Our stay at Marriott in Orlando was one of the worst hotel experiences we have ever had.
We came to Orlando specifically for Disney World. We had only two days for this short vacation, had already purchased expensive Disney tickets, and planned our entire schedule around those two days. The hotel itself was not the important part of our trip. We simply needed a place where we could return after spending the day at Disney, sleep, rest, and leave again the next morning.
Unfortunately, even that basic expectation became extremely difficult.
On our first night, the hotel’s system stopped working at approximately 7:00 PM. There was a huge line of guests waiting, and we were given very little information about what was happening, when the system would be restored, or whether rooms would be available.
We were left waiting for hours, late at night, not knowing what would happen. Eventually, we were relocated to another Marriott property. We had to travel to another hotel, check in again, and did not get to sleep until approximately 3:00 AM.
This immediately affected our vacation. We had planned to go to Disney early the following day, but because we had barely slept, we had to sleep through a significant portion of the day instead. We lost valuable vacation time simply because of the hotel situation.
Eventually, we went to Disney and stayed for the evening show. We returned to the hotel at approximately midnight, expecting to go directly to our room and finally get some rest.
Instead, our key card did not work.
We had received no phone call, no text message, no email, and no notification through the Marriott app or our reservation informing us that we had been checked out or that we were supposed to go to another hotel.
What makes this even more concerning is that when we were originally relocated to Marriott Village Orlando, we were given written documentation confirming accommodation for three nights. The letter specifically states that Marriott Village Orlando would pay for “(3) Night’s Room & Tax,” “(3) Night’s Resort fee,” and breakfast for three people.
Based on this written confirmation, we reasonably understood that our accommodation had been arranged for all three nights. Nothing in the document indicated that we would need to check out after one night or relocate again.
When we returned from Disney around midnight, however, we discovered that we had apparently already been checked out.
We were then told that security would be called and that we needed to collect all of our belongings and leave.
This was one of the most upsetting and humiliating parts of the entire experience.
A security guard opened the door and remained standing there with the door open while we hurriedly gathered our belongings. We had spent the entire day at Disney, it was approximately midnight, and we were exhausted. We needed to collect everything, pack our belongings, and potentially change clothes before traveling to another hotel.
We even asked if the security guard could wait outside or behind the door so that we could have some privacy while changing and packing. We were told that because we had already been checked out, he had to remain there.
I want to make clear that I do not blame the security guard personally. He was doing his job. My concern is with the situation Marriott put us in and the way this process was handled. Being forced to hurriedly pack our belongings with a security guard standing at an open door was extremely uncomfortable, stressful, and humiliating.
There was apparently a written checkout notice left at our door, but it was only discovered later. We had been gone all day at Disney and returned late at night. The notice was on the floor near the door, and because the security guard opened the door for us and we immediately started gathering our belongings, we did not even see it at the time.
In today’s world, there were many simple ways Marriott could have communicated this information: a phone call, text message, email, Marriott app notification, or a message through the reservation platform.
If we had been notified in advance, we could have planned accordingly.
We could have left Disney earlier, returned to the hotel, collected our belongings calmly, and traveled to the other property before midnight. Instead, we stayed for the Disney evening show because we believed we had a place to return to, only to discover after midnight that we had been checked out without any meaningful advance notification.
We then had to pack everything again, travel to another hotel in the middle of the night, pay additional Uber expenses, check in again, and unpack and reorganize our belongings all over again.
The next day, because we again had very little sleep, our schedule was affected once more.
So instead of using our two precious vacation days to enjoy Disney World, we spent a significant amount of our limited time waiting in hotel lines, dealing with system problems, moving between hotels, packing and unpacking, traveling between properties in the middle of the night, and trying to get enough sleep to function.
The technical problem itself was not the biggest issue. Problems happen. What was unacceptable was the lack of communication, the lack of consideration for guests, and the way the consequences of the problem were placed entirely on us.
I came to Orlando to experience Disney World. I did not come to spend my limited vacation traveling between hotels in the middle of the night, repeatedly packing and unpacking our belongings, and dealing with unexpected checkouts.
All we needed from the hotel was a safe and reliable place to return to after spending the day at Disney, get some sleep, and go back the next morning.
Instead, this experience caused us to lose sleep, lose a significant amount of our limited vacation time, incur additional transportation expenses, and experience a situation that was extremely stressful and humiliating.
This was not simply a hotel inconvenience. It significantly changed and damaged the vacation we had planned and paid for.
I sincerely hope Marriott reviews how this situation was handled, especially the lack of communication regarding the relocation and checkout, and takes responsibility for the experience its guests were subjected to.
Very disappointing experience, especially from a Marriott property.
