Desert Inn & Suites - Bed bugs

[disney4cam]

We were just at the Desert Inn & Suites and our room was infested with bedbugs. It was disgusting! I should have taken pictures, but we were so freaked out, we just wanted to get out as quickly as possible. I doubt this was an isolated situation. There were some huge bugs (probably full of my blood, considering I have bites all over my neck, arms and legs), as well as small ones, plus old and new smears of blood on the sheets. I can't help but believe they aren't doing much about the problem.

I am kicking myself for not doing a bedbug inspection before we went to bed. We were just so tired from getting up at 3:30 am for our flight, that at 9pm when we went to bed, we all just crashed.

Okay, I know a lot of places have bugs, and I actually cancelled our PVI reservations to stay here, but I felt I needed to post. As everyone always says on here, the reaction is what counts. When my husband went down to get a refund, they let us immediately check out and gave us a refund. There was no apology or offer of another room (which I probably wouldn't have taken). My opinion is that most likely, they have a widespread problem and didn't have an alternate room to offer. Who knows.

If you feel this hotel has been fine in the past, and are still planning to stay there, my suggestion is to be vigilant about checking for bugs.

 

[Geemo]

So sorry this happened to you.
What type of room did you have?


How many nights were you there?
Did you go to another hotel to finish your trip?
I wouldn't have an idea of where to go for a room.

This is one of the things that really bothers me about traveling.

Geemo

 

[starshine514]

What room number were you in? We have stayed there before and have reservations again next month...

 

[rosie2283]

We stayed there from the 6-15 of of November and had no trouble...now you have me concerned I missed something!!

 

[disney4cam]

We had the A suite (one bedroom and the couch in the separate room), room number 528. We ended up staying at the Disneyland Hotel. Completely blew our budget, but it was worth it. We packaged up what we slept in and hopefully didn't have any hitchhikers. Luckily we weren't in the room too long.

Rosie - you would have known. I cannot even convey how gross it was. There were so many! And the sheets were filthy. I'm sure if your room had them, you would have noticed.

 

[Geemo]

What room number were you in? We have stayed there before and have reservations again next month...

disney4cam, How long is not too long?
starshine514, What are you going to do?


Geemo

 

[danlkrim]

So sorry for your bad experience.
We have reservations there for Feb 2013 so I will keep an eye on reviews for this property, both good and bad.
There is another recent thread on this.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2991465

The thread mentions a bedbug registry site.
http://www.bedbugregistry.com/hotel/CA/Anaheim/Ramada-Limited-Maingate-N-Disney
It looks like this works like Trip Advisor where people post the hotel and their experience.
I put in the local zip code and several hotels in the DLR area came up including all 3 of the Disney hotels. Some reports were older. I guess you just have to be vigilant and check your room no matter where you stay.

 

[starshine514]

starshine514, What are you going to do?

I'm not sure. We just got back from a stay at their sister hotel - the Del Sol. We had no problems there. I had reserved a Parlor A Suite since my parents were scheduled to come with us; however, my dad just had bypass surgery yesterday and won't be ready to travel then. So... I was honestly needing to start thinking about looking for a smaller, cheaper room (though we have an excellent rate on the suite at DI&S - so we'd pretty much end up at the Anaheim Plaza if we switch)...

 

[disney4cam]

Geemo - we were there from about 3pm until 8am. We dropped our luggage at 3:00, headed to the parks, came home and slept. Woke at 5:30 am because ds had a bloody nose. When we all woke up (6am), we noticed the bugs in the bed and showered and got out of there.

This hotel is not listed in the bedbug registry, and I didn't find any reports. I think that's partly why I was lazy about checking. I noticed all the Disney hotels had reports, but after reading them, I take them with a grain of salt. No one actually saw a bug, so who knows where they got the bites.

I think the biggest takeaway is that you HAVE to check the room. When we first got in the room, I noticed a strange smell, but I thought maybe it was just musty smell, so we opened the windows. If I would have simply pulled back the sheets (like I normally do!), I would have noticed. There are a lot of resources about what to check for, so just read up and actually do the check! I also suggest bringing large zip loc bags so you can store your clothes. That is what we plan to do in the future. At least if there are bugs, the clothes that are locked up are safe.

