Econo Lodge Winter Haven Chain of Lakes

The pool is huge, outdoors, and goes up to 12 feet, though it isn't heated. The grounds looked nice too. For a cheap stay, the rooms were clean and most staff were friendly, and the price was fair. Parking was confusing, and the property could use some updates. The head housekeeping inspector was rude and threatened to charge me $30 because I went five minutes past checkout while packing. Staff could use some work, but it's a decent budget place.

The location is good, and it is near Legoland, but I wouldn't bring kids here. The walls are thin, and each room has a connecting door, so we heard the couple next door having sex loudly for hours. They apparently recommend this as a love hotel for guests 18 and older. We also got sick in a room with mold and had to go to the hospital. The room they moved us to had mold too: water had leaked under the air conditioner, damaging the ceiling, and there was water under the floorboards that was causing more mold. Breakfast wasn't safe for us either. Bagels left for the next day, yogurt, bread, and milk could be covered in mold; I hoped the eggs and sausages weren't. Prices are high for no reason, and other hotels are cheaper and better. They said, “we're just trying to get the rift raft out,” and seemed to raise prices if they didn't like you. They also keep your card details in their system after checkout and said they can't remove them. The game room isn't much, and vending machines are pricey. I might only suggest it to someone in a bad spot, like homelessness, but they don't take monthly payments, only weekly, and guests staying over 25 days have to move between rooms.

With the elevator out, my husband had to make several trips carrying our bags up to the third floor, and we had a baby with us. We didn't get a key card either, since the locks on the room doors were being changed. Someone had to let us in with a master key, and we'd have needed to ask them again every time we all left the room. Since we were leaving in the morning, it was manageable, but otherwise it would've been a real hassle. The room didn't look like the photos at all. It was late and already paid for, so we stayed the one night. Check-in was smooth, maybe because we were the only ones there. The kids and I didn't like the room: the bathroom was tiny and outdated, there was mold in the shower, and the ceiling outside it looked damaged. I noticed specks on the bed and brushed them off. We slept on top of the blankets, using the blankets we'd brought for the car ride, so the beds would look untouched. I'm usually careful about where I book, and I feel like I messed up this time.

We paid $100, and there are surely cheaper places that would've been better. The room was disgustingly dirty, the AC smelled moldy, and the toilet seat was broken. Across the street, a karaoke bar kept us awake all night with drunk singing and loud drums. The front desk said there was nothing they could do. Someone also seemed to be selling drugs from the room diagonally below ours all night. We didn't sleep at all. Our son fell asleep and had a tournament early in the morning, or we would've checked out and gone elsewhere, refund or no refund. Horrendous stay. Never again.