InkUnderNails

I did a search and could not find and answer. I apologize if this has been addressed elsewhere.

I have used 5 free night certs and 100K points for a week at the Beach Club. I am looking forward to the stay as the reviews indicate this is a nice property.

I was aware of the $25 per day resort fee, and I was okay with that. I understand that this is sometimes not charged on reward stays, but I had resolved to accept it if I had to pay. It is a very nice place and $25 night is not bad.

I have just been told that the parking is valet only at $26.63 inclusive, per day. Inclusive of what I do not know. So, now I am in $186 for parking for my rental car as we do not plan on hiding out at the hotel. 1st question: Is this typical? 2nd: Is there any way to avoid or reduce this?

Final question: With parking and resort fees, I will be in for over $300 to stay at this property on "free" nights. I am new to HH and a recent new diamond. Does this happen often with reward stays in the Hilton chain?

Bottom line: I had to reserve a standard room (they have already notified me that upgrades are available starting at about $40 per night). And upgrades are not guaranteed, even for a diamond. I really, really hope I did not stay all of those nights in Hamptons and HGI's just to get a room in Florida with a parking lot view and $300 in incidental charges before I even check in. I am beginning to not be very excited about this trip.

exiled2tx

I stayed at the Resort half of this property, not the Beach Club (other side of the waterway) and there was no self parking and I had to use the valet. No extra charges to come and go several times during the day.

It wasn't a reward stay and I was there with a group so the resort fee experience was not comparable.

Winecaptain

I travel to Boca Raton often for work. In the off season (usually because I can get very good rates), I stay here 2-3 times per month. It is a great hotel and one that I am sure you will enjoy. The parking is valet only, and it still bothers me that I pay $26 for parking and then have to cough up another $20 for the resort fee (which really is for nothing). That's an xtra $46 per night. Regardless though, it is still worth it. The rooms are very modern, and the bathrooms are simply awesome. The showers are one of the best that I have experienced at any hotel with a large walk in area nad a rainfall showerhead coming out of the ceiling... The beach and pool area is nice as well.

Across the intracoastal waterway is the Boca Raton Resort (separate hotel and good for hotel hopping for points) they have a section called the bungalows that has free self parking, but other than that small section they have the same high priced parking fees. Unfortunatly, this resort uses parking and resort fees as a way to flash a lower rate to unsuspecting guests. At check out, I have heard several guests complain about the fees and saying they didn't know...

Regardless, I would still be excited about your stay there. The hotel is beautiful, the rooms are very nice and modern with most having great beach views. The service is usually very good as well. The hotel also offers a shuttle to the Boca Raton Resort via water taxi (kind of fun to do). At the Boca Resort, there is a Serendipity Ice Cream Shop (think Manhattan) and a Morimoto Sushi Bar (Iron Chef). It is fun to take the boat ride over and have dinner and dessert.

I am sure that you will enjoy your stay.

troyintn

I think a lot of the higher end hotels are going this way, to make their rates look lower. I am hoping it does not get as bad as the airlines, but who knows.

justhere

I couldn't find an official review thread for this property and wanted to share my recent experience here. This is not the Boca Beach Resort which is the sister property across the street. This is the hotel that is right on the ocean on the east side of A1A.

Just stayed one night pre-cruise. It's high season in South Florida right now and when I looked for a Hilton property a couple of months ago, many properties were already sold out. Of the ones that weren't, some Hampton Inns wanted as much as 50,000 points for a night. One of the Ft. Lauderdale Hiltons wanted 70,000. Cash prices were in the $2-$300/night range (some a little less).

Then I came across this WA property. Cash prices started at just shy of $900 per night and an award stay was 50,000 points so I booked a king standard room on points.

I knew about the valet parking charge and the resort fee but figured it was worth the ~$60 total considering what my other, limited options were.

When we checked in we were upgraded to a king poolside lanai room. Very nice room. Spacious, great bathroom, and we could walk out the back door and the pool and beach were just steps away.

Very nice hotel and staff were very professional and pleasant. My only regret is that we were only there for one night. Would have loved to stay longer. When we checked out we were not charged the resort fee and I presume this is because we used points to pay for the stay. So ended up only costing about $30 for the valet parking.

