jb3t

Here right now and will edit for a full report. But while its fresh on my mind...

CHECK IN - Took a little while as the FDAs chat up a storm with the guests. People at the front desk were very nice.

ROOM was upgraded to an executive suite on 8th floor in the south tower. Solid 1BR suite with full ocean view. Very comfy, clean, and well appointed. A nice room for sure.

PARKING - There are other parking options besides the $34 valet, which appears to be the going rate at the higher-end hotels around here. Anyway, while I was driving up, I saw a sign that said $10 parking at the hotel to the south of the Westin. I walked in and asked how much it would cost to park overnight. They said that they do not allow that. I then drove around the corner (1 block south of the westin) and there was a sign that said $15 parking in an empty lot. I got out of the car and asked the guy if I could do in-and-out parking overnight and he said YES. So, I am in that lot @ $15/day vs $34 plus probably $15 in tips. If you want to walk a few blocks, there is free, on-street parking directly behind the hotel and north a block. Not a far walk but I'm OK with the $15.

FACIlITIES - I thought the facilities were good. Work-out center was good and the pool was also good. The pool folks were also very friendly. We would go between the pool and the beach all day. The pool is not the most elaborate setup but it worked. What's interesting is that the pool felt cooler than the ocean. I wonder if they cool the water a bit, which is a good thing.

RESORT FEE - $25 but not sure what you get for it. As we were paying on points, I did not complain.

MISC - I've never been here before but enjoyed it. A few tidbits..
- Ate at Casablanca (next door) and Coconuts. Both were very good.
- Breakfast amenity was $30 but the buffet was about $21. However, plenty of good options for breaks ask for two.
- My executive suite was well appointed and comfy.
- I thought the area was nice. Quiet but close the action.

OVERALL, hotel is nice. Hot as @&$! here in August. I would stay here again.

travellingcari

The new resort fee is irritating here as the bulk of it is exactly what used to come for free.

Amenities include:

Complimentary High Speed Internet Access
Cold bottle of water in Guest Room
Complimentary morning newspapers by request
Pool and beach towel usage
Access to WestinWORKOUT® Fitness Studio
Local and domestic long distance telephone calls
Heavenly Spa by Westin™ discounts
Twice weekly RunWESTIN™ events
Weekly sunrise yoga

I don't care about sunrise yoga or RunWESTIN events and towels/fitness center used to be free. Internet now is when booked direct and is an SPG AMEX benefit. On the plus side, more 8K redemption nights. I had it waived my last stay and likely will again as a regular guest, but it's irritating as, at 31.80 is high for what you get. I wish I didn't love this property/area so much.

abk

Just looked at this hotel for a 10k free night award. For all of January, February , March and April there are only three nights available in March . I always thought 10k was cheap for this hotel but they are clearly looking to raise their redemption rates prior to the annual change. IMHO by allowing properties to limit the socalled basic rooms available for redemption SPG is, in an intellectually dishonest way, devaluing the program. As in: sure you can redeem for any basic room in the house but unfortunately we only now have two basic rooms with a view of the hvac and they are both booked ; however for additional points you can have any of our 450 upgraded rooms.

KENNECTED

Did you call the property or your elite line for help? I mean you're speculating about things with no concrete proof.

abk

As for proof, the calendar on SPG.com show no available rooms in January, February and April with three nights in March available. May is completely open. Those are facts.

Edited to add that there is not a single day in January that the lowest rate is not available however there is still not a 10k room available

travellingcari

Call them, they'll find a room. I had this same issues with two stays earlier this year and a phone call fixed it. Why they can't fix the issue with loading inventory is another story, but I don't think it's malice

buckeyefanflyer

I was there a few weeks ago, noticed Shula's closed and replaced by American Vintage. Very disappointed, I always like Shula's. I wrote them and said the hotel was sold and booted them out. They are looking for another Fort Lauderdale location.

travellingcari

The hotel was sold about a year ago, but I think it's a bigger thing. Shula's is also out of the Westin in Times Square as of late summer/early fall. I won't miss Shula's prices.

Also for anyone planning a late Nov/early Dec stay, there are some ridiculous rates about. I just got a premium lanai room for less than what I'd regularly pay for the partial ocean or intracoastal rooms. Also, some open avl on Westin WOrkouts.

travellingcari

Those then new cabanas? Gone
Their fun seasonal seaside decorations? Gone
Concierge deck? Gone

Haven't been to the new restaurant that replaced Shula's, but Waves had an upgraded menu which is nice. They've redone the pool chairs wit cup holders (what the resort fee pays for?) but no longer have chair covers. Seems to be more lobby seating.

