Apollo Inn is located on US 1 between Port St. John and Cocoa in Sharpes, Florida. This is an Inn located away from businesses and the hustle and bustle of the city. Beach attractions are about 35 minutes away and Orlando’s Walt Disney World is less than an hour drive. There are literally hundreds of hotels in the area that are the same distance if not closer to the attractions.
Most of the other hotels are newer, cleaner, and are reputable hotel chains. Apollo Inn is owned and operated by a private family. They live on premises. The idea is if you need anything you can ring the bell for service. This doesn’t always happen.
Apollo Inn is located in an old hotel building. The only major renovation that has taken place is paint and a swing was added to the front area. The rooms have been painted and new furniture with small refrigerators were added to the rooms.
The mirrors in the bathrooms need updating as well as the electric. All the wiring cases for the electric can be seen in the bathroom. The biggest area that screamed “fix me” was the air conditioner unit. There is an old window unit that is for heat and air. The room I occupied was warm and the unit wasn’t sufficient. It took all night just to get comfortable. Florida is hot and if you aren’t use to the warmth you may not want to stay where the air doesn’t blow cold.
Prices among the other hotels for a non-smoking room in the area vary from $35 to $120 a night. Apollo Inn costs $69 for a non smoking room.
Most of the other hotels offer continental breakfasts. At check in and when reserving the room Apollo Inn owner and operator neglected to mention this amenity if it was available. Apollo Inn does not serve any food or give complimentary breakfasts.
Most hotels offer the use of soap, wash clothes, towels, and sometimes shampoo. There was a bar of soap in the hotel room but shampoo was not available. I was given one towel and one wash cloth for myself and two children staying in a room with a king size bed. When searching for a hotel room I clearly stated how many people were staying and the fact that two of them were children. For a mid priced hotel room I was not impressed.
The non-smoking room reeked of smoke. I was told that was impossible because it was cleaned that morning. The ash tray still had cigarette ashes in it. The pillows and bed spread clearly smelled of smoke. After unpacking and sitting down on the bed I had to call the front desk to ask for another room. They were not able to oblige and to make matters worse after not wanting to give me a full refund I got angry and raised my voice just for the owner to tell me she was going to call the police. Then with all the smugness of an uncouth business owner she said who are they going to side with since she owned the business and I was only staying there for the night.
I have never had the police called on me before in my life until then. Their exact words were it is a civil matter. They couldn’t do anything about the situation. The police did however suggest that I open windows to get the smoke smell out of the room and to turn the air on high. The air was on high so after a brief laugh and agreeing to come back when I checked out they left.
How does Apollo Inn rate compared to other hotels? The overall appearance of the hotel is extremely low on the scale. When buildings are old they just feel and look dirty. The cleanliness was okay except for the ashtray and the pillows and bed spread. The efficiency of the air conditioner was poor at its best. Service was lousy, there weren’t enough towels or wash clothes and the only smiles I got were from the civil servants of the county. When calling the front desk, no one answered the phones. Rating the cost, Apollo Inn is overpriced for the area and the service compared to other hotels in the area.
