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Old Jul 10, 09, 12:23 am   #1
 
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Arrow W South Beach, Miami Beach (resort) [Master Thread]

I was there for the opening and will post in more detail along with some pix later but here is a quick rundown:

The hotel did a soft opening so they did not sell all of the rooms even though they showed sold out. The spa was not yet open, nor was Mr Chows restaurant

Service: There was plenty of staff everywhere and they were very friendly There were a couple instances of tentativness with some of the employees but this is to be expected.

Housekeeping: Room was made up promptly the first day, they didn't come the second day.

Room: Huge. There was a king bed and a living room with couch, coffee table and desk. Plenty of closet and drawer space for you cloths. Bose stereo and 2 flat screens. Bathroom was also very large with a 2 sink basins, larger shower area. The toilet is seperate with a door so more than one person can use the bathroom. There was a large balcony with padded patio furniture One thing that is annoying is the shell chandelier. It is like a wind chime and the airconditioner flow hits it, making sleep difficult.

Food: Pretty good but very expensive. Same thing with drinks; very pricey.

Pool: There is an infinity pool surrounded by padded lounge chairs. The pool attendants will set up the chairs with towels and pillows. Beds at the pool can be rented for $150 and cabanas for $350. Bar and food service is available at the pool. The service was very good. One glitch was when the computers went down for a little while on the second day. All of the orders had to be put in manually and it slowed things down a bit. One downside to the pool are is the size; I don't think it is big enough and getting chairs may be a problem.

I'll post more, but if you have any questions, just post them.
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Last edited by outtolunch; Jul 10, 09 at 1:39 pm.
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Old Jul 10, 09, 12:34 pm   #2
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Im staying at the W tonight, pending any EWR , I should have some pics posted by tomorrow.
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Old Jul 10, 09, 12:57 pm   #3
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I have a few pictures. How can I post them here.
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Old Jul 10, 09, 1:24 pm   #4
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You need to upload them to a photo hosting site like FLICKR or Photobucket, or Smugmug. After you upload the photos you can use the image icon to embed them or just post a link to them.
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Old Jul 10, 09, 1:55 pm   #5
 
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Some pics

http://s574.photobucket.com/albums/ss186/candc_photo/
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Old Jul 10, 09, 2:10 pm   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by outtolunch View Post

Thanks for the pics. They brought a smile to Cheap Elites adorable face!

However, I'm not impressed. I guess I need to see the place in person.

Not sure what type of room you're in since your photos don't have descriptions. Is that considered an upgrade? I know this sounds like a dumb question, but the picture from the balcony, is that the pool of the adjacent property?
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Old Jul 10, 09, 4:03 pm   #7
 
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Booked a wonderful studio here the other night and was only upgraded one room category to a spectacular studio (exact same room, higher floor) despite all types of suites being available. Front desk refused to upgrade beyond that. As I have a condo a bit further down in South Beach I didn't bother with arguing or calling CCS, and instead just said never mind, but be forewarned that this property shows signs early on of not honoring elite benefits (at least in my case). YMMV.

The W FLL on the other hand upgraded from the basic room category to a Fantastic Flat (yes Flat, not Suite) however I didn't get the opportunity to stay there as something came up last minute .
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Old Jul 10, 09, 6:20 pm   #8
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Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by bulldoggolfer05 View Post
Booked a wonderful studio here the other night and was only upgraded one room category to a spectacular studio (exact same room, higher floor) despite all types of suites being available. Front desk refused to upgrade beyond that. As I have a condo a bit further down in South Beach I didn't bother with arguing or calling CCS, and instead just said never mind, but be forewarned that this property shows signs early on of not honoring elite benefits (at least in my case). YMMV.

The W FLL on the other hand upgraded from the basic room category to a Fantastic Flat (yes Flat, not Suite) however I didn't get the opportunity to stay there as something came up last minute .
How can you say this, with 100% accuracy, when we don't know what suites are designatied as select standard or if they (or any other rooms/suites) are even ready to be occupied?? They could be showing available, but not yet released into inventory. As discussed here numerous times, there are many things behind the scenes that we are not aware of that could cause a room/suite to show "available" when it really isn't.
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Old Jul 10, 09, 6:48 pm   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheap Elite View Post
[color="DarkGreen"]
.. brought a smile to Cheap Elites adorable face!
This is meaningless without a picture.
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Old Jul 10, 09, 9:11 pm   #10
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Oasis Suite


Set Here
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Old Jul 10, 09, 9:23 pm   #11
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheap Elite View Post
How can you say this, with 100% accuracy, when we don't know what suites are designatied as select standard or if they (or any other rooms/suites) are even ready to be occupied?? They could be showing available, but not yet released into inventory. As discussed here numerous times, there are many things behind the scenes that we are not aware of that could cause a room/suite to show "available" when it really isn't.
Because I was told if I wanted a suite I could book one? Not really sure what's with the 'tude as I even said at least in my case this was the situation .
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Old Jul 10, 09, 9:28 pm   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheap Elite View Post

Thanks for the pics. They brought a smile to Cheap Elites adorable face!

However, I'm not impressed. I guess I need to see the place in person.

Not sure what type of room you're in since your photos don't have descriptions. Is that considered an upgrade? I know this sounds like a dumb question, but the picture from the balcony, is that the pool of the adjacent property?
The pool you see is next door, It may be the Gansvoort Hotel, because Im looking at my balcony on the other side and I see an empty lot.

My pics are from an Oasis Suite I got as an upgrade.
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Old Jul 11, 09, 2:34 am   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SanDiego1K View Post
This is meaningless without a picture.
Touché! LOL

Quote:
Originally Posted by bulldoggolfer05 View Post
Because I was told if I wanted a suite I could book one? Not really sure what's with the 'tude as I even said at least in my case this was the situation .
no 'tude what so ever, just stating there may be other issues. Could be that all select standard suites were unavailable for your stay.
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Old Jul 11, 09, 7:16 am   #14
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The pics look very nice. Exactly the cool white design I was hoping for. Can't wait to check it out and then hopefully with an upgrade.
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Old Jul 11, 09, 7:31 am   #15
 
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Any idea when Mr Chow is opening?
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