Fort Myers hotels rank among nation's highest in negative reviews. Here’s what’s behind them

Samantha Neely, Fort Myers News-Press
·4 min read

Nothing quite like being on vacation and coming to your hotel room to fully relax, only to discover a musky smell, no towels, and several little critters that joined you in your bed.

A recent study by Planetware analyzed nearly 8 million hotel reviews from more than 9,000 hotels across 95 U.S. cities to determine the cities with the worst hotel reviews.

Based on their methodology, they took the millions of hotel reviews and formed a percentage of all analyzed hotel reviews in a given city that were 1-star or 2-star reviews.

Fort Myers secured a spot within the top 30 of the cities with the worst hotel reviews, taking the 29th in the entire nation. According to the study, 13% of Fort Myers hotel reviews were one or two stars, showing negative reviews.

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Why did Fort Myers earn its ranking?

Out of 95 cities, Fort Myers placed 29th on the list of worst-reviewed hotels. Of the 13% of its one or two-star hotel reviews, roughly 9.8% of them mentioned bad staff and customer service.

What other Florida cities made the list?

Four Florida cities made the top 40 list:

  • Tampa - 7

  • Panama City - 18

  • Fort Myers - 29

  • Fort Lauderdale - 30

What is the city with the worst hotel reviews?

Topping the list for the most one and two-star reviews at 20% is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

With its 60 miles of sandy shores, tourists flock to the beach town for its array of activities, from the sun and surf to the live music and restaurants. But Planetware details more than 130,000 mentions of bed bugs in the local hotels' reviews, which might be a bit of a turnoff for those looking to book.

What does the top list look like?

The top 15 cities with the worst reviews are:

  • Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

  • Atlantic City, New Jersey

  • Virginia Beach, Virginia

  • San Jose, California

  • South Padre Island, Texas

  • Memphis, Tennessee

  • Tampa, Florida

  • San Antonio, Texas

  • Kansas City, Missouri

  • Columbus, Ohio

  • Indianapolis, Indiana

  • Lexington, Kentucky

  • Pheonix, Arizona

  • Nashville, Tennessee

  • Galveston, Texas

What are the most common bad reviews left for hotels?

Nationally the most common bad reviews left for hotels:

  • The smell of smoke

  • Lack of toilet paper

  • Bed bugs

  • Thin walls

  • Poor service

  • Broken or dirty toilet seats

  • Third-party booking services

  • Musty smells

  • Black mold

  • Broken hair dryer

How do I make sure I'm booking a good hotel?

The biggest piece of advice experts offer is to read reviews before you book anything.

Some hotels go to great lengths to make their properties seem perfect, showcasing the perfect photos online when you're ready to swipe your card. But upon arrival, that infinity pool could really be a kiddy pool, and those sumptuous linens could end up feeling like sandpaper.

Experts advise taking anything a hotel says about itself with a grain of salt. Instead, do your research ahead of time and read reviews on trusted websites

As for cleanliness after you book, nonprofit founder Christopher Elliott offered tips for USA Today in 2021 on how to tell if your room is actually clean, such as:

Again, read those online reviews - User-generated online reviews are a great source of cleanliness ratings. He recommends a zero-tolerance policy at a time like this, adding if he sees just one review that suggests the hotel isn't taking sanitation seriously, he usually books elsewhere.

Pay attention to high-touch surfaces - At a hotel, that would be the doorknobs and TV remotes. Often, they aren't cleaned between guests, says Roman Peysakhovich, CEO of Onedesk, a commercial cleaning company. "This carries serious risks in terms of passing germs." His advice: Clean them yourself as a precaution.

Look for real evidence of cleaning - Some hotels place seals on the door, and others shrinkwrap your TV remote in plastic. He wrote that the two most proven methods are looking for dirt and dust and giving the room a sniff test. If you smell a faint odor of cleaner and don't see any dirt, that's usually a good sign.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida hotels in 4 cities among worst reviewed in U.S., list shows