 

[StyledSugar]

Sorry this happened to you. What a way to ruin the start of your vacation.

We stayed there late last year and never had a problem but I thought the place was a dump and would never stay there again! Your experience just gave me another reason!

 

[jory29]

Geemo - we were there from about 3pm until 8am. We dropped our luggage at 3:00, headed to the parks, came home and slept. Woke at 5:30 am because ds had a bloody nose. When we all woke up (6am), we noticed the bugs in the bed and showered and got out of there.

This hotel is not listed in the bedbug registry, and I didn't find any reports. I think that's partly why I was lazy about checking. I noticed all the Disney hotels had reports, but after reading them, I take them with a grain of salt. No one actually saw a bug, so who knows where they got the bites.

I think the biggest takeaway is that you HAVE to check the room. When we first got in the room, I noticed a strange smell, but I thought maybe it was just musty smell, so we opened the windows. If I would have simply pulled back the sheets (like I normally do!), I would have noticed. There are a lot of resources about what to check for, so just read up and actually do the check! I also suggest bringing large zip loc bags so you can store your clothes. That is what we plan to do in the future. At least if there are bugs, the clothes that are locked up are safe.

This is really not your fault!! I am so disgusted that they would not really speak to you about what had happened (in terms of what they would do to remedy this both to you and to others in the future) - yes, you got your money back, you went and spent waaaaay more on a hotel after that, than you had planned, but you were feeling like you had to. (Who wouldn't?) I think general house keeping should involve bedbug checks, and it could help a lot!! You are right about the smell, (of bedbugs) - I have heard that before, too. You were VERY smart to pack up the clothes you were wearing, and remember all of the precautions when you get home, as well! Good luck to you!

 

[MamaChelle]

Sorry for your bad experience!!! We are here now, I'm actually laying in bed and just got grossed out for a second and thought I felt something. This is our 4th night here no problems. How the hotel handles the problem is what I look for also... How rude of them! But again. Sorry this happened to you!!!

 

[GMU MOM]

This has me worried about our trip in Jan. we were originally booked at BWPPI for a Dec trip but when we changed the dates none of the Bw properties were available so i had to find something else. I don't know if the Del sol is better or should i pay a bit extra to stay at tropicana inn and suites.

 

[C&B Young]

Wow, that's awful! We had a tough time deciding between the Desert Inn and Best Western Park Place, went back & forth a number of times before finally settling on BWPPI. Sounds like we may have made the right choice!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This has me worried about our trip in Jan. we were originally booked at BWPPI for a Dec trip but when we changed the dates none of the Bw properties were available so i had to find something else. I don't know if the Del sol is better or should i pay a bit extra to stay at tropicana inn and suites.

Doesn't the Del Sol share the same owners with the DI&S? If it were my choice, I would go with the Tropicana just for the peace of mind.

 

[GMU MOM]

Doesn't the Del Sol share the same owners with the DI&S? If it were my choice, I would go with the Tropicana just for the peace of mind.

That's what i have done, i cancelled both DI&S and the Del Sol and booked Tropicana. The other hotels i would prefer are either sold out or too far but i will keep checking if something opens up.

 

[flightdave82]

To the OP,

I'm so sorry that happened to you! That is so disgusting. But more importantly I hope you inspected all of your suitcases so that you don't spread them to another hotel, or even worse, your own house!!!

 

[ado121]

so im booked there for this saturday for a week. what other hotels are around there that can sleep 6 in seperate rooms? im panicing now.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I'm so sorry! But why did you go to another hotel so soon?!? I guarantee you brought them with you. Of course you don't want to bring them home, it's a difficult situation - please inform the DLH that you came from a hotel room with bed bugs.

 

[Geemo]

so im booked there for this saturday for a week. what other hotels are around there that can sleep 6 in seperate rooms? im panicing now.

Call the hotel and ask to speak with the manager. Explain your concerns.
Maybe from this conversation, you'll get a feel for how you'd be treated, if it happens to you too.

As others have said, it can happen to any hotel.

I'm sure DI&S is addressing and will resolve this bedbug situation in room 528.
However, if you feel like you need to cancel DI&S good luck finding something.

Geemo