After submitting a survey to Homewood Suites almost a week ago and still having not received a response, I felt I had waited long enough before writing a review. I booked a two-bedroom suite for a base price of $189 a night for 3 nights. Since it included breakfast (which I planned on using daily) and a small dinner on some of the nights (which I didn't plan on using at all), I didn't feel the price was too high. I was wrong.
My husband tried the breakfast one day only and told me not to bother. Although the eggs were alright, he considered the round grey alleged potato "things" labeled as Hash Browns inedible, and the bacon was so thin one could read a newspaper through it. (That is if I had received my daily newspaper like I was supposed to.) I had hoped that the breakfast would be on the same par, at the least, as the Hampton, however, he told me that was not the case. There are, however, some very good restaurants in the area and if you're staying here, plan on doing that instead.
Now the room. I'm glad we went with a 2-bedroom suite instead of a 1-bedroom suite and a sofa bed. The living room is so small that if one were to open the sofa bed, it would take up the entire room. This is not an exaggeration. The kitchen is even smaller--most likely less square feet than the toilet and tub area. Additionally, our kitchen was supposed to have twin burners, however, I couldn't find them. The remote for the television in the second bedroom didn't work--and yes, we did try changing the batteries. The ceiling fan in our room had two speeds, off and very, very slow. I got up on top of the bed to see if I could change this with the pull, however, it had no affect. Neither exhaust fans in either of the bathrooms functioned--not at all. Additionally, I had requested a quieter room inside the "L" as one traveler recommended and outside our bedroom window was the pool pump that ran day and night. Although there is a hot tub too, it was not heated during our stay.
After checking in, we discovered the dishwasher full and left a tip with a note to housekeeping to please put away the dishes. Their response was to just wash the dishes again as we had just arrived from the day out to find them finishing their work. As well, do not even try to run the dishwasher while there, it is extremely noisy.
Of all things, the scariest--and yes, I do mean scary--part of the trip was doing some of our laundry. With my husband and son leaving to go camping after our stay, this was required. Our last evening there, my husband went upstairs to the second floor to start the laundry and when he hadn't returned after a long time, I went to check on him. The second floor was in total disarray. A huge garbage bin almost blocked the entire hallway, wallpaper was ripped off the walls, all the light sconces were on and were hanging off the walls, attached only by the wiring. Many of the doors were ajar, some with lights on and some with them off. The only thing I could think of was the movie "The Shining"...it was that bad. I called for him and then finally found the laundry area behind a locked glass door. Needless to say, he ended up doing the entire laundry. We of course realized that this floor was being remodeled, however, we would have appreciated it if someone would have told us. The area was a major safety hazard with debris strewn about the floor and management should have taken it upon themselves to offer to take care of any laundry that required care.
Personally, I wouldn't stay here again. Too many issues with the room, housekeeping, safety, food quality, and price to make me even consider it.
- Also Known As:
- Homewood Suites Gainesville Hotel Gainesville
- Homewood Suites Gainesville Hotel
- Homewood Gainesville
- Gainesville Homewood
- Gainesville Homewood Suites
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
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The Homewood Suites by Hilton® Gainesville hotel in Florida is an upscale, all-suite hotel situated off I-75 at Exit 384 not far from the University of Florida. We are conveniently located in Gainesville's popular restaurant row area, where guests will find excellent dining options and a variety of other local tourist attractions nearby. The Homewood Suites Gainesville hotel features 103 suites, including 11 two-room and 46 one-bedroom suites with separate living and sleeping areas, along with 46 studios. Each of our spacious suites offers all the comforts of home and a great range of amenities that you deserve for a short or extended stay in Gainesville, including: * Fully-equipped kitchen with a full-size refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker * Two televisions * DVD player * Complimentary wireless and wired high-speed Internet access * Two phones with data ports * Iron, ironing board and hair dryer. Join us for excellent guest accommodations and quality temporary housing. Our professional and friendly staff is available 24-hours a day to make sure you have a splendid stay at the Homewood Suites by Hilton® Gainesville hotel. Make Yourself at Home!®
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