A woman’s stay at The Anza Hotel in Calabasas, California, allegedly turned into a nightmare. She claimed hotel staff didn’t take her complaint seriously. The experience quickly gained attention online, with viewers reacting to both the ants and the hotel’s reported response.
TikTok user wardrobewinter shared the story. The video received more than two million views, and the woman explained what happened and shared clips of her interactions with hotel staff.
The woman said she woke up to find ants throughout her room. She spotted them around her bed and on the floor and claimed some even got inside her ear. She also claimed she contacted the hotel’s corporate office about the problem but was hung up on before receiving a resolution.
She also went to the front desk to report the problem. In the audio included in the TikTok, a person the creator identified as a hotel employee is heard explaining that the insects were ants and were “just looking for water.” The creator pushed back, arguing that the type of bug didn’t matter because insects shouldn’t have been in her hotel room in the first place.
The TikToker warned other people against staying at the hotel and suggested that anyone with an upcoming reservation consider canceling. She said she had packed her belongings and planned to leave rather than spend another night in the room.
The woman’s experience does not appear to be the only recent report of ants at The Anza. A verified guest review from an August 2026 stay said their first room had ants, although the hotel moved them to another room after they complained. An older Tripadvisor review from August 2025 also alleged that ants were found throughout a room and in the bed.
Those complaints do not necessarily reflect most guests’ experiences. The Anza maintains generally positive ratings on major travel sites, including an 8.2 out of 10 rating on Booking.com from more than 1,000 reviews.
‘Just Ants?’Viewers Stunned by Hotel’s Reported Response
Viewers responded immediately, with many saying they would have completely lost it if they woke up to ants crawling around their bed and belongings. Some admitted that watching the video alone made them feel itchy. One commenter summed up the frustration by writing, “Just ants? It’s an infestation.”
The explanation that the ants were “just looking for water” also baffled viewers. Commenters argued that whatever attracted the insects didn’t change the fact that a paying guest had allegedly found them around her bed and belongings. Others noted that insect bites can cause serious reactions for some people.
The hotel’s name also became part of the online jokes. Several commenters started calling it the “Antza Hotel,” while others joked that the woman’s warning was enough to make them cancel their own reservations.
Others took the situation more seriously, criticizing the way the woman said she was treated and questioning why the hotel did not appear to offer a better solution. For many viewers, finding ants in a hotel room would have been enough to make them pack their belongings and leave.
Whether the ants were simply searching for water wasn’t much comfort to the woman who says she woke up with them around her bed and even in her ear. Her experience also isn’t the only recent guest report mentioning ants at The Anza, although the hotel continues to receive generally positive ratings from travelers. For the TikToker, however, one night was apparently enough. She packed her belongings and decided she wasn’t sticking around to find out where the ants would turn up next.
