MIKESILV

Located between the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach resort and the revamped Westin there is nothing identifying this property from Fort Beach Blvd besides a big (and not real large) W at ground level which is a much easier seen when lit at night.
The hotel consisted of two towers linked by a walkway which is actually over the arrivals/drive up area. It is my understanding the rear of the two towers is primarily residences and apartments and I am not sure if any area in that building is currently occupied.

Arrived at by car at 200pm to for a two night stay using some third quarter weekend nights award ( which actually would have expired on April 30 but the Platinum concierge kindly permitted me to use them the nights of May 1, 2^^)

CHECKIN
Was greeted by the bell staff/valet and escorted up to “Living Room” on the third floor for check-in.
Pretty painless with friendly CSR who made a bit of a flourish about me being upgraded ( I knew I had when my reservation disappeared on SPG.com)

LIVING ROOM
Quite a large lobby with various art/decorative sculplture and a nice bar to one side beyond the check-in counter. Plenty of comfortable seating and tables and exterior doors which led to a patio running full length of the front of the building and view of the beach. One could have drinks outside on the patio decorated with white enameled metal tables and light colored sofas in one corner was an Olympic size gas fed torch/burner which was not lit and not sure if it was a to provide heat on the patio in the winter or is simply an decorative item ( or both)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...dscf2689a.html

As per normal there was free wireless in this area, internet in the rooms I believe was $14.95?? / day.
In fitting with the apparent general theme of this property the decoration was in along minimalist lines, color scheme light browns and off whites etc. In fact the overall color scheme for the entire property was similar to the above the only seeming variations were in the passages to the rooms which had carpeting simulating an “marine sand bottom pattern” and the ceilings were done in a sort of undulating aquamarine wave like mural presumably to give the impression that you are walking under the surface of the oean.

ROOM
Was upgraded to a corner room termed a “ Fabulous Room” on 9th Floor which was mini-suite consisting of the bedroom, separate living room and two balconies one at the front/side and the other full front both afforded a full beach/ocean vista and a great view of the pool area .
While not small, the rooms/suite would not be considered “overly spacious”
Same minimalist theme as in other areas and a couple of unusual of the room features, all seating except on the patio were fully revolving upholstered chairs and a huge walk-in closet with a photocell which switched the lights on automatically and for those fans of stuffed animals (ala Conrads) a white three foot long stuffed gator.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...dscf2688a.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...dscf2687a.html
I asked the bell-boy who escorted us up to the room if I could take it home and he said yes (not sure he was being serious in any event it was too big to fit in our suitcases and I really didn’t feel like boarding the plane with a white alligator under my arm.


POOLS: the main pool ( and smaller wading pool) was on the fourth floor level was quite nice and a decent size with about eight or so private cabanas at the north end . I also observed was another smaller circular pool on the rear building but that was not yet open.
The beach of course is the public beach across A1A and umbrella and beach chairs are handled by the same outfit that does the entire stretch of beach.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...dscf2686a.html

FOOD
Did not have breakfast (or any other meal for that matter) during my stay at this hotel other than early morning room service continental the day of checkout so I am not exactly sure where it was being served.
As far as other dining the standard Whiskey Blue was not yet open but Stephen Starr's Steak 454 was open (whats with all these new steak type restaurants anyway??) in any event we already had reservations at two of our favorite Miami eateries but it would have been nice to have something more like Buddikan here.
Also happened to see Starr checking out on Saturday evening.

GENERAL
The Bliss Store was open but not much else there were a number of signs at the ground level saying “opening soon”
There is quite a bit work still going here and some rough edges ( like screwing the power panel cover in my room down properly) still to be taken care.
But it didnt really detract from our stay.

Parking is by valet only and was $32.80 not sure how it came to the odd amount perhaps it was $30.00 with added tax ??

First impressions: I was not immediately blown away by this property ( perhaps due to high expectations) but it does grow on you.
And all in all its seems to have maintained the W edge incorporating a little more tropical flavour.

Since I was in the area to visit friends and family we did not spend a great amount of time hanging around the hotel I apologize for not taking more photos.
The Atlantic lovers (and the resident W haters on this board) are likely to find a lot to dislike here but in most respects it fits into the W concept quite well.

mike

Keith009

Great review, mike. ^ Not sure if I'd be heading to Fort Lauderdale anytime soon, so I'd just be experiencing this new Wonderland vicariously. Looks like a v cute one; love the subtle Balinese touch.

gleff

Oooo, the dilemna of whether to try out the new W in lieu of an upcoming Diplomat stay....

tommy777

Thank you, Mike. Look forward to spending 3 nights at this property for 4th of July weekend.

letsgofire

Good summary of the hotel. I'll add a few comments.

