We don’t usually leave bad reviews but this place and its staff pissed us off. Check in was mismanaged. This was worse than the wait at the dmv. We came to check in at 4pm and waited 15 minutes and no change in line. Left and came back at 6. Still, We waited in a line of 30 people for another 45 minutes to an hour just to check in. The manager didn’t update the crowd or apologize for the wait. Finally, we get to the desk, I asked the person at the checkin what happened and he assured us that this was not normal. There was a housekeeping issue apparently. Okay no problem. Roll with the punches. The quality of the hotel is what I’d expect from a place with 2 stars in Daytona. And we’re it not for the bad service we received just trying to check in, I’d probably let it go. But as other reviewers have noted, the place is in need of maintenance. Our room was damp and humid inside and everything sticks to you when you touch it. The elevators are a nightmare. They don’t work properly. If you push a button, you have no idea whether or not it received your request. All of this and we were still rolling with the punches when we went to check out. And guess what? We waited in another line to check out! To be fair, this time it was not as long but it just feels like this place is not well managed. I have low standards for places like this and La Playa wasn’t even able to live up to them.
Sharon V.
Place rating: 3 Quincy, MA
As a Boston girl I have been to coastal cities up and down the Atlantic. Each boardwalk and beach community has its on flare and attracts all types of people looking for a nice day trip or a few nights to chill with friends, etc. This hotel was OK… it fit the purpose. It had a late 80s kinda Griswold’s Family Vacation feel to it. The front lobby was modern, however the room needed some updating. In the golden age of gadgets you def need more outlets in the room so each person has enough power to be stay connected to awesome Unilocal reviews. The TV was old, however brought me back to being a young child watching Full House on a Friday night. This is a good hotel if you’re a 20 something, not to say I’m not…(wink, wink) It’s one of those hotels you pitch in money with your buddies for a fun night of clubbing and don’t care where you lay your head as long as it’s you not puking up your jello shots. The hotel was safe. It just needs to be updated. There is shopping across the street if you need an extra towel or maybe some sunscreen. I suggest you take a cab or lift service to get to the main boardwalk as it is a walk. The room did have an amazing view and I was with someone amazing!
Sergio F.
Place rating: 2 Miami, FL
Well, it’s not as bad as the hotel in Ke$ha «Take it Off» video, and the company(She Who Likes the Wrong Football Team) was definitely 5 stars :) We had a decent partial of the ocean and we’re able to see the Full Moon out of the courtyard. If this review were being written in 1999 and we were extras in the LEM video(and paying 1999 rates!) this review would be a little higher. Again, as a crash pad when you’re touristing the boardwalk it’s not bad. Unlike the other negative reviews, we didn’t see the roaches. The fridge could have used some cleaning. They also did have to change out the cable box when our CRTTV(yep, you read right like in the late 90s) and we’re prompt when we called. After asking, we were also shown that the room indeed had some electrical outlets. But…yes there some visible holes in the curtain. The bathroom hair dryer didn’t work(pressure and temperature were very good). Most critical to me was that the room was hot(and not just the company:/) We have the AC at Constant Fan, at 60 degrees and I didn’t need any blanket. Please modernize and fix your air conditioning. We’re in Florida, not Boston! Like I said, if you’re just going to sleep you’re OK but not if you’re looking for a full resort. There is a major and decent chain restaurant across as a chain pharmacy to get some liquor.
Christine B.
Place rating: 1 Orlando, FL
Do NOT pay for this place. They have no parking and could care less about there guests. It’s cheap and that’s what you get.
J C.
Place rating: 2 High Springs, FL
Have stayed here before and they were supposedly upgrading the rooms. Well not so much. Not a bad place for the price but just drop the«resort» tag from the name. Rooms need some work but we’re clean. Beds were small, TV older tube model and not a flat screen. Wi-fi was good and free. Towels were small and kind of rough on the skin. Pool was kept clean but did tend to get crowded. Tiki bar was nice and looked as though they did a brisk lunch business. Parking was free but a little tight when parking under cover. Elevator can be crowded, slow and is very hot inside. Staff was ok but not great. Had an issue with the phone in the room not working, no pots or pans in the kitchen, oven did not work, no toaster so the kitchen was basically utensils, coffee pot, plates, cups and a microwave. When staff was notified they just blew it off stating they remove items due to theft and would try to get them replaced. Could be a nice place with some remodeling and friendlier staff that was attentive to the needs of its guest. Had a good time anyway. If you stay here its a roll of the dice. Based on other reviews just don’t know what you’re gonna get.
