Spark by Hilton Sarasota Siesta Key Gateway

Very nice people in front desk hotel very out dated. First room smelled awful also bathtub drainage no good. Water did not drain reached ankles. Switch rooms better smell but same problem with tub. That’s discussing also tub had hair and dirty.

First we must compliment the ladies at the front desk. Above & beyond helpful and friendly. Hotel is very old with window A/C that didn’t work well. The most frustrating thing was the microfiber sheets. Neither of us slept well. Bed was wobbly and the sheets/comforter wasn’t wide enough. Not usually what we experience at Hiltons.

After reading some of the bad reviews about this place, I wasn’t expecting much. I was so pleasantly surprised! The room was clean and very recently updated. The staff all welcoming and helpful. Shout out to Lisa at the pool bar! This hotel is in a good area close to shops and restaurants within walking distance, including Ruth’s Chris where we are eating tonight! For being in the middle of everything and also Memorial Day weekend, very laid back and quiet. Yes the rooms face an outside hallway, but we do not have any problems with that. The only thing I would suggest is new pool towels. Beach is a very short few blocks away. Too far for us to walk, but there is a huge parking lot and we had no trouble parking. A great stay, I will be coming back!

The first night we got there we were very tired because we were traveling all day and we just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. But the shower did not work. It’s a very unusual handle that works the shower, it was EXTREMELY hard to pull out to get any water at all. I can’t imagine someone with arthritis or someone elderly being able to work that handle. I’m in fairly good shape and I struggled with it. It was too late for us to go downstairs so we waited until the next morning since we were going downstairs for the free “breakfast”. The breakfast consists of cereal, toast, muffins and bagels…. Oh and very watered down coffee. I went to the front desk and told them my shower was broken and she kept telling me that I wasn’t doing it right and that she will send maintenance up to show me how to use it. I also complained about the coffee (I was not the only one) and I was told that the coffee is pre measured and they can’t change it so I said to try adding less water, she said that was pre measured too….really??? The whole time I was speaking with the manager I felt as though she was trying her hardest NOT to accommodate me. Maintenance did come while we were out and the reason I know that is because the tub was left dirty. We were able to get water after that but it’s extremely hard. Also my door was not lined up properly and did not open unless I pushed it with my body and you have to pull it really hard to close it. As a matter of fact, housekeeping didn’t pull it when they left and the door was wide open when we returned. The next day I tried to explain to her that she has to pull the door shut but she did not understand so again I had to go the the front desk to have them tell her because I did not want my door left unlocked again. We go to Florida every year and we stay at many hotels, including Hilton and I can honestly say that this was one of the worst I have ever stayed at. I was extremely disappointed because, first of all it doesn’t stand up to the Hilton name, and secondly the pictures are very deceiving. Nowhere in the pictures does it show that the entry doors are on the outside of the hotel. These problems are very fixable if the hotel was better maintained. Someone from Hilton did reach out to me, and they did discount the room, but even with the discount it was not worth the money that we paid.

Underwhelming! Digital key didn’t work. Sign said pool closed at 8, but still at 10 really noisy people at the pool. Couldn’t sleep. More like a motel. Rooms all enter from outside. Would not stay again. Pricey for a motel. Breakfast not good.