My family and I stayed here after Thanksgiving for one week until we had to head back to Salem, Organ. We were not expecting much at $64 bucks a night and in a small hotel, but I was impressed ! First off, the area around the hotel was neat and clean, I think we were in a business park. We pulled in late around pm and wasn't sure if the desk was open or not, but we were greeted by a nice lady. She looked very busy at the time and so it was nice that she turned to us as her top priority. Since I was a PC member, she offered us an upgrade, but I declined as I just need the two beds for my family. I usually stay in Holiday Inn's, but there wasn't any around the Lake Mary area, except for an Express. I'm glad that I picked this hotel.

The rooms were nice, the tv's were outdated, they were not flat screens, but that was ok since we had a DVD player and a full kitchen, witched we used allot. They have a DVD list at the front desk area, but the movies were older, so we just went to a "redbox". We used the Kitchen allot though. they have breakfast on the weekdays and it's free, but after 3 days of the same stuff, we just made our own bfast with eggs and sausage, mmmmm, using the stove top burners. The beds were full size, but were very comfortable. Housekeeping didn't service our room, I think it every 8 days since it was an extended stay. However, the clerk at the front desk had no problems sending up fresh linen to the fourth floor.

They offered plenty amenities. You get free washers , internet, pool, and a 24 hour store using the honor system. We didn't use everything. The pool would have been great to use, but they said it wasn't heated, so that was a bummer.

Overall, the experience was outstanding, I didn't think I would remotely get so much service for such a small price. Only downside I experienced was the pool not heated and the rooms felt a little outdated with a box TV set. Would recommend and stay again !

Very disappointed. The room reeked of a horrible smell like vomit and vinegar. Though I was on the first floor and the window opened, I wasn’t about to use it because there was no screen. I was promised several times that a screen would be put it. It never was. I was offered another room, but being disabled, it would have been a hardship having to move all of my belongings. I wasn’t offered any kind of assistance.

If I was told one more time, “it’s not my job”, “we don’t do that”, or “if we do it for you, we have to do it for everyone”, I think I would have jumped out of the window. The manager was never available, or wouldn’t talk to me, so I couldn’t even be sure my concerns were heard. My paper works which contained personal information was lost by the office, but they should no concern or gave any explanation.

I’m from the north, and expected some - kind, southern hospitality. Instead, I received the typical, self-righteous, arrogant, “oh well…..” attitude so commonly known in my area.

When I told the front desk I was checking out early and was very dissatisfied, the clerk gave me a supercilious, pompous wave of the hand, as to say by-by.

The town of Lake Mary is beautiful. The hotel is very attractive from the outside. There is a free breakfast Monday – Friday, though no one told me this. I happened to find out several days later. There’s free laundry, and an adequate gym. The best part is the 24 hour pantry/store that works on an honor system. They have a great selection of items and a reasonable to highly priced, but I liked the honor system.

We recently stayed at the Candelwood Suites for a 30 day stay - fantastic people, clean, well maintained rooms.

Will definitely stay here again. Way to go guys!!

The Candlewood Suites at Lake Mary. This brand is an “Extended Stay”. My wife and I stayed at this property from June 26th to the 3rd of July. We had never stayed at this chain of hotels before and we were interested in the commodities of the kitchen and the rates offered. We paid $61.00 for the room. This property features a 3 story building in a very informal atmosphere. There is a small are directly in front of the door to unload your belongings and then park the car. I will break up this review into sections given the complexity of the property.

Location, location……..
The location of this hotel is not great for someone that is not familiar with the area, it is nestled in a corporate park which houses Scholastic, Progress Energy and McGraw-Hill. This is not a hotel for tourists or for leisure travelers to the Orlando area. It is difficult to get to if not familiar with the area as it does not have easy access from I-4. It is close to commercial area which features your usual fast food places and a near-by Publix supermarket. Seven-Eleven is about 1 mile away. It is very, very far from the theme parks as Lake Mary is located on the North side of Orlando and the Theme parks on the South side of the city. To anyone who has not been to Orlando, the distances are great. While we were not in town for the theme parks we did drive there for a couple of nights and it took us an easy 45 minutes from the hotel to the theme park areas. If you are a business traveler with practicality in mind and the ease of commute to any of the corporations located near the hotel then the place is great for you. All others, head down I-4 and get a room closer to the Theme parks.

Hotel Property –
The property itself was kept clean and orderly, no garbage and the grass was kept cut and nice for the time we were there. There is a very big dip in the parking lot when entering it, be very careful – there is even a sign in the lobby that warns you of this “ditch” at the entrance to the property. The building is reasonably decorated for the person that likes to have that…we did not care for it. There are free washers and dryer and they work perfectly fine and a small gym for the guests, they feature a “Take a book, leave a book” section for the guests and the front desk also has a free DVD library which for the most part features very old movies. Nothing that a good visit to a Redbox cannot fix. The pool is small and not really aimed for any person that would like to take the time to sunbathe. My wife and I got in the pool after 4 rainy days and we found all kinds of bugs floating around and several ants roaming around the area. I also got a rash from the water. However I would like to point out that the rash was most likely because of the rain that we had the previous days.

The room –
The room is small with just the right furniture – One “recliner” chair that does not recline, your bed, one night table, an alarm clock, work desk which doubles up as your eating table and two chairs, The tv stand and 3 drawers for clothes. Upon walking into the room my wife and I detected a rather faint, stale, unpleasant smell. We attributed it to the fact that these small rooms have kitchens and people cook all kinds of things on it. It has to stay in the carpet or something. Throughout the length of our stay the smell got worse and we had to continuously open a window and leave the AC on to have the room ventilated.

It is practical with all kinds of Utensils and the like for all your cooking needs. We never used the Dishwasher, I can’t tell you how it was. Bathroom was clean and with no issues whatsoever. There is no Ice maker in the hallway, the refrigerator in the room makes the ice when you put down a small lever in the freezer. If you like to have tons of ice in your drinks and like the feeling of "Water on the rocks" (as I do) make sure that you put down the lever as soon as you walk into the room and keep it there for the remainder of your stay.

In retrospect, my wife and I agree that we could do better than that property for our next “extended stay” adventure. As this property was average and was not up to our very basic standards. Contact me if you have any more questions about this property, I’d be glad to help.