Lauren C.
Yelp
I stayed here for the first time this month (October 2022).
ROOM
My boyfriend and I were celebrating his birthday and wanted to book a hotel on the beach for easy access. We booked the "Staycation Getaway" package which included a complimentary upgrade upon check-in, a daily $25 resort credit, two free drinks, and a late check-out.
Katrina took care of us upon check-in and upgraded us from an Intracoastal View room to a Pool & Partial Ocean View room. She also gave us complimentary umbrella access for our stay (they're typically $21/day for a rental).
We went up to the room and I noticed that the water in the toilet had somewhat of a yellow color. I thought the restroom had been used, so I called down and spoke to Shaquil and he explained that is the water color in Fort Lauderdale. (Which I had never heard of before.) He apologized and immediately offered to move us to an Ocean View room!
We hadn't even unpacked so we gladly moved over to this new room. It was in the corner of the building and even had a secondary balcony with a large table and chairs as well as two lounge chairs.
We completely unpacked, a few hours went by, and then... a few critters came to visit us. No, not BBs (I won't spell it out). They weren't palmetto bugs, either. (I think this happened because we had two balconies with sliding doors, so it was probably easy for them to get in.)
At this point, it was around 5pm and we were about to get ready to enjoy dinner and a night out. We were beyond frustrated as we had completely unpacked. I called back down again and explained the situation.
We were quickly moved to another Ocean View room (that was not in the corner of the building) and all was well. This was actually the nicest of the three. They compensated us for the inconvenience by refunding 50% of our first night room charge. We also received complimentary breakfast at the buffet for the remainder of our stay. They also surprised us with a bottle of Prosecco and sweet treats!
I will say the first two rooms needed some touch-ups in certain areas with paint. You can see there are scrape marks from the nightstands being moved.
BEACH & POOL
LaTonya hooked us up with a complimentary beach cabana rental for my boyfriend's birthday. Nuno was upbeat and friendly while he took our food and drink orders on the beach.
We didn't take advantage of the complimentary hour of non-motorized water sport access, but this was a nice option to have. The beach staff will set up the chairs and umbrella for you. They also have towels directly on the beach.
The beach is a very short walk from the main building and easily accessible from multiple walkways.
We didn't use the pool much but there seemed to be a lot of seating available.
FOOD & DRINK
Marie was awesome at 3030 Bar - she worked her magic and make some specialty cocktails for us! We ate lunch here when we arrived and had a delicious wedge salad and burger.
I was impressed with the Sea Level Restaurant. We ate there on two days and had the Street Corn Crab Dip, Loaded Jerk Chicken Nachos, Blackened Mahi Tacos, and Pulled Jerk Chicken Sandwich.
HB Fresh was very expensive - $5 cookies... we only had one cold brew and it was OK. (I'm not sure how they make any $ there, though. Everything was overpriced.)
The breakfast buffet was generous with an omelette and waffle station (shout-out to Elaine - she was awesome), bacon, sausage, pastries, toast/bread, oatmeal, fresh fruit, charcuterie, and more. The servers were attentive and the outside dining area was beautiful and enjoyable with cool 70-75 degree mornings.
SPA & GYM
They have a private pool and hot tub for guests who have a service done at the spa. The locker rooms are spacious and have lounge areas, steam rooms, saunas, showers, etc.
We each had a 50-minute massage and really enjoyed our experiences. Note that they do include gratuity.
We didn't take advantage of the gym or class schedule, but all of the equipment is brand new. There are so many machines and they had 3-4 classes offered each day! Yoga, spin, and zumba were on the schedule.
ETC
The Resort Shop was RIDICULOUSLY expensive. $8 for a bottle of Evian water - no thanks! (We did an InstaCart order for waters, drinks, etc.) They had other snacks, gifts, etc. available as well, but I didn't even bother checking the prices.
One day, they were handing out warm chocolate chip cookies, which I thought was very nice. They also have a lot of ice water with cucumber, etc, located around the hotel.
SUMMARY
I would stay here again with a discounted package rate. The beach access is unbeatable and the staff was very accommodating. The food was very good, but the ambiance of the entire resort could use a little refresh. You can tell they accommodate to a wide range of guests - convention, wedding, families... (They are currently renovating the main front entrance, so we'll see!)