Woman Buys Groupon Mystery Vacation, Has Great Vegas Stay. Then She Rebooks—And Realizes It Was A Big Mistake: ‘As An Orlando Local, This Is Criminal’

Emily’s first Groupon Mystery Vacation was a major success. She and her husband went to Las Vegas. She liked it enough to urge other people to try it. The second one, a long weekend in Orlando, was not up to the same standards.

She says they ended up staying in a hotel across the street from the Orange County Jail.

Emily (@emilylartigue), a Nashville-based creator, delivered the verdict in a one-minute, seven-second video. She speaks from a corner of the screen while an Apple Maps image of the hotel’s surroundings fills the rest of it.

The Las Vegas trip set high expectations. “That was a great experience,” she says. “Such a great experience that I decided to book another Groupon Mystery Vacation with my friends and we’re going to Orlando this weekend.”

Then she says, “Do you see the hotel? The hotel that they have us staying in,” she says. “First of all, I lived in Orlando for nine years. I don’t want to stay anywhere near Millennia. North Millennia, South Millennia. I don’t want to be near OBT.”

A neighboring facility was the source of her biggest complaint. “They have us staying right across the street from the Orange County Jail. What?” she says. “And don’t worry if we need a bail bondsman while we’re there. We can just hop on over to 33 Street Bail Bonds.” The county does have its corrections complex on that road.

Groupon Mystery Vacation Disappointment

Her other main complaint was the distance of the hotel from Orlando’s attractions. “I would have thought for sure they would have either put us downtown Orlando or at least over near the theme parks,” she says. “They put us in the middle of both. We’re not close to the theme parks and we’re not close to downtown. We’re kind of just right in the middle.”

The Mystery Vacations FAQ is unambiguous on location: “There’s no big mystery when it comes to our accommodation locations, so you won’t need a map to figure out where you are! Our standard accommodation is approximately 10 minutes by taxi from downtown in each destination.” Walking distance to major attractions is sold as a paid upgrade, with the Las Vegas Strip and Times Square given as examples.

The same FAQ sets a floor under the hotel itself. “We always book accommodation rated by independent reviewers, scoring at least 7/10 on Booking.com or 3.5/5 on Tripadvisor,” it reads. “Your accommodation will also be clean, comfortable and safe, and you’ll stay in a minimum of 3 [star] accommodation with a private room and ensuite bathroom.”

What Emily says she was told on the phone was even less reassuring than the FAQ. Replying to a commenter, she wrote that the company’s answer was “it’s a hotel in Orlando which is what we guaranteed.” In another reply she said she had “spoken with 4 supervisors at Weekender Breaks and they literally do not care.”

Others Claim They Got The Same Orlando Hotel

The thread filled with commenters who recognized the building.

“I was gonna buy it hoping for Orlando until I started seeing everyone get the hotel next to the jail,” wrote cat_7161. Kris_in_florida echoed the same, writing, “Wait… I saw another TikTok about this.”

One of those travellers turned up in the replies. Maggiemily98, who says she stayed at the same hotel the previous weekend, had researched the non-Groupon price. “I looked it up and it goes for $60 a night. They call it a 3 star hotel but it’s not. It’s a straight up motel,” she wrote. “So we definitely didn’t get the value we were promised.”

Asked by Emily whether she had felt safe, the commenter said she had barely been in the building. “We literally checked in, went to sleep, spent the next day all day at Universal, then left for the airport the next morning,” she wrote. “Personally I felt fine, but my boyfriend seemed a little on edge.”

Itschessca delivered a zinger: “As an Orlando local, this is criminal.”

What She Did About It

Jamiepark82 argued for cutting losses, writing, “I would just eat the costs at this point and stay home. You’ll spend more trying to escape that hotel area.” Emily took roughly that advice, telling a commenter she had “just booked us somewhere else today instead.”

Getting her money back may prove to be a challenge, however.. “We’re unable to provide refunds if the destination isn’t to your liking,” Groupon’s FAQ reads, offering instead that customers can “discuss available alternatives with our sales team.”

A chargeback may be her best option. On a complaint about the quality of something bought on a credit card, the Federal Trade Commission tells cardholders they can “dispute the amount due, withhold payment, and ask the issuer to investigate the problem.” One condition is that the buyer must have tried the seller first. By Emily’ss own account she has done that four times.

She says the experience has changed her mind about the Mystery Vacation. “I’m going to take back my recommendation for booking the Groupon Mystery Vacation, because this, this is jacked up.”

BoardingArea reached out to Emily via TikTok direct message and to Groupon by email for comment. We’ll be sure to update this if either responds.

@emilylartigue Round 2 for the #groupon mystery vacation becuase my first trip was soooo great!!! This one is not looking as promising. We got our hotel…. and well, I’m not thrilled! #orlando #travel #florida #sos ♬ Chopin Nocturne Piano(823933) – R.Little