Lizzy G.
Place rating: 1 Braintree, MA
I wish I could leave zero stars! This place is a complete dump. Entering the lobby, you see a tattered and torn leather couch. The lobby is gloomy and gross. I should’ve left then and there. Going to the room I was just grossed out. Period stained chairs, holes in the sheets, roaches scattering when the light was turned off. People shouting on the balcony from the floor below me, rust everywhere. I felt completely unsafe being there. I checked out the next day as soon as I found accommodations elsewhere.
Douglas B.
Place rating: 4 Ocala, FL
Had a great time this weekend Latoya the manager was great. Live DJ, tiki bar 3 hot tubs deep pool 10 feet. Comedy club breakfast 9: am till 11am close to everything but far enough away.
Julie S.
Place rating: 1 Depew, NY
Wasn’t what we expected from the pictures online. The room had 2 small beds, a tiny kitchen area with a; stove, fridge, and microwave, bathroom, and balcony. It was very out of date the smoke detector was hanging from the wall and the molding was coming off of the walls and ceiling. The pool was cold most of the time and hot tubs were yellow and smelled like pee. The only perks to it were the dj and tiki bar(even thou it was only open until 6). I wouldn’t call it a resort but a glorified hotel. Wouldn’t return.
Stefano G.
Place rating: 4 Mechanicville, NY
This is our 6th year driving down for our kids spring break. All 6 years we have said at LaPlaya and have had nothing but a great time. We have always looked for a place right on the beach at a low price and LaPlaya has it. If we have had any issues(clogged up tub or refrigerator that stopped working), the staff has been quick to fix the issue.
Nomin D.
Place rating: 4 Springfield, VA
One star off=ELEVATORSARE A NIGHTMARE! Often times, only one of them will work and it got 10 floors and it’s pretty busy. So waiting for the elevator for 5 minutes sometimes was not a surprise. But despite all the other reviews, I found this place pretty decent. we did not see any roaches, bed bugs or anything. There was housekeeping every morning and they did a wonderful job as we had an infant and wanted clean place. Our kitchenette was good enough for occasional lunch/dinner. Only thing to remember is to bring your knife. Oceanview is fantastic which looks out to the pool, bar, and the jacuzzi as well. Overall property is maintained well and there is always staff and security around. If I ever come back to Daytona beach, I’ll rebook laplaya. It’s little old but it’s good for the price I paid!!!
Danny M.
Place rating: 1 East Boston, Boston, MA
Horrible horrible conditions!!! This place is infested with Roaches!!! The rooms are dirty! There’s construction going on next door to my balcony! And to top it off the balcony door is broke so we can hear the banging from the construction workers at 7am!!! 0 stars!!! Worst hotel I ever ever ever stayed at!!! Avoid this place like you would avoid a plague!!! I not exaggerating one single bit!!!
A Z.
Place rating: 1 Boston, MA
This hotel is disgusting!!! Don’t stay here ever… the rooms are infested with roaches. Sooo gross. Very disappointed with this place. The towels were paper thin, the door to our room was broken as well as the sliding balcony door, tube tv, period stains on the chairs, discolored bedsheets, I can go on!!! The pictures online are false advertisement since the place doesn’t even like look that. Stay away from this hotel at all costs. Only good thing was the two ladies at the front desk were nice but did nothing when we told them our room was infested. Horrible
Allison G.
Place rating: 3 Daytona Beach, FL
Booked through Expedia and got two double rooms for $ 160 which isn’t too bad for New Year’s Eve and an ocean front view. When I tried calling la playa I was on hold for almost an hour, and gave up. Outdated tv, and kitchen appliances, but I don’t mind. I don’t travel to be in the hotel constantly! :) one of the hot tubs does not work, and one of us had to park in the parallel parking across the street because there wasn’t enough parking. Oh well. Publix, dollar store, bolling ally and ruby tuesdays across the street which is nice. And I have not seen a single bug inside the room(I always check for bed bugs) and nothing. It does the job for the price
Christy E.
Place rating: 1 Kingsport, TN
If I could give zero stars I would! This place is disgusting! Nasty, noisy, old, and falling apart! Don’t book this hotel. First we didn’t get the room we paid for so we were put in a smaller room right next to the tiki bar speaker that was ungodly loud and when we called to ask(@10pm) when the music would end we were told it would last until 1am. This was not just relaxing poolside music it was nightclub volumes. We did get free breakfast for the room screw up that tasted decent as long as I didn’t think of how nasty the kitchen probably was. I guess another plus was we never saw any bugs!