Didn't get a chance to eat at the hotel or really take advantage of the amenities but I would definitely love to stay at this resort again. If I had the time to stay 5 nights and get that 5th night free using points, I would say that this hotel is really a good value considering the devaluations that have happened recently.

NDDomer86

Thanks for the report. I was recently not charged the resort fee on a paid stay, so it seems that this is something they waive for Diamonds ^

sparksals

We stayed there for a eek a few years ago. really enjoyed it. Only had one problem...the pool manager at the adult pool looked the other way when people thought the rule didn't apply to their kids. I complained and he ignored me. I had to complain at the front desk bc the kids were dive bombing while the parents and pool staff did nothing.

indufan

I am curious what is offered from this property if you choose the spa, golf, or restaurant discounts as the My Way choices and if they apply on award stays.

SoFlaGuy

I was surprised to see that the Boca Beach Club (A Waldorf property on the beach in Boca Raton) and the beachfront part of the old school Boca Hotel (also a Waldorf property, located across Lake Boca Raton on the intracoastal) is opening The Flow House, which has a Flowrider (a surf simulator) as part of their surf school and water sports.

This is a first for any Hiltons (or any hotels that I am aware of) to have this type of activity/facility on property. They are also debuting a new adjacent restaurant Shaka featuring "Burgers, Tacos & Frozen treats."

http://www.bocabeachclub.com/play/surf-boca.html


Opens Thanksgiving weekend and looking forward to taking advantage of this. Unlimited use would be a great Diamond benefit!

SoFlaGuy

Upcoming stay over Thanksgiving including the weekend at the Boca Beach Resort, a W/A hotel. Going to soak up the sun and take advantage of the new Florwrider opening up that weekend. (Flowrider is a simulated surf machine.)

One of the rates offered is a "Florida Resident Rate," which is described as "LIVE LIKE A FLORIDIAN WITH UNLIMITED FLOWRIDER (OPENS NOV 28) FREE PARKING, $25 CREDIT AT SHAKA BAR N GRILL."

On a 4 night stay, so I am wondering if I get one $25 credit, or $25 per night for duration of the stay. Any thoughts? I figure that since I get "free parking" every night, why not the restaurant credit?

TIA for your help.

HansGruber

Let us know how it goes. I'm going to be there in Jan and would like to hear how you like the Flowrider.

SoFlaGuy

As a follow up to this thread, ultimately this became a great visit.

Upon checking in to the Beach Club, I was told that the hotel was very full, that there were no upgrades available, and that I would have a view of the parking garage. Not ideal.

The Front Office Manger, Richard Hess, came over and apologized for the inability to upgrade, and suggested a move to the Boca Raton Resort (also a W/H property) across the water, and was able to not only check us in right then at the Beach Club, but to provide an incredible upgrade for us to a room with a balcony overlooking the water and the ocean.

He also explained that all of the action, including the Flow Rider, was going on at the Resort, and that we might have a better time at that property. We in fact did, so thank you to Richard. Additionally, he offered to make sure we were accommodated with a better room when the Beach Club was not so full. Since Resort guests can take advantage of the other hotel's amenities, and vice versa, we didn't lose out on anything!

As it turns out, the action was at the Resort, and the Flow Rider was awesome. They experienced some "shakedown" challenges but ultimately worked it all out. Guests have the option of paying for an AM session, a PM session, or an all day pass. (There may have been an evening session too.) My sessions were comped as part of my rate.

The team that runs the Beach Club's surf school and watersports also runs the Flow Rider, located next to the pool and adjacent to the Shaka Bar n Grill. Great location. That opening weekend they had a lot of concerts, including Smash Mouth. During the tree lighting, there were more performers, including Kendall Schmidt and even Melissa Etheridge. Cool!^

As they work things out, this will be a great addition to the hotel. Awesome stay, and the kids had a blast. Hardly saw them! Great staff and great treatment. The Resort CEO was also out there all weekend making sure things were running smoothly for guests. Already scheduled another stay before Christmas.

