Voco Sarasota, An Ihg Hotel

“Comfortable, quiet, great location and staff”

Quiet, spacious, great location within walking distance to downtown and across from Whitaker Bayfront Park. We slept well, had a great breakfast, and had smooth interactions with staff. Went to an Orioles game and the Ringling Museum up the road. Love Sarasota!

“Long weekend stay”

Upon entering the hotel we were warmly greeted by Tiffany, she made check-in a breeze. We arrived a few hours before check in and she allowed us to park in the hotel parking lot and stored our luggage. They have free self-parking with some covered overflow below the hotel. However I can see a peak … more

Upon entering the hotel we were warmly greeted by Tiffany, she made check-in a breeze. We arrived a few hours before check in and she allowed us to park in the hotel parking lot and stored our luggage. They have free self-parking with some covered overflow below the hotel. However I can see a peak times this can be a challenge as there aren’t enough spots. We can back late one night and there were only two spots available. Rooms are newly renovated, clean and comfortable. I did find them on the smaller side and there wasn’t enough storage for both my husband and myself to fully unpack. There was a tall wardrobe/closet to hang clothing and two small draws. The bathroom was larger than most hotels and I loved the walk-in shower. Most hotels have horrible water pressure and I found the water pressure here perfect! We did appreciate the free shuttle service to local areas. This comes in handy when going downtown or to St. Armand’s Circle as parking there can be a challenge. Our shuttle driver, Jim was friendly and helpful. He gave us his card so we could call him when we need a ride back to the hotel. There wasn’t much of a wait when we were in need of this service. When it came time to check out Tiffany made checking out just as easy as checking-in.

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“Mixed feelings”

Writing a review of this hotel is complicated because I have mixed feelings about this property -- where we've stayed for more than a week three times in the last two years. (We're moving to SRQ and so we needed a base during that process.) It gets three stars, IMHO, because you get some value for… more

Writing a review of this hotel is complicated because I have mixed feelings about this property -- where we've stayed for more than a week three times in the last two years. (We're moving to SRQ and so we needed a base during that process.) It gets three stars, IMHO, because you get some value for the garbage fee -- sorry, I meant "resort fee" all the hotels here charge. That value is convenient self-parking. Without that, I would have ranked this property lower. Beyond the value of parking included in the fee, the property is bland and a bit overpriced. I have particular issues with the physical infrastructure of the place. The biggest is that the owner/operator renovated the property (which as the Indigo was tired, tired, tired) as cheaply as possible. WiFi coverage isn't good; when the hotel is full, the Comcast-provided internet bandwidth is insufficient. If, like me, you need to work in the evenings using the internet, forget it. During that recent "renovation," the owners didn't upgrade the room entry system, which still requires a physical card. The A/C units are old and noisy. Fixtures in the bath weren't replaced and what's there is low-end stuff. They've even eliminated tea -- just a few tea bags and some hot water! -- from the lobby morning service. Staff is polite but excels at over-promising and under-delivering. Example: the legacy phone system had a flashing message waiting light on our arrival, possibly from a previous guest. After trying to delete it ourselves and asking staff twice to ask for it to be turned off didn’t work, we just unplugged the phone to avoid the flashing light keeping us awake at night. A small thing, sure, but an example of lip-service service. The hotel is clean and, compared to the Modern across the street, a skosh less expensive (largely because of the included parking). But the rebrand from Indigo to Voco was just a paint job – and not a very good one at that. I expected more from the rebrand – newer furnishings, better fixtures and furnishings and much better technology.

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