I had been a big fan of Homewood Suites Hotels up until now. Unfortunately, this hotel did not live up to expectations.

IF INTERNET ACCESS IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, GO ELSEWHERE. Despite what it says on the website, this hotel does not have wireless internet access. They have one network connection in each room which meant my wife and I had to take turns working on our laptops. When I couldn’t connect, I was given a local number to call. The local number was a Mon-Fri, 9-5 number. I had my problem on Friday at 6:00pm. After some minor troubleshooting, I discovered that the Ethernet cable provided by the hotel was bad. A replacement cable fixed the problem. Saturday, I could not get online. The front desk said that the hotel has a limited number of hubs and therefore only a certain number of people could connect at one time. I was not able to connect for several hours. This is a huge problem during the week when business travelers try to get online.

If you want a king bed, it will run an additional $100. They only have 4 suites with king beds. We opted for two doubles and a sofa bed. Big mistake! The sofa beds here are the worst ever. Besides the bar in the middle of the back and the slope of the bed, the mattress was thinner than any sleeper sofa I have seen. It’s only a 1-inch piece of foam which was absolutely awful.

The kitchenette table is tiny – which is only a problem because the three chairs around it are over-sized and do not fit properly with the table. They take up way too much space in the small rooms.

The lighting over the bathroom sink is awful. There are two sconces with 25 watt mini bulbs in each. Not only was it hard for my wife to put makeup on, my hawk-eyed 17 year old son even complained that it was so dark. There is no alternative lighting or makeup mirror.

The TV’s here get only 12 channels. That was enough for us, but if you are used to 50 to 60 cable channels, you will not find it here.

The tiny kitchen is well appointed. Nice appliances.

The free break was loaded with cheap comfort foods and the selection was extensive. The coffee was not great. They use an off-brand of coffee and several people I spoke to said the coffee wasn’t as good as other Homewood Suites hotels. Powdered scrambled eggs help to cheapen the poor quality foods.

This hotel is only three years old. The front desk staff said that this Homewood Suites was a prototype. It was designed to fit more rooms into the same space. That is evident by the tiny bathrooms, tiny kitchen area, and the use of fitting queen beds rather than king beds. The hallways were excessively hot and the doors to the outside do not close properly. Overall this hotel looks like it was 30 years old with a recent cheap renovation.

This Homewood Suites in Sarasota, in my opinion, does not compare to other Homewood Suites hotels. It did not live up to my expectations. Sadly, I can no longer assume that if it’s a “Homewood Suites”, it’s going to be good.