The Whiskey Blue lounge is not yet open but I think they are having a grand opening in mid-June.

The W branding is a little excessive here - they have plastered their logo on practically everything in the room I was in. As a Plat I was upgraded to a Fabulous Room, which I would equate to a simple deluxe room. It did have a killer ocean view. I would recommend anyone pay for an ocean view because the sunrises are great and it's neat to see the cruise ships and other ships go by.

The Living Room is a success. It's a slick and large open space that has a variety of seating, lighting, and sub-spaces. You also get free internet and you can order drinks and dinner there.

Room service food is not interesting. They have the usual basics but nothing I tried was worth writing about.

The fitness center has a variety of weights and cardio and is definitely above average. There is no charge to use it.

Overall I was pleased with my stay and would go back there.

quinella66

Just returned from a stay there. Was upgraded to a Mega room which has a pretty cool layout and a really nice bathroom area. There were two patio areas which offered a good view of both the ocean and the intracoastal waterways.

The Kobe steak at the restaurant is really good but pricey - starting at $65. However, there is "regular" (non-Kobe) steak which is also excellent and starts around $30. Maybe one of the coolest decorative ideas is the jellyfish tank in the restaurant.

Probably one of the most notable things about the stay was the staff. Even at the restaurant we had a couple issues and they went out of their way to be sure that we were happy. The hotel is about 3 weeks old and it seemed that most of the staff were excited about it and made an extra effort to be sure that all was well.

The only negative is the $30 price for valet parking which seems high, but I am not sure what a typical price would be in this area.

Overall, the hotel is great and would be recommended, especially if you are a fan of W hotels.

EleanorMcDaniel

We spent two nights there last week. As a PLT I was upgraded to a "Fabulous" room which was fairly small, but large according to W standards.

Staff was great, restaurant great, all in all a nice hotel if you are into the whole W thing.

Personally, at 48 years old, I feel 20 years too old for any W property. The whole bar scene and all is just not me, but since they canned the St. Regis and Atlantic from *wood in FLL, I am at the W. And I am HAPPY to be there because the other choice is the Yankee Crapper up the street.

So, I say, YEAH for the W FLL.

FernO

Stayed for 2 nights last week. Was upgraded to a ocean front room with a giant balcony(as large as P1 at the Atlantic). Service was good(for its age)and the front desk staff needed a bit of coaching on SPG PLT upgrades but thats all in a days work. Overall, a good hotel and a good location.

BlissWorld

Interesting....all of the Platinums here have only been reported to be upgraded to a fabulous room or Mega at best.

There's been no report of the hotel upgrading Platinums to cool corner nor their fantastic suite...hmmmm

Starwood Lurker

Those are outside the standard pool of suites. A standard suite here is a Spectacular Flat, of which there are six in current inventory.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

BlissWorld

That's very interesting! but isn't cool corner room just a room? Btw, they also have fantastic flats, which are different than fantastic suites...as well as cool corner flats

The hotel charges more for Spectacular Flats than cool corner room, studio suite or fantastic suites

So, the only rooms eligible for Platinum upgrades are: Spectacular room, fabulous room, Mega room and Spectacular flats?

Cool corner room, studio suite, and fantastic suite are all out of the running?

phish1209

You could try the "new" Westin next door also......

CNWO4LIFE

Yes, that does seem strange, and I see a pattern here with no suite upgrades from other members. It really sux when you have to beg for what your supposed to be offered.

Starwood Lurker

There are many different kinds of suites and flats at this property. A Flats room description reads as a "one-bedroom condominium". The Spectacular Flat is on the SPG5SU rate plan for this property, so that makes it the standard suite for complimentary Platinum upgrades. All other suites and flats, regardless of their price point, are off limits except at the generosity of the resort.

I would expect that any other "room" is also up for grabs as a complimentary upgrade.

Let's look at how you put your question together and I think you'll see where I may have gotten the idea that we were talking about suites, not rooms, which are not standard suites:

There's been no report of the hotel upgrading Platinums to cool corner nor their fantastic suite...

I took your "Cool Corner" in this sentence as a "suite" because there was no word "room" to differentiate it from the Fantastic Suite you placed at the end of the sentence.

So, my apologies for any misunderstanding, but I hope that helps to clear up any confusion.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

CNWO4LIFE

Just looked at their webpage, and a studio suite is much smaller than the Spectacular Flat, but the Flat is the room thats upgradable?