As reported on SmarterTravel.com, Florida has three of the top ten dirtiest hotels as rated by TripAdvisor. They are: Red Carpet Inn, Fort Lauderdale, FL; St. Augustine Beachfront Resort, Saint Augustine, FL; and Travel Inn Civic/Medical Center, Miami, FL.
The comments posted on TripAdvisor are from members of their 15 million plus travelers who reported these hotels to have issues with mold, cleanliness, bad smells, lack of towels, or leaking air conditioners. There were positive reports on each site, but apparently not in sufficient quantity to keep these hotels off TripAdvisor’s dirtiest list.
There are greater concerns than just the “yuck” factor of staying at a dirty hotel. If the hot tub or pool doesn’t have adequate chlorine or the air conditioning is not cleaned regularly, the result can be deadly. These two conditions are an excellent environment for growth of the Legionella bacteria, the source of Legionnaire’s disease.
Two tourists staying in Orlando in March of this year contracted Legionnaire’s disease and both were staying at the same hotel. Although the actual source of the bacteria was never reported to the public, air and water samples from the hotel were sent for testing by the Orange County Health Department.
While good reviews from other travelers may not guarantee your stay at a hotel will be a healthy one, with the abundance of hotel options available, it makes one wonder if it’s really worth the risk to stay at a poorly-rated hotel just to save a few dollars.
