LAUDERHILL, Fla. – In this "Call Christina" investigation, Local 10 News worked with Travelocity to secure a viewer a refund from a hotel she claimed was unsanitary and bug infested.
Lillian Correggio, administrative assistant at property management company HavenBrook Homes, made a reservation at the Inverrary Vacation Resort through Travelocity. The room was for Jacqueline Johnson, a HavenBrook Homes tenant.
"They were willing to accommodate me while I was having some plumbing issues in the residence where I am now," Johnson said.
"We go ahead and we check in the hotel and it went from 100 to 0 real quick," Johnson said. "I walked in (and) we had roach bait showing." She also claims by the following morning her son had bed bug bites on his back and legs.
After sending pictures of the bed bug bites and room conditions to Correggio, Correggio contacted the hotel to demand a refund for the six nights she booked at $902.43. When they wouldn't respond, she called Local 10 News investigative reporter, Christina Vazquez.
"The beds were soiled. The mattresses hadn't been changed out in what could be years," said Johnson, describing the room she was given.
"I wouldn't wish anyone's stay to be that horrible. It wasn't good for me at all," she said.
After complaints to hotel management, Johnson was granted a room change.
"I got to that room and it wasn't much better," she said. "But we stayed anyways. It was one night."
The next morning, Johnson decided it was time to check out less than 24 hours after the family checked in.
"My son had bed bugs all over his back, all over his legs. He was itching so bad he stayed out of school," she said. "I did call the (hotel) management and asked them if there was something better they can provide me with or something they can do, and they weren't willing to help me at all."
"I really, really, really think someone should help [HavenBrook Homes] get their money back," Johnson said. Travelocity did issue Correggio a $902.43 full refund, despite the hotel's refusal to acknowledge the complaint. After the hotel did not respond to emails or phone calls from Vazquez, she showed up at Inverrary Vacation Resort and asked to speak with management.
The only hotel staff member willing to address the complaints was a man who identified himself as Maurice.
"Ma'am there's no bed bug issue," Maurice said. "We usually try to refund our guests if they are not happy." He also said he would check on the status of Correggio's refund and asked her to wait in the lobby for him.
After waiting almost an hour, hotel guest Katie Fischer approached Vazquez and invited her up to see her room.
"What the heck is that?" said Katie Fischer as she pulled back the sheets of the bed. "Almost like dead fleas or something? I don't know." The trip to South Florida and hotel stay were a significant expense for the single mother from Boston who felt devastated that her young daughter was staying on a property she described as "disgusting."
"I was reading the reviews after the fact and I was like, 'why didn't I really research this before?'" Fischer said.
READ: Lodging Inspection Report
Online reviews for the Inverrary Vacation Resort document complaints similar to those of Johnson and Fischer.
Of the 363 people who reviewed the hotel on TripAdvisor, 165 rated it as "terrible."
On Expedia, the hotel received 2.1 out of 5 stars and included reviews titled "One of the most awful experiences I've ever had," "Worst Hotel," and "Do not stay here."
"Unfortunately, I didn't read the reviews. (I) wish I had, but I didn't," Johnson said. She only looked at the hotel's website.
"If you go on the site, it makes you feel like you're going to get something spectacular and it's going to be very nice," she said.
On the homepage of the website, the hotel markets itself as "the only all-inclusive resort in South Florida."
"Expect all you can drink, eat, and have fun in one low price," the home page description states.
Fischer told Local 10 News when she arrived at the hotel is when she was informed they must pay an additional fee for wristbands in order to receive the "all-inclusive" perks.
The "all-inclusive" claim may not be the only piece of possibly misleading information on the company's website. The homepage lists "Fort Lauderdale" as the city of the hotel, however the street address is located in Lauderhill city limits.
Many of the online reviews include warnings against the food offered at the hotel. In July 2014, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation placed an emergency license suspension on the hotel's onsite restaurant after a routine inspection. The inspection report listed five violations, including the observation of live roaches in the kitchen.
The report states, "Observed 10 roaches in the sink and drain area under the sprayer hose by the dish machine. 6 roaches in the small drain area to the left of the dish machine…2 roaches on the floor under the sprayer hose by the dish machine…2 roaches on a shelf on the cook's line where spices are stored..,1 roach on a shelf at the end of the cook's line where soiled wiping cloths are kept…1 roach running across the floor on the cook's line."
"If it is reported we do exactly what every hotel does or any establishment does," Maurice said. "We have contracts with Terminix, we have contracts with Orkin, they come in and do what they are supposed to do and we get the problem resolved."
Three of the remaining violations concerned the restaurant's poor treatment of "potentially hazardous foods," or items that are time or temperature sensitive.
The restaurant reopened on July 16, 2014 following an ordered clean up and re-inspection.
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