When I was a child, my family didn't have alot of money so when we did take our annual road trips, we always stayed at some Ma and Pa run motel off of the highway. My dream was when I grew to be an adult, I would stay at the "fancy" places like the Holiday Inn or Howard Johnson's. As an adult, I learned that those places were not the "fancy" ones but the place to stay was a Hilton. You always knew that no matter where you were...a Hilton hotel was the bomb.

When did things change? Not only was my prior stay at a Hilton in Key Largo, Fl. a big disapointment, but now my experience last week makes me hesitant to stay in another Hilton.

My boyfriend and his family were traveling south from a funeral we had attended in northern Fl. over the weekend and got a late start on our southbound trek to Miami. Having been an exhausting weekend, we decided to stop in Ocala to spend the night do that we could wake refreshed for the long drive.

There were a multitude of Hotels/Motels right in the same area. I had wanted to stay at the Holiday Inn Express as I had pleasant stays in the past but my in-laws are particular about a king bed and they only had 2 doubles available. The Residence Inn was my second choice but the 2-bedroom suite was over $ 300.00. Geez are we in London? So...Hilton here we come!

The lobby is vast and beautifully decorated in the "theme" of the Horse Country atmosphere. The young lady who was alone at the front desk needed a personality adjustment. In other words...she needed a different type of job that did not involve dealing with the pubic or Hilton needed to send her on a training mission where she became more knowledgable about their product. She was awful. She could not answer one question that I asked her about the hotel. Come on girl...this is not rocket science.

Regardless, we got checked in and whisked ourselves to our rooms that were next to each other though not connecting.

Being an older hotel, the rooms are a nice size and they have all the needed amenities except for a small fridge or mini-bar. Even Holiday Inn expresses have these. Now...this is where it gets ugly. I pulled out my laptop, which they are charging me for WIFI and I hear loud loud laughing, TV and voices coming from the room next door. Now don't get me wrong...I have nothing against people having a good time and it was early enough that I couldn't complain and in reality....they were really not being that loud. The problem was the hotel...not the people. The walls were as thin as toilet paper. Trust me...it was bad and I had horrible visions of a sleepless night.

Luckily for me, an hour later they went out never to return. I wonder where they went?

Ok so noise problem..out of the way. Next problem...the bed. Hmmm nice down or imitation down comforter. Get into bed...sinks in the middle. I tried to sleep on this bed....I really did. Could not sleep. Are you sure the sign said Hilton and not Hoppy's hideway?

I must have dozed off at around 4am finally only to be woken up by the cleaning lady brigade who planted themselves directly ourside of my door to have their morning critique on the latest "novella" Is someone out to get me?

Needless to say, for the price of the Hilton, I won't be back.

Paris, do yourself a favor ...tell daddy to take a hard look at his properties before you lose all of your inheritance. Howard Johnson's...here I come.

What can I say this hotel and the staff are wonderful. Rooms are clean, the happy hour rocks (great prices), the staff is very helpful and friendly. This HIlton is one of the best ones I have ever stayed at! We were in Ocala for our Ladies Auxiliary National President to the Veterans of Foreign Wars visit so we didn't spend alot of time in hotel. But I visited here for another LAVFW function back in the summer of 2010 and it was awesome then too; even got to enjoy the pool at that time. Wonderful is all I can say.

Several stays here, and ALL have been near perfect. Set back from the road in horse country, this hotel is beautiful, from the moment you walk in the door, to everything within sight. Families would enjoy this hotel, as it sits next to a horse ranch, and complimentary buggy rides are included with your stay. A Florida hotel with a gentile "Southern" feel to it. ALL amenities are first class, very friendly and helpful staff, great service. We always find a good meal here, whether served downstairs or in your room. I have never had a problem while staying here; it is more like R&R, even when staying on business. I would highly recommend this hotel, whether you are considering purchasing or selling a horse, or just stopping by on your way further south or heading back from S. FL.

We stayed here on the 27th of December for one night on our way to Miami. I was so happy to walk in and see such a great lobby with a wonderful atmosphere after a long day of driving.

We had a room on the executive floor. It was very clean and comfortable. We ate dinner at the restaurant and were pleasantly surprised with the excellent quality of the food and service.

We slept very well in a very soft bed with a variety of pillows.

Breakfast was again really good with a huge selection of items.

It was cool when we were there so we didn't use the outdoor pool but all the grounds look very well tended.

We would absolutely stay here again.