Rudest receptionist ever. We checked in at 2:30pm on August 22nd, 2026. The receptionist did not greet us. Instead, we dealt with grunts and eye rolls. If this is how Best Western treats its customers than message received. Never staying here again with that receptionist’s unpleasant welcome. Yikes. I would it give it 0 stars if I could. Learn some manners lady, or better yet…quit your job if you hate it THAT much!!
We come here a couple of times every year and were not impressed this time, we stayed at the Best Western on International Drive in Pembroke for our group of four (separate) rooms for two days and we had requested a late checkout on the last morning as we had been working nights and were told at the desk that we had the late checkout, come the second morning when I checked they had nothing in the system and they only said - oh, sorry about that but that it was too late to do it as they were full that night.
Having to leave early after working all night was not good. We had requested the late checkout but it looked like it was not approved higher up even though we were told at the time of asking that it would be ok and we were happy to pay the $30 late checkout fee. This is not the first time it’s happened here. The rest of the stay was good though including the rooms and restaurant.
MG
Mackenzie Garec
Aug 17, 2026
We stayed one night at this hotel and it was fantastic. We stayed in the King size room with Jacuzzi on the main floor. It had direct access from the room to the pool. We were up early, and shortly after waking there were kids using the pool, which can be heard from the room. If you keep the AC/fan on it would probably drown out the noise.
The rooms were clean and comfortable. The receptionist was fantastic, very friendly and easy going.
We went to the restaurant for breakfast and used the 8$ voucher towards a delicious meal. The restaurant was quite busy on the Sunday morning, but the two waitresses were doing a great job of serving all the guests. The one comment I'll make is that the menus were very stained with food/coffee and should definitely be replaced- they are just made of paper and not laminated.
Overall I recommend this hotel. It is in a great location and we had a comfortable stay.
My stay at this Best Western has been disappointing from the moment I arrived, and I feel obligated to warn other guests.
Check‑in Experience:
When I arrived, the front desk was completely unattended. No other guests were around, the lobby was dimly lit, and the entire place felt like a ghost town. We waited 15 minutes before anyone appeared, and even then, the receptionist didn’t acknowledge us until we walked up to the counter. Not a great first impression.
Room 333 – Unacceptable Conditions:
I booked a King room with a poolside view, but Room 333 had no poolside view at all. Worse, the moment I stepped inside, I was hit with a strong mildew/mold smell—pungent, musky, and immediately irritating to my throat. Within minutes, breathing became uncomfortable enough that I genuinely worried about trying to sleep in that room.
When I called the front desk to request a different room, I was told there was “nothing available.” Yet Expedia showed another King room with a jacuzzi still bookable for that night. The staff made no effort to resolve the issue or even acknowledge the seriousness of a mold‑contaminated room.
Room Change:
I eventually went down to the front desk in person and firmly requested a different room. We were downgraded to a two‑queen room, which at least did not smell like mold and was safe to breathe in. Still, this was not the room type I booked or paid for.
Overall Impression (Night 1 of 2):
Between the unattended front desk, the incorrect room type, the severe mold odor in Room 333, and the lack of concern from staff, this has been one of the poorest hotel experiences I’ve had. Mold is a health hazard, not a minor inconvenience, and should never be present in a guest room.
I hope management takes this seriously, because Room 333 should not be assigned to any guest until it is properly inspected and remediated.
DM
Delnaz Mistry
Jul 28, 2026
Throughout our stay many of the people in our group (approximately 40 people) experienced many instances of subtle racism and discrimination.
The staff were very curt with us, in spite of us being very polite, understanding, patient and undemanding.
Some of the front desk staff, especially the ones in the evening / night shift, spoke to us as though we are children needing discipline, when we sat in the lobby. However, there were no reactions from them when "white" people entered the premises absolutely drunk or under the influence, some of whom had alcohol bottles in their hands and were very loud.
When my friend asked for his bagel to be heated as it was cold, the server's response was "You are making more work for me".
During our stay we had an incident with the restaurant staff (server) Kelly, who was over the top rude and uncouth. She definitely should not be employed in the hospitality field where she is required to interact with diverse communities. Below are the details:
Only 3 of us entered the restaurant between 9:15 - 9:20 pm. Kelly very rudely refused to seat us and informed us that the kitchen closes at 9:30 pm. We explained to her that only 1 person was eating and all he wanted was the soup of the day. We insisted VERY POLITELY that we were there before the kitchen closing time and would like to be seated. She very reluctantly seated us - rolling her eyes, making snarky comments and unapproving facial expressions. FYI, there were no signs stating the kitchen closing time.
Since we were told that the restaurant closes at 10 pm., my husband asked another server at 9:45 pm. if the food was going to come out soon because we didn't want to keep the staff working past the restaurant hours. The server's response was "The food gets made in the kitchen" (which was not our question) with her eyes rolling, shaking her head and a snarky and condescending tone and expressions.
Then Kelly comes out again and tells us very rudely "Dude, you came 6 minutes before kitchen closing time, you are going to have to wait....do you understand?" We then decided to leave as we did not want to subject ourselves to any further insults and told Kelly that we were leaving. As we are leaving the restaurant, Kelly yells out across the restaurant "Yah yah, go."
I went to the front desk to complain about this incident and requested the front desk staff to provide the names of the 2 servers but he didn't know their names. We requested him to find out and he comes back to tell us that he still doesn't know their names.
When we went back to the restaurant & asked for their names, Kelly refused to give us her name, told the chef not to give her name and told us to "Get out".
We went back to the front desk and told the staff that we will be escalating this matter to management and he suddenly "remembered" Kelly's name. Shortly, the other server who was also very rude with us, had a discussion with the front desk staff and they both came to speak with our group and "clear the air". Clearly, they were worried about the consequences and decided to apologize.
Throughout our stay, most of us noticed that the "white" customers were approached with smiles, laughter and friendly attitude. However, most of the times when they interacted with us, it felt like we were being a burden on them - no smiles and very curt attitude. This includes, front desk and restaurant staff.
No one should ever be discriminated based on race, religion, culture or gender. Clearly, the staff at the Best Western Pembroke location require Diversity and Inclusivity training or basic hospitality training.