Gulf Towers Resort Motel

Horrible place and I didn’t even stay here. I booked (got a confirmation number and everything) this place the day before I drove from Orlando to visit family. Once 2 came around I had my girlfriend call to check in and what not, the guy that answered was unbelievably rude stating that we didn’t make any bookings and now he has no room and can’t refund my money and was trying to hang up on her. I was furious and called myself and demanded for a manager. The guy said the manager is out and then all of a sudden said he was the manager and that I should «go now» I would strongly suggest taking you business elsewhere because these guys can’t even handle customer service let alone take on the upkeep of a hotel

negative 100 stars! Dirty carpet, walls, sink, etc etc etc. at least the tub and sheets were clean which is most important but… dishes in the cupboard were actually STUCK TO THE SHELF and I could not remove them. My granddaughter got caught in the elevator which smells and has a sagging floor. There are holes in the walls, a hanging light in our room had no shade and no bulb in a live socket, the deck is a splintered mess, the grounds around are a mess. It looks like nothing has been taken care of for years. I think the only reason it survives is the exit door to the beach which is only beautiful because it doesn’t belong to this place. Save money sleep in your car.

I will start with the positive things:
The views of the sunset was amazing. The beach was not crowded and the restaurants nearby were convenient.
Now for the bad things. And I’m not sure where to start.
We came up to St. Pete Beach and the area after a sudden change of plans and we didn’t have a reservation, and apparently the entire population of Florida decided to descend upon the Gulf Coast, as we couldn’t find a beach front room anywhere and seeing a lot of Florida plates made me feel like we were missing some important event only Florida residents could attend in the area.
That is, we couldn’t find a room anywhere except this one. Only 3 cars were parked in the driveway when every other hotel and condo was packed full. That should have been our first clue.
We got our rooms and they smelled as if they had not been occupied in a while. But, after driving 4+ hours trying to find a place to stay we just wanted a bed and a shower. I had to get Febreeze to assist with the smell.
The rooms had ceiling fans. Ours was useless. Literally. Two of the fan blades were oriented to blow air UP, the other two to blow air DOWN. The other room’s fan, while having all blades properly oriented, wasn’t able to start unless you pushed the blades into motion on high.
The stove next to the sink looked to be a fire hazard. We didn’t dare try to use them.
Hot water in the shower? Good luck. Even in a sparsely populated hotel the water was lukewarm at best. I think my daughter got a little bit of warm water. But even more painful was the nozzle. It felt like the hose at a car wash was spraying you.
The TV was standard def? There are Motel 6s with HDTV these days. Motel 6s also have key cards. They still use keys, with a diamond-​shaped keychain. God forbid you lose it…
The pool was nice but I scalded my feet on the hot concrete and wood deck. More shading is desperately needed there.
You had to shell out a quarter for ice.
There was WiFi but you had to re-​register the password several times per day.
The hallways were hot as hell. It was hot and humid outside, and the hallways were hotter but a little less humid. Thank God the A/​C worked in the rooms. One of the few luxuries we had.
The carpet in the halls was very dirty. You didn’t dare walk with white socks. The linens were almost as dirty when «clean». Some were tattered.
The staff was difficult to communicate with, language and cultural barriers notwithstanding.
The elevator is not for claustrophobic people (of which my wife is). It’s just as hot in there as well. The displayed elevator permit had just expired. My kids rode it once then took the stairs the rest of the time we stayed.
There was no mistaking the rules in this place, they’re posted everywhere. The rules posted was like wallpaper. I don’t think public schools or penitentiaries have so many rules. Such as:
–No taking the hotel’s towels on the beach. While this is not uncommon, we were warned about even thinking of taking their towels to the beach.
–Towel off before getting in the elevator.
–No smoking anywhere (no big deal since we don’t).
–Leave a dirty dish and pay a $ 5 fine. Smoke in the room and it is a $ 100 «cleaning fee» which is ironic considering what the room smelled and looked like.
–Kids can’t ride the elevator unless with an adult (see previous paragraph).
–EVERY adult checking in had to give their ID to be photocopied, even though I was the one paying. I’ve never seen this before.
The hose to get the sand off your feet from the beach (so that you didn’t track into the elevator!) was shut off after 9. I asked the attendant and he acted shocked. He said he would check into it but I found the shutoff valve right below the hose and turned it back on to hose off my feet.
The coupe de grace came when we (thankfully) were leaving. The night before we left, as we were looking to book a room at another hotel, a cockroach crawled on our bed. So naturally my wife and kids freaked out. Sleep was not easy for anyone that night. Then as my daughter was taking her last trip down the stairs, there was a rat in the stairwell, crawling along the water pipes.
I stayed here out of desperation but not even that would bring me back. I don’t think this place would pass a health inspection. The building and all of its amenities are outdated or antiquated. A complete remodel would be a start, but razing and rebuilding would be better.
Guests deserve to be treated with respect and appreciation and we received none of that while we were there, it felt as if the only thing they wanted was our money and nothing more. For what I was paying it felt like we deserved at least a smile and a thank you, but I can’t honestly recall either.
I really wish we’d vetted this hotel before checking in. Reviews on other sites reflect all of the miseries we encountered, so this is not an isolated issue.