Veronika S.
Place rating: 1 Downtown, Orlando, FL
Absolutely horrific. This is the most rude staff I have ever came upon. The front desk was horrible zero help and very unpleasant. I even asked for a manager she did not help either, I very kindly asked her if she could please scan a piece of important document I had to my email because they did not have a business center… Needless to say that«email» never went through. The ladies at the front desk must really hate their lives working at this hotel because that take it all out on customers. They made me pay for parking. Even though the«resort» of 21 $ fee was paid. Water in the hot tub is Luke warm. Not hot. «Hot tub» also closes at 7pm… Towels are very tiny. The shower in our room was a «mist» not a shower. The hotel needs new owners and needs to be completely re-done. I wish I knew the«taradactyl«look –a-like woman’s name at the front desk so I could write a whole separate review on how awful and rude she was. Never staying here again. And I definitely don’t recommend it to anyone. I’m Writing this as I’m laying in my very hard and tiny full mattress covered by the thinnest«blanket» made with one very hard pillow. Oh and our toilet does not flush.
Kim B.
Place rating: 1 Winston-Salem, NC
Construction on balconies. So, no access to them. Windows filthy because of construction. Tiny, very old TV. Old furniture in room. The table was broken. Beds hard and uncomfortable. Bath Towels very rough and small. Small hard-to-open shampoo/conditioner packets and small slimy soap bars. Front Door did not close all the way. A cleaning lady just pushed it open one day without knocking. Could hear all outside noises. Construction noises started at 8:00am. The price we paid was over $ 250/night during NASCAR race. weekend. The day we left the price was $ 49.00/night, which is more appropriate. Room size was great. Nice to have a kitchenette. The staff was very good at the front desk. Cleaning staff all very friendly.
Lindsey S.
Place rating: 1 Miami, FL
I came to Daytona Beach during a NASCAR race. As I pulled off I-95 and into a sea of obese, mulleted men and women waddling towards a track where cars drive in a circle, I realized I’d made a life error. La Playa provided no solace. After paying a ridiculously high rate(again, NASCAR, my bad), the hotel surprised me with a «resort fee.» I was told this fee was to pay for parking and wifi. There was no parking, as the lot was completely full of muddy pickup trucks bearing Georgia and South Carolina plates. The clerk shrugged. «Y’all gonna have to figure it out. We gotta race this weekend!» There was no wifi. When I complained about the lack of internet, the desk clerk told me, «I can give you tech support’s number and you can try to get straightened out.» I was dumbfounded. «But…you’re the account holder. They wouldn’t even be allowed to give me any account information. It just doesn’t make any sense. Why can’t you call them? I need to work!» Again, she shrugged. «I’m real busy. We gotta race this weekend!» I made the mistake of coming to Central Florida without oral hygiene products, and at midnight, having parked quite far from the hotel, I was desperate to not have to go out to buy toothpaste. The night clerk shrugged, too. «They haven’t given us any new toothpaste since January.» I asked for baking soda – these were desperate times. «Nope. Ain’t got none. Ain’t got no salt either, ’cause that works, too.» Charming. Silver lining: if you want to experience Pyongyang without risking being thrown in the Gulag, Daytona Beach, with its wide, typically carless streets and 70% vacant commercial properties will make you feel like you’re there.
John M.
