the wall torn, pictures partly pulled off, and dirt around the room. We were rushing to get to a 17 concert at check-in, so we set those problems aside, since our plan was only to sleep, shower, and have breakfast. I sent these details, photos, and other concerns to General Manager Andrea Samaroo, and we had lengthy phone conversations too. I understand the protocol may be to offer another room to guests who report possible bed bugs or roaches. I've worked in infectious disease with viruses and bugs for over 20 years, and I believe moving people and their belongings into a supposedly cleaner room could spread an infestation. The manager said they'd investigated and found evidence of roaches but not bed bugs. She chose to offer only a 50% refund. I contacted CHOICE HOTELS, who said the hotel general manager had to issue refunds. They offered points so they could close the case. Maybe my experience was an outlier, but based on what I found, if one room has roaches and bugs, they're likely in more rooms.

I only stayed because this hotel was part of the tournament group. The pull-out sofa bed was awful, and after three nights on it I'll need regular traction to recover. The room was also close enough to the pool that noise came through the vents clearly. Adults sat out there laughing and hollering until 2:15am while my boys and I were trying to get ready for their games. They might as well have been in our room. Don't expect staff to go out of their way. I asked the front desk for scissors, and the woman answered, without getting up, "No, I'm not sure where they are." Ask for a room away from the pool.

We paid over $600 for the stay, and it was absolutely not worth it. Every shift seemed unable or unwilling to manage guest behavior. Unsupervised kids were making a mess and being loud in the lobby late at night, and there was a party on the pool deck despite signs saying the pool area was open from "dusk to dawn." Kids were also using the gym equipment, including the treadmills. When I told a staff member, he said it wasn't his problem and I had to tell the front desk. At breakfast, a woman came in, was told she couldn't be there, then went into the breakfast area, took eggs and sausage, slammed the tray lids, and left. Groups of young kids were left unsupervised, pouring milk and throwing trash around. That happened every morning. The first problem came at check-in: after it went smoothly, we found another family walking into our room. The desk told me to tell them to come back and that it was my room. Inside, there was a hideous odor, the bedroom light wasn't plugged in, and the area behind the nightstand clearly hadn't been cleaned in a while. The wall light shade was torn, pictures were halfway off the walls, and the living room furniture was stained. There was soda spilled on the floor and walls by the microwave, whose exterior hadn't been wiped down. Another wall light had no shade, leaving the bulb exposed, and the room phone was unplugged. I asked for another room, but staff got annoyed and said this was the room assigned to me and I had to stay there. They said I'd still be charged if I cancelled. Later, while I was still in the lobby, they radioed someone to go to my room and asked me whether I had two rooms because their system showed two bookings. That seemed to get resolved, but they said they needed to charge my card again to show I was in the assigned room. I had no choice but to stay. The tub faucet plunger was stuck, so my son couldn't soak his twisted knee. There was mold throughout the bathroom anyway. After I complained about the tub and cleanliness, maintenance came but couldn't fix the faucet that night. Housekeeping cleaned behind the nightstand, wiped the microwave, and sprayed air freshener. In the morning, there was a large puddle around the toilet because its tank was leaking. After showers, the tub backed up, and the shampoo and conditioner bottles were empty. I reported it before we left for our event, but nothing had been done by the time we got back. I also found AC filters that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months, and the bathroom door handle cover kept popping off. Maintenance later fixed the toilet and faucet. Housekeeping brought replacement shampoo and conditioner meant to be mounted, but the person just handed them to me and said he didn't know how to install them.

I paid $175 and both rooms I saw were filthy. The first tub was nasty, so I went downstairs and asked for another room. That one was just as bad, with another filthy tub, dirty sheets, nasty stuff on the walls, and a motel-like feel. I got a refund and left quickly. This place isn't worth anywhere near $175.