Lake Side Lodge

LikedPros: We travel frequently from Sebastian to visit mom in nursing home in SFl. This hotel is in a good safe location about 45 min north of her and about 1.5 hours south of us. Location is key.Bed was comfortable, room clean,free parking. Nice dorm fridge for cooler items or leftovers. We’ve stayed here many times but…

DislikedCons: 2nd time we had issue with front desk reception. Same person and although respectful and courteous here are the issues. The first issue was that we had a late arrival and were supposed to get an email giving us the locked key code. We never received the email. We got there just as he was leaving and thankfully got in as he opened the locked key holder. We’ve stayed there many times before and never had an issue. This trip we arrived at 2:30. There are 2 other people waiting and there is a sign on the door ( I didn’t take a photo) that said Be back in 30min to an hour. No indication of what time this was posted. Another family had been waiting half hour already. The sign also said to take a seat by the pool. Well, it’s a Florida afternoon, 90 degrees out and raining. No chairs under the awning. People sitting on the steps. I went to our truck and asked Booking.com to find out what’s going on. I called Hugo the maint man which is the only contact number given in the hotels recorded message. He said this has been an issue with the front desk not being manned. At 3pm the young receptionist comes and it’s always a lot of tedious signatures and paperwork so another 20 min now before we can get in. He was polite but told me that check in is 3pm. Ok, I understand that as we travel extensively but people arriving from long distances do come earlier and many times you can check in if the rooms are ready ( they all were). Also, there is no lobby or reception area at this facility until he opens the door and there are two seats in AC. They also put $100 security deposit on your credit card ( rooms are prepaid) so it’s like a resort which this is not. And again there is no contact info except for the maintenance man. It’s an aging hotel and we’ve had squeaky loud beds but this room they were fine. We don’t expect much since it’s budget. Shower is hot but very difficult to turn knob. Would be tough for elderly with arthritis. No way to turn off very bright porch light.

DislikedThey charged me for having a service dog & then refused to refund the $85. That is illegal.

LikedLocation

DislikedOffice hours

DislikedThe air condition was not working properly

LikedIt had a pool

DislikedPretty much everything but the top things: The office was located in one of the hotel rooms, the "double beds" ended up being a full and a twin bed, and the AC unit was full of mold/mildew which contributed to a musty odor inside the room.