Emily D.
Yelp
I travel extensively, but I have never looked forward to a vacation more than this one. I was majorly stressed out, and I needed a long weekend where I could simply lounge at the beach then the pool and repeat. In came the Residence Inn. Leading up to my stay, I looked at hotel pictures daily to help me relax, and I couldn't wait to arrive. I knew I was booking a Residence Inn, so I wasn't going to get high-end luxury, but that wasn't what this trip was about.
This hotel pops up in searches for Fort Lauderdale, but it's about a 20 - 30 minute Uber ride (to/from the airport) and not necessarily FLL, but I liked the quiet location.
Blink, and you will miss this hotel. There's minimal street signage and none that stood out when we arrived around 10:30 pm. There's also no visible entrance, and when we first got there, we weren't sure we were in the right location. Upon walking inside, there wasn't anybody at the front desk, and we were even more confused, but someone came out of the back door to check us in, and she was very sweet. After going up the elevator and walking outside again, I was surprised to discover motel-like setup. It didn't look this way from the photos but wasn't an issue. The room was nice. It was recently updated and done pretty well. I liked the beach decor, the full kitchen and large bathroom. I didn't like having two queen (maybe full) beds and would have preferred a king. Regardless, the beds were super comfortable.
The bathroom was large and included a washer/dryer. I would have loved to do wash, but couldn't find detergent. The shower was updated, but as we discovered it took a very long time to drain. The water temp and pressure were perfect. The only issue was with the toilet, and two people couldn't go to the bathroom in a row or it wouldn't flush the second time. Ok, fine.
The tv was a decent size, but the remote didn't work, so every time we wanted to turn it off we had to unplug it, and we couldn't get the volume to work.
The room size was large and would have easily accommodated a family of four without any problems. The temp of the room was perfect and easily adjustable, which made me very happy.
There was a height difference between the room and the balcony - you've been warned. The balcony was so narrow, and you could only see the beach from one chair and if you tilted your head just enough. The size and view were disappointing because I dreamed of enjoying coffee and relaxing with my feet up, but there wasn't enough room to do so.
I typically don't have housekeeping come in my room so I can earn extra points. This was even pointed out when I checked in on the app. Since we spent a good deal of the trip at the beach, I might have had them come in one day to remove the sand, but I wanted points. Spoiler alert, this hotel doesn't participate in this program (despite what the app said), so there were no points to be earned.
Their complimentary breakfast was delicious and offered a good daily variety. One day I had a waffle, another I made myself an egg and cheese wrap. They always had fresh fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, coffee and more.
The pool looks perfect and could have been. However, there aren't too many lounge chairs and a good deal of trees create a lot of shade. It's odd that this pool backups to the beach but there isn't a view of the beautiful ocean. A huge miss here on an even more breathtaking view here. The pool has a lot of nice seating where you can be in the water but still easily read a book, etc. I loved this. I adored the pool until ... the lizards/iguanas came out to play. The pool is infested with these creatures. I learned on this trip that I have an unnatural fear of them. Remember the only goal of this trip was to help me relax.
The creatures come out around 11 am and there's at least 4 - 8 on the property at any time. They are quite a decent size, and the hotel needs to do something about it. If they can't get rid of them, they need to post about them. There were people feeding them and antagonizing them with a stick.
Less scary, but just as bad were the ants at the pool and outdoor bar. They were endless, and while annoying, they didn't bother me like the lizards.
Here's the thing with the lizards, I spent almost an entire day at the bar next door right by their pool and there wasn't one single creature to be seen the entire time. The hotel is directly next door; if they can figure it out, the Residence Inn should too.
The beach is lovely but the path to get there is overgrown and easy to miss. Please make this path larger and more noticeable. This should be a simple/easy fix that would be so greatly appreciated. Also, watch your step, the lizards like it there.
The hotel very nicely let us have a late checkout, which allowed me to relax a little more the last day. Bonus!
Overall, three-star stars. 4.5 stars if they remove the lizards and ants.