HansGruber

Thanks for the update! We'll be there after the new year. Right now we're booked at the Beach Club.

jzafar

After searching for a while, I booked this hotel for Spring Break arriving on Tuesday, March 31st. 50,000 points per night plus book 4 nights to get 1 free making it 40,000 points per night. Only room available at this rate was the king accessible with roll-in shower (no tub). I don't need this accessible room. Seems like an incredible bargain on points considering it's around Spring Break time and rooms are $1,000+/night?

I received an email that I can commit to an upgrade, if available at check-in, to a one bedroom king accessible suite for $99/night. this is a good deal to me but would I even need to do this if I was going to be upgraded as a Diamond anyway? At this time, there is still room availability. What are the chances they will upgrade us to a suite at no charge? Or would an upgrade from our booked room on points be perhaps same room but a better view?

warreng24

I just checked out of 3 nights at the Boca Beach Club. Stayed over Memorial Day weekend. Redeemed points for a Diamond Standard Room Reward.

Bottom Line Up Front:
Reasonable for the points/price paid. Would look at other properties first and book this one only if I had to. This is mostly due to the lack of Diamond benefits offered at the W/A properties (but I knew that going into this).

What I was looking for:
A Hilton property that was directly beach-side. Not one that was across the street from the beach. I wanted one that was on the beach (ie walk out of the lobby area and your feet is on the sand).

Notes:
We used points for the room, so we were not charged the resort fee. I believe it is around $30 per room per night. The hotel is 100% valet parking. The valet fee is around $30 per night as well. This is the first time I have seen valet parking executed well. They give you a phone number you can text when you want your call brought around. The car was always there by the time I came down to the lobby. Even at 3am.

We did not receive any room upgrade as the hotel was 100% booked due to the holiday. We received a standard room on the main floor overlooking the loading dock and the parking garage. The room is modern in design. It has a small (approximately 30") flat screen TV with a minibar. The bathroom is decent sized with double vanity, large soaking tub, and a large shower with both a rain-style shower head and a hose mounted head.

As previously stated, the beach front aspect is the main reason we booked this hotel. It did not disappoint. The beach is a private stretch that is approximately 1/4 of a mile long. It is shared with a condominium and time share type buildings. Sand was clean. Beach seemed to be cleaned of litter each evening.

There were plenty of beach chairs available. The posted policy is 2 chairs per person. Umbrellas and side tables are available also. There are roving waiters/waitresses that will take your food/drink order. That was a nice touch. Watercoolers containing tap water are provide beach side as well.

3 pools are available. Although 1 pool remained closed throughout our stay. 1 pool is also marked as adults only.

Staff was very very polite. They seemed willing to help. Lots of smiles.

The Boca Beach Club is affiliated with the Boca Beach Resort. The Resort property is about a mile away. There is a complimentary shuttle bus that runs until 2am. There is also a complimentary shuttle boat that runs until about 5.50pm. The boat is cute. It's a neat way to see the water views. However, it is quite busy. Before lunch the shuttles are busy with Resort folks heading to the beach at the Club. After lunch the shuttles are busy with Resort folks heading back to the Resort. The wait times at that time looked to be at least 30 minutes. One thing to note is that your valet parking pass is valid at both locations so you could drive if you wished.

We checked out the resort. Aside from Golf, the simulated surfing, tennis, nicely manicured park-like grounds, the spa, and a single (very crowded pool) there wasn't much there (in my opinion).

The Boca Beach Club was not my first choice. But, it had availability for standard rooms (via points). The other beach-front Hilton properties did not have standard rooms available (via points), only the preferred rooms (that were 100k a night). Cash at the other hotels was over $260 a night. Hence, we settled on the Boca Beach Club. I knew that the Diamond benefits at the W/A would suck (no free breakfast, etc...). As a Diamond we received coupons for 2 bottles of water from the mini bar and 2 free drinks (wine or beer only) at the bar. We also got the Diamond myWay selections (which were useless to me aside for the 1k points).

If they added some benefits for Diamonds at the W/A properties (maybe a free continental breakfast or changed the free drink coupon to include mixed drinks), I would stay again in a heartbeat.