Have been staying here the past 5 days on points (52,000 per night). Considering the peak season pricing of $600/night, using the points was a no brainer. The place was pretty busy, but not to the point of making it unenjoyable.
Our arrival would not be until until 1am so I had called that day at around 1pm to advise them of this and ask if they could provide something a nice view, knowing that coming in that late at night could mean the last of the pickings. The front desk gentlemen I spoke to was very nice and said he'd do everything he could to take care of us as a Diamond guest with a long stay. I noticed a little while later that my reservation showed an Oceanview Deluxe Junior Suite (upgraded from the booked standard King sunset view).
Even after landing in FLL at nearly midnight, the app still showed the room type. When I arrived, however, the reception informed me that they had us in a Queen junior suite. I honestly would have preferred to stay in the King room as we didn't need the 2 beds. But, I also knew at 1am there was not a lot that could be done so we decided we'd talk to the MOD the next morning about a switch to a King, which is what we booked, despite the generous upgrade to the 2 queen juinior suite.
The 'upgrade' was just a longer room (from door to window) with the 2 queen beds and a kitchenette along the hallway separating the entrance from the sleeping area. The kitchenette has an electric stove, microwave and fridge. There was a balcony off the room facing North and a view of the Ocean to the right. Unfortunately, we were also facing the Four Seasons residences high-rise which is still under construction. From the looks of it, I'd guess it will be at least 6-7 months before the exterior will be completely done, which means noise on the weekday mornings.
The next morning, I went and spoke to the front desk supervisor and explained that we were thankful for the upgrade, but would rather be in our originally assigned room type (King standard/no balcony) to avoid the terrible view and noise. I also showed him pictures of two long strands of black hair we found on the walls of the shower.
He was very understanding and apologetic. After a few moments, he was able to move us to an Oceanview Deluxe Junior King Suite, facing the other side away from the construction. The suite has a spacious bathroom with shower and large tub, a bedroom with King bed and TV, and a separate living room (separated by a short walkway, but no door) with TV, kitchenette with microwave, stove and mini fridge. The balcony is off the living room and, for us, was facing the W hotel with a view of the ocean facing South.
After the initial hiccups of the first night, we were very happy with the overall stay. The property is in a good location to walk to few places, but also just far enough from the crowds around the bars around Los Olas.
When the hotel is full or near full capacity, if you want a recliner at the pool you'd best get down there by 8-830 at the latest and put a towel and some belongings like lotions, book, flip flops, etc. The double size daybeds that don't have any covering are first-come first-serve, and there's no charge to use them Mon-Thur. On Fri-Sun, they must be reserved for $150. There are other day beds under a covering that can be reserved (all days) and even large cabanas that are fully enclosed with a curtain that can be closed on the front for privacy. Those also, of course, require a paid reservation.
The same goes for the beach chairs. If you get down there at an early hour, you can snag the beach chair and it's yours as long as you want. There are 2 chairs available for no charge per room. An umbrella is $20.
The pool restaurant (6th floor) is where the Diamond breakfast is given and you receive a blue chip for each guest (up to 2). Ryan at the bar was fantastic in remembering his customers and what they tended to like. Food/drink service at the pool deck didn't start until 12pm during the weekdays when I was there, so you would have to into the bar and get a drink and/or order food if you wanted to consume it outside at pool chair. They may start the service earlier on the weekends. The menu choices were all good, but the service in general was pretty slow.
If you're fitness minded, there is also a nice gym on 6, and be sure to check the daily class schedule (including beach yoga) as there are a good many that are complimentary for guests.
During our stay, we decided to extend our stay a night with points, I booked it through the Diamond desk and then let the front desk know so they could join the two reservations. They took care of that and were able to keep us in our upgraded junior suite.
Though the Diamond benefit gives 2 bottles of water per day, you can request them at the front desk any time (2 at a time) and they don't ask for room number.
We were able to get our checkout time pushed from 11am to 1pm. It's rare. at any Hilton stay that they extend my check out time to 4pm like Marirot does for it's top tier elites. It's not really a benefit since, even before Hilton added it to the Diamond benefit list, anyone of any elite level could request a late check out and the hotel would grant it based on their incoming checkins.
I would definitely stay again on a future stay in FLL.