One oddity. I asked about the typically free bottle of water in room and was told since I chose drink as my gold amenity I could get one at bar. That's just weird and I'm talking to spg on Twitter about it since property abandoned their Twitter earlier this year.

Not bad. Just odd

travellingcari

So as I said one night into my stay, lots of changes. Some more detailed thoughts now that I'm not typing with my thumbs:

-I really hate the resort fee. I get why they do it, and it was disclosed ahead of time but it's useless because this is what it covers:

*Complimentary High Speed Internet Access - WHOPPEE, I'm gold and book direct so this is a given.
*Cold bottle of water in Guest Room - AS I noted above, I actually had to argue for this. I eventually got it and found two more later in the stay. But really for some fraction of $30/day I could have bought my own. Also, there has been complimentary water in the room in almost every stay even when I wasn't Gold.
*Complimentary morning newspapers by request - USA Today isn't a newspaper and I have my tablet. These used to be free.
*Pool and beach towel usage - USED to be free and a red herring as the city still charges you for beach use
*Access to WestinWORKOUT® Fitness Studio - used to be free.
*Local and domestic long distance telephone calls - value for int'ls maybe?
*Heavenly Spa by Westin™ discounts - if you pay for a discount, it isn't a discount
*Twice weekly RunWESTIN™ events
* Weekly sunrise yoga

The latter two may be of some value. But overall there really isn't $30 value. That said, it's moot because it appears every hotel on the beach (I didn't check all but I did check the W, both Marriots, the B, Hyatt and Hilton and each had a similar fee. One of the staff said all resorts now have it so I guess we'll see.

Speaking of the Pool. The rentable cabanas on the north end of the deck are gone as is all the former pool staff. The new chairs are nice in that they have cup holders. The tables have two levels-bottom one is useful to stash bags if you're near the pool edge. They no longer have the covers and supposedly there's an additional charge for more than one towel per person, but that conversation ended when I asked wasn't that what the resort fee paid for?

-SERVICE
That's honestly what keeps me coming back here despite the transitions. The front desk is amazing as is their social media team. They've recently added on the ability to text the front desk if you need anything which I love. I'm a young mid 30s in that I'd much rather text than have to call Service Express. It's just easier.

-ROOM
1218. Similarly siberic to the last stay (see two posts up), but this time I liked it because it was quiet. "Partial" ocean view but pretty much a gorgeous south facing view down the beach. It didn't have the typical (to this property) of the bathroom with a window into the room, which I missed. It did have the nice chaise near the door which I always love.

-FOOD
I really miss the sushi place. It was a nice light dinner option and sushi in general is somewhat lacking along the beach. Waves' menu has improved and they said they're continuing to add to it. But they close at dusk so if you want dinner and don't want to walk to Beach Place, it's American Vintage. Their full menu is about as pricey as Shula's was, but they enhanced the appetizer menu. The caesar salad with salmon is good, but the desserts are too small to be worth it in my personal opinion. One issue here that I raised with the desk - bar staff at AV wouldn't take my Gold amenity drink coupon without a food purchase. Not really an issue as I redeemed at Waves, but still.

I think it will be interesting to see what becomes of this property. The rates were down over what I've paid before. While it's ot exactly what it was, it's still a good location for whyI come to FLL: to do nothing.

artccc

How is the Platinium Guest treatment and recognition in FLL Westin Beach Resort now? What can we expect there? Any recent expierience?

Eastbay1K

Same question here (as yours has never been answered).
What is the "Platinum substitute" due to resort fee?
Do they regularly give 4pm checkout without issue?

travellingcari

4pm is hit or miss when I've been there both under my own name (Gold) or with a Plat. It really depends on the mood of the front desk, who lately are better trained.

writerguyfl

I was walking past the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort and noticed that the ground floor restaurant is gone. The place is gutted down to the studs. The main entrance and porte-cochere is also surrounded by construction walls.

Once home, I went to the Starwood website to see if they had information on what was coming. I was surprised to see that there is no disclosure of this major construction on the hotel web page.

Caveat emptor.

travellingcari

Headed down again in December. There was construction at the entrance when I went earlier this summer and rumblings about the restaurant, but nothing confirmed. Not surprised as while Shula's was overpriced, it was good. This wasn't. Wonder what is to come