Booking: I was able to book the property using points and my PC Visa annual free night certificate. Booking using points was a big plus as the rates were pretty high during my stay period.
Arrival: We arrived via taxi from Fort Lauderdale Airport as we did not want a car for this trip. The trip is only about 10-15 minutes but we got a slick taxi driver that decided to take us for a ride and got a tour of downtown Hollywood Florida. I had not been to this property before so I was not aware he was taking us the long way until it was too late. The meter registered $40 and it should be about $25. I think the taxi drivers should be taking the A1A all the way to the hotel and not I-95. If they start towards the highway I would question them why they would take the highway and not the A1A.
Check-in: Very friendly and professional check-in at 1:00AM. I am Platinum with Priority Club and was given an upgrade to a nice corner room with dual balconies and a nice view as well as a drink coupon for two drinks and a couple of free coffee coupons from the coffee shop in the lobby.
The Room: The room was large with modern furnishings. The balconies are nice to out and relax on but the views are not that great as you are not really that close to the beach with a busy road and large condos on the other side of the road between you and the ocean. There is also free internet at the hotel and it was pretty good most of the time but got pretty slow in the evenings which is peak usage times of course.
Restaurants: We had breakfast each day and dinner one evening at Elements which is the main restaurant at the hotel. The food was all well prepared and service was excellent each time. My only complaint/suggestion would be that there is a wider variety on the breakfast menu. The breakfast buffet is pretty good value and everything is fresh on the buffet but I don’t really like buffets and would have liked to see some dishes with some “local flavor” on the menu. Also, we dined outside for breakfast and dinner as it was so nice outside but there has to be a way to make the gate that enters the pool area not slam so incredibly loud. It might sound like a minor complaint but it can be really annoying as you are trying to relax and enjoy breakfast or dinner. There is a pool bar which looked nice and had a nice view of the waterway with more of a typical pool bar menu but we did not try it.
The Pool: The pool was much nice than expected. This is not a big resort style property but the pool is on par with some nicer resorts we have been to. The pool itself is large with lots of chairs and plenty of shaded and sunny areas.
Location: The hotel has Hollywood Beach in the name but it appears to be at the end of what you would call Hollywood Beach and most would call the area Hallandale Beach I think. The beach is a across the street but the street is big and there is a set of condos on the other side. Still, a pretty short walk over to the beach. There is not a lot of restaurants, shopping etc in walking distance or not within the immediate area anyway. There is a 7/11 on the corner next to the hotel where you can get some snacks etc for the beach. There is a Hollywood trolley stop right in front of the hotel and also the water taxi stops right behind the hotel. Those are all good things but if you don’t have a car you will need to use the trolley (if it is running those days) or a taxi. I found parking to be too expensive ($19 valet, $16 self) so I just elected to take a taxi everywhere we needed to go if I didn’t want to use the trolley or it wasn’t convenient to where we wanted to go.
Summary: Our stay was really nice and the property has excellent service. Each employee that we encountered had a good attitude and provided excellent service. The property itself is nice and well maintained. The location doesn’t have a lot to offer though outside of a nice beach area across the street. We will definitely consider this property on future trips but the parking cost is just too much in my opinion and we whether we stay at this property would likely depend on whether we have a car on our trip.
Hotel
Waterway Behind Hotel
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Vanity
Kitchenette
Shower
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Balcony
View from Balcony
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Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach
