Good place not to patronize if you go up for the race in 2 weeks
vincemichaels
Detroit
TripAdvisor 'dirtiest hotel' owner: Arrested on child porn chargeComments 35
By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY
The owner of the Desert Inn hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla. - recently named one of TripAdvisor's 10 dirtiest hotels in the USA - has been arrested in connection with a child pornography case, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.
The arrest follows a month-long investigation by the FBI and local police that was prompted by a 13-year-old boy's complaint.
On Wednesday, about 70 FBI agents and police officers raided the hotel, the News-Journal says. They arrived seeking evidence that Dennis Devlin, 57, and a 20-year-old hotel employee hired the boy to perform sex acts on video.
"I think he (Devlin) uses the hotel as a front for other sex crimes," Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood told city commissioners Wednesday night. "What I do know is that this (the hotel) is a den of iniquity."
PHOTO GALLERY: TripAdvisor's 10 dirtiest hotels
The Journal reported that on Thursday, a judge denied Devlin bail.
Devlin was charged with one count of promoting sexual activity with a child and one count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child, according to the News-Journal. The 20-year-old employee is charged with two counts of promoting sexual activity with a child and one count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child.
The police chief also told city commissioners that he believes there are more victims.
This wasn't the first time that Devlin faced similar charges. In a sidebar story about Devlin's criminal record, the paper says:
"As early as the summer of 1991, court records show, the hotelier was confronted with allegations he offered teens money to pose for nude pictures. While Devlin was arrested six times between 1991 and 1996, he was acquitted of 22 counts related to illegal activities with boys. Devlin, 57, was convicted of the second-degree felony but had his record cleared when his accuser "10 years after the alleged incident" recanted his accusations of molestation."
According to the News-Journal, the investigation was prompted by a complaint from the 13-year-old boy, who told the FBI that Devlin's 20-year-old employee had gone to his grandmother's house to recruit him for a job - installing cameras. The grandmother agreed. The job, however, was different than what he'd been told, the article says.
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Posted Feb 4 2011 5:10AM
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gatorfan, I don't know, but we'll be paying for it, no doubt.
"“Go somewhere else.â€
Desert Inn Resort
bcfireman14 2 contributions Fort Lauderdale
Jan 30, 2011 I see that the hotel management keeps posting so I know my comment will be replied with something like this ain't true.... Lies lies lies!!! This place is pure filth!! Disgusting trash everywhere, including the locals and other "repeat" guests! Pay the extra Money and go somewhere that's CLEAN!! This hotel is a disgrace!Date of stay December 2010
Member since July 27, 2008"<p>
"“Not for human occupationâ€
Desert Inn Resort
jpl788 1 contribution Southgate, Michigan
Jan 25, 2011 | Trip type: Friends getaway 1person found this review helpfulWas reminded of my terrible stay at this hotel by a local NBC news story ranking the 5 worst hotels in America, Desert Inn was ranked #3 worst hotel in America. Read my review below
**News story here(http://www.clickondetroit.com/consumer/2…)
I stayed at the Desert Inn back in September and I must say I wish I had the common sense to look up reviews prior to my stay. I was reminded today of my terrible experience while watching the news and a piece on the 5 worst/dirtiest hotels in America and I wasn't the least bit surprised when I saw this hotel was rated the third worst hotel in the country!! I'm sure some of you might not think that this place is as bad as these reviews but I assure you it is, and the link to the news story proves it. I assure you I am not the competition down the street, I'm from Michigan...so you can imagine how upset I was when we went all the way to Florida for vacation only to have to stay in this dump(couldn't afford to re-book)
This hotel was filthy. When my friends and I got to our room we couldn't help but feel ripped off. The room was not fit for human occupation. The floor was obviously not cleaned seeing as there were still peanut shells on the floor which any amount of vacuuming would have taken care of. The walls were peeling and we were not surprised to see that a picture that was hanging on the wall was covering a hole. The gold trim on the ceiling was chipped and missing in certain places. After seeing the news story I read other reviews and seen the "management" respond saying dadudu123456789's review was false because the hotel doesn't have gold trim on the ceilings. I can only assume the management is delusional from the diseases they probably caught from working there because it most certainly has chipped gold trim. This place is full of bugs, mainly roaches and ants and you can hear rodents in the walls at night. DO NOT bring children here, they will never want to go on vacation again because of the traumatizing effect this place will have on them. Stay away at all costs. The only good thing from this experience was the staff was fairly nice, especially considering the amount of complaints they receive on a daily basis.
Date of stay September 2010
Visit was for Leisure
Traveled with With Friends
Member since January 25, 2011
Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No"<p>
"“some things never changeâ€
Desert Inn Resort
joeyandjeanne 1 contribution Cocoa Beach, Florida
Jan 25, 2011 | Trip type: Couples i partied hard at this hotel during my late 20's early 30's as i worked at one of the local clubs.... this place was tore up then and this place is still tore up now. i recently made a stay again because of the claim of " remodled ". lie-lie-lie. i think it's gotten worse. i walked into the old confrence/ball room... unreal !!!!! i dont know how the city lets you stay open... im sure after making the top 10 dirtiest hotels in the country, city code inspectors will be calling open season on the desert inn once and for all. STAY AWAY FROM HERE...
Date of stay November 2010
Visit was for Leisure
Traveled with With Spouse/Partner
Member since January 25, 2011
Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No"<p>
"“Come to our rooms to have roaches, & ants on the wall & ceilings over ur bed!!!â€
Desert Inn Resort
dingalls 1 contribution Indianapolis, Indiana
Jan 25, 2011 | Trip type: Family Although the upper floors are supposed to be more money for more luxury, We had to leave a room w/a kitchen. We came in at 10 p.m. w/ groceries our 2nd night of 2 wks, ROACHES scurried everywhere!!! MY KIDS & I screamed, went to a manager & they moved us to another room.- Which the refrigerator was too small.We decided to give them a chance the next summer, BAD ,MISTAKE !!! ANTS were crawling up the walls over our beds. THATS IT, SECURITY TRIED TO PUT US IN 2 MORE ROOMS DAMAGED & BALCONY DOORS BROKEN & TAPED OVER!!! NOW THATS DANGEROUS, DONT YA THINK??? FLOORS LEAKING WATER & SMELLED LIKE MOLD ON UR WAY TO VISIT THE POOL.
Date of stay April 2010
Visit was for Leisure
Traveled with Family with Teenagers
Member since January 25, 2011
Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No"<p>