The Amerisuites I stayed at was the one on Caravan Court, very close to Universal. I have read posts from people staying at other Amerisuites that were mixed, a few that liked them because they got a good priceline deal, and one that had a similar experience to mine with fire alarms going off in the middle of the night, and they also had the lobby ceiling collapse (note to the powers that run this board PLEASE fix the search feature!).
Even aside from all my other problems, the fact that the fire alarms malfunctioned in 2 of thier hotels that I know of is cause enough for me to avoid the chain now and forever. But in case that's not enough to convince you:
In my case I had booked 5 nights (for myself and 3 kids) plus a second room for 2 nights as a treat for some friends that were meeting me.
The room itself was not that bad. It was clean and new looking but I thought it was a real stretch to call it a suite. It was a standard size room before they pushed the 2 beds together and threw up a partition wall. There was literally 1 foot between the bed and the walls and 2 feet between the 2 beds. The TV was positioned so that you could swivel it to watch from the bed area or the seating area but not both at once.
In the area that was supposed to be the living room there was a love seat (pull outs may have been available- we did not request or get one) a chair, & a small coffee table to the left of the door. To the right was a small desk and a counter with a micro, a small sink and and a mini-fridge. VERY crowded. There may have been a coffee maker- I tend to ignore those in all hotels as they are never cleaned to my liking.They offered a decent free continental breakfast buffet in the lobby. It was very cramped for 4 people but @ 79 per night but I would have tolerated it... if not for the daily crisis!
The first night the fire alarm went off at 3am. Down 6 flights of stairs to the lobby to find everyone returning to their rooms saying it was a false alarm. The next day when I asked at the front desk I was offered no explaination or apology.
Night#2 the toilet in our bathroom backed up- I called 3 times over a 2 hour period to get it fixed, finally someone showed up at my door and handed me a plunger! I demanded that he fix it or get someone to do it so he fixed it but he left a huge wet mess on the floor.
Night#3- my friends checked into their room- it had no shower curtain. They got it the next day after several calls and visits to the front desk.
Night #4- 11 pm after returning from a day at the parks I approached my room to find the door not only unlocked but held open by the metal privacy bar. Apparently housekeeping intended to come and finish making the beds and never got around to it. Had anyone looked into the room they would have seen my $700 digital camera sitting right on the desk-
Night #5- finally a night without a crisis! yipee! So now we are doing a final check of the room before checking out- looking under beds, in drawers- you know the drill... well my daughter looks under the loveseat and comes up with an almost empty vodka bottle! YUCK!
I brought the bottle with me to the desk when I checked out to show them and tell them it was the last straw and that I would never come back. This time they apologized and took one night off my bill, nice try, but too little too late for me- It was honestly the worst hotel experience I have ever had in Orlando.
I apologize for the long post but one last thing- In contrast, last week I stayed at the Holiday Inn right next to the Amerisuites. For $89 (Entertainment rate) we got a suite with a full LARGE living room with TV, pull out queeensize sofa, coffee table, chair with ottoman, dining table, full size fridge, sink, dishwasher, coffeemaker(sorry Holiday Inn but yours was grungy too), toaster, and separate large bedroom with 2 queen bedsand a second TV. There is a Friday's on the ground floor that offers a full (although not free) buffet breakfast and excellent room service. (amerisuites had no room service at all).
If you are not staying onsite I highly recommend Holiday Inn.
