Oh no! What have we done??
My family either did the best or the worse thing ever. I lived in the same house for seventeen years. Most of my growing up was at the same home; thus, I was ready for a change and a move. So we were on a journey for our new place.
On day two our house was sold to the second person who saw it. Within two weeks the sale was closed. Due to everything happening so fast we did not have a chance to find a new house before moving out.
With lack of time, we decided to find a hotel and stay there for a few days with hopes of finding a place as soon as possible. When driving around and looking for a hotel, I came across the Trump National Hotel in the Doral area in Miami, FL. I had great expectations of being able to find housing while staying in a nice resort. We checked in late Thursday night and checked out Tuesday morning. Our intention was to stay at the Resort until we found our new home but that was not the outcome.
What’s good
On our way entering the resort, a friendly guard greeted us. Outside the lobby, we were welcomed by a very kind staff member and were provided with instructions on parking. A luggage transporter with assigned also. When we entered the lobby we were captivated by the elegant sophisticated ambiance present at the Doral Trump National Hotel.
The hotel parking was quite far from the rooms so instructions were given regarding shuttle service to our quarters after checking in. We were told our luggage would be waiting for us in our room. There is no mistake, the hotel is beautiful!
Our focus was in securing permanent housing and we did not spend much time exploring the grounds or amenities. It appeared that there were several activities to partake of at Trump Hotel – such as renting bikes, paths to take nice walks by the lakes and especially a nice area for golfers. I wish there was more I could say that was good, but my stay there was mediocre.
What’s not
After checking in around midnight, my first night started with a dirty room. We called the front desk and reported the situation then had to gather all of our belongings and to move to a new room. Once settled in the new room, my allergies kicked in due to the bed or pillows. This was the same day we sold the house and had to move everything out of our home so we were depleted of energy.
The second day I was awakened around 11 am after going to sleep at 4 am by housekeepers opening and slamming doors every few minutes. This was the first day we spent driving around looking for a new place to move. Not much time was spent at the hotel. I was actually having a pretty tough time due to my stay/lack of sleep and was actually disappointed with the hotel stay even with as elegant as it was.
After returning back to my room I realized that housekeeping did not change the sheets from the prior night but had just folded the blanket. I had spilled a little drink on the sheet the previous night and the same sheet was still on that evening. To top off the cleanliness issue I noticed there was water or fire marks on the wall of the room which none of us noticed the first day.
Something that looked like water or fire on my room wall
We filed a complaint with management about the dirty sheets and when we got back to the room on the third day they indeed changed the sheets after the complaint. It was apparent that not much was done without having to bring it up to the front desk or management. Our exhaustion was lingering so we decided to continue staying at the resort.
The third day came and I was awoken by the neighboring couple talking and opening and slamming doors at 8 am after again going to sleep around 3 am. Talk about waking up abruptly! To top that off, it sounded like someone was running back and forth on the floor above me. I tried to ignore the loud boom that made the walls shake as if something really heavy was thrown.
Sleep was something that apparently was not going to happen yet again that morning, so I decided to work on my laptop instead. I was beyond exhausted and spent the entire day struggling to stay awake. My eyes were closing but I was trying to find a new home as fast as I could and pursued the search and had little energy to search for other lodging.
Unfortunately we did not find out until day three that we would be able to request shuttle service from the parking. Prior to finding out about the shuttle we did a great deal of walking. We found out about this service after complaining of having to walk so long at night to the room.
Sadly even after finding out about the parking transportation and requesting it a couple of times, we found it was faster to actually walk then wait under the stars for transportation and be bitten all over from mosquitoes. The entire ground was very pretty but also had plenty of trees, lakes, plenty insects and other critters. If the critters and walking is something you do not mind then this may not bother you.
In the end
Overall I really wouldn’t recommend this hotel. The mattress and blankets were comfortable but the noise and cleanliness were disappointing. Hearing the neighbors conversations was very disturbing when trying to sleep and frankly I felt like it was an invasion of privacy. To top off the negative factors I mentioned they had no vending machines only one by the cafeteria in a dark spot very far away. In addition, the rooms were equipped with mini bars that were very limited and costly. Also the laundry service offered was only a service but not an area available to do ones own laundry.
After taking into consideration everything, I feel the need to share my thoughts and experiences with anyone who reads this. I am grateful we had a place to sleep while on the search for a new house but I do not think it was worth the price. Honestly I wanted to have a better review for this hotel.
In conclusion, the rest of our home searching endeavor was conducted as we stayed with beloved family. Currently we are in the process of finalizing the steps to move into our new home and overall very happy with the decision we made to sell our original house. The desired for a move and a change was positive after all.
This was my experience and my personal opinion. I was not given a hotel stay free or complimentary.