Place rating: 2 Longwood, FL
This might be a tad long, but if you really want an accurate look at this place, I’d suggest reading it all the way through. I booked two nights at this«resort» for my wife and me to have a quick getaway. I booked the room pretty late Thursday evening, looking to stay here Friday and Saturday night. On such short notice, they still had decent availability. I booked and paid for an Ocean View Room but in the requests section I mentioned that I’m an amputee and use a prosthetic in the day but a wheelchair at night. I asked if they could upgrade me to a handicapped accessible room if possible so that at night I could easily fit in and out of the bathroom with my chair. Upon arriving, the front desk lady informed me that there weren’t any handicapped rooms available, but they had given me a complimentary upgrade to an Ocean View Efficiency, a $ 10 a night more expensive room. She also informed me that there was a $ 5 a night charge for parking and a $ 2 a night charge for use of the in-room safe. If you don’t use the safe, however, you can request a refund for that portion of the bill at checkout. I thought it was crazy to have to pay for parking, but with the free room upgrade I figured it evened out. The room was great, with a big separate kitchen, including a full-size refrigerator, range, all electric appliances, and seating and dinnerware for four. The two beds were decent size, and it just was really nice. The view was really good too, and so far this resort had a five star rating. We noticed that the door to our balcony wasn’t closed all the way and just needed to be pushed to be opened, but didn’t give it much thought. The fact that the light on our balcony was burned out was a minor inconvenience, and after enjoying the balcony for a few minutes, went back inside and fully shut the door behind us. The next morning is when it all started going downhill. We woke up and my wife attempted to go out onto the balcony but she couldn’t get the door to open. We then realized why it had been opened when we arrived. It took a long struggle and a lot of patience to get the door opened, as the handle appeared to be broken with a hole drilled into the door above it. I uploaded a picture of it for you Unilocalers to see. Needless to say, we learned to keep the door partially opened like it had been when we first arrived. Still wasn’t that big of a deal, though. The next couple of things were what really threw us for a loop. Upon leaving our room to go down to the beach, we realized that our front door appeared to be broken as well. Even after pulling it closed behind us, you just had to push on it and it would open right back up again. In order to actually lock the door behind you, you had to reach inside and jiggle the inside handle for a few seconds, then shut the door. Even still, it didn’t seem to be fully shut, and still pushed inward. It felt like a slight kick would be enough to open it up and allow anyone access into our room. I uploaded a picture of this door as well. Already slightly frustrated with this, I asked the front desk what floor the indoor pool was located on. I was then informed that they no longer have one. Apparently, it has been closed for several months. Why they still mention it on their website, I do not know. I then asked when the Tiki Bar and Grill would open, as I had read that they have a wide selection of cheap drinks and good food but had yet to see it open during my stay. I was informed that they close it during the winter. Again, this isn’t mentioned on their site. At this point, my rating had dropped to four stars. There wasn’t much else wrong for the rest of the day, but then again, we weren’t in the resort much for the rest of the day. Finally it was Sunday morning and almost time to check out. I got up about an hour before my wife and began packing up my stuff, and then I noticed a pair of her panties kind of under the bed, sort of wrapped up in the sheets. I grabbed them and tossed them onto the floor by her side of the bed. When she woke up, she informed me that the panties were not hers. Apparently, they had been wrapped up in the bed sheets the entire time we had stayed there. So best case, they got caught up with the blankets in the laundry and at least had been washed, but most likely however, the sheets had not even been washed since the previous occupants, and the panties were simply still there from their stay. My rating now dropped to two stars. We checked out 15 minutes later and that was that. The next time we decide to stay at Daytona Beach, we will be staying at the Emerald Shores where we stayed last year and should have stayed this year.
Rod H.
Place rating: 2 Lake Mary, FL
The LaPlaya isn’t as bad as some of the reviews it is just old and needs some restoration. The Penthouse lounge is the best part of the hotel, but it is only open for the Bonkers Comedy club on Friday and Sat. I wish that was the primary bar, because the tiki bar poolside played loud music a late for my taste. For me it served a purpose I came to the beach a day earlier then I planned and they had openings for the 1 night others placed didn’t have. They have a nice pool deck, nice beach and a good location. All in all, some new carpet in the rooms, a little updating, and taking advantage of the penthouse lounge could make a world of difference.
Cristina C.
Place rating: 1 Orlando, FL
Obnoxiously loud and filled with rude guests and an equally rude, unsmiling staff, this hotel leaves a lot to be desired. This concrete monstrosity on A1A was built in the 1970s, and it’s obvious. All rooms enter from an ugly, exterior concrete corridor, a little unnerving considering hotel break-ins always happen at hotels with exterior walkways. Parking is a confusing nightmare in a stifling hot garage. Despite the hotel not being that filled, the pool area was always packed. A lot of locals obviously sneak in here. From the looks of it, many of them were using the hotel for bathing purposes. Gems such as «Who Let The Dogs Out?» blast on large speakers, inhibiting relaxation and giving the hotel a Spring Break-feel, which is confusing when you see old women in tube tops trying to break it down after weak pina coladas. I stayed during Labor Day weekend, and the pool was closed for much of it due to clouds in the sky and some thunder. Even when the other hotels opened their pools, La Playa kept theirs closed. It’s like they were going out of their way to be irritating. The tiki bar has a terrible, train-wrecking DJ that blasts Top 40 until midnight. I’m sure those with oceanfront rooms can hear it very well. The tiki bar churns out very weak drinks for about $ 7 a pop. This made it very hard to get drunk enough to stop caring that I’d booked a room in Hell. This«resort» is pretty awful in a cesspool of awful hotels. Avoid it.