W Fort Lauderdale [Master Thread]
Dec 3, 2012, 5:29 pm
#166
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My wife and I are booked in a 2 bed flat for 9 nights over NYE I am really looking forward to the stay and can relax knowing I won't have upgrade hassles I do however want a high floor room.
Dec 4, 2012, 6:56 am
#167
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I'm at this property currently and am totally unimpressed. Likely the worst W I have ever stayed at. Too many problems to go into all the detail, but a quick selection of the difficulties include:
* No upgraded room for an SPG LT Platinum guest
* Room WIFI goes in and out.
* Hopeless valets at the motor lobby. Lots of
guys running around but no-one knows
what they are doing. Who's in charge there?
* Poor dining options in-hotel. Nothing casual.
* Had to call multiple times for things to be fixed
in my room.
* Towels fraying at the edges. No facecloths left today.
* I guess there is no turndown service here. My third
night and no turndown provided. (Correction. She just
arrived to do a turn down. Apparently they do have
it here).
I could go on and on and on. Given the breadth of the problems here, there must be a serious senior management issue at this hotel for so many things to be going wrong. Not worth complaining to hotel management when the problem seems to be at the top.
I've been at the W South Beach 6 times this year already. Whilst I don't love the South Beach property, the W FTL make the W SB seem like the best hotel around.
* No upgraded room for an SPG LT Platinum guest
* Room WIFI goes in and out.
* Hopeless valets at the motor lobby. Lots of
guys running around but no-one knows
what they are doing. Who's in charge there?
* Poor dining options in-hotel. Nothing casual.
* Had to call multiple times for things to be fixed
in my room.
* Towels fraying at the edges. No facecloths left today.
* I guess there is no turndown service here. My third
night and no turndown provided. (Correction. She just
arrived to do a turn down. Apparently they do have
it here).
I could go on and on and on. Given the breadth of the problems here, there must be a serious senior management issue at this hotel for so many things to be going wrong. Not worth complaining to hotel management when the problem seems to be at the top.
I've been at the W South Beach 6 times this year already. Whilst I don't love the South Beach property, the W FTL make the W SB seem like the best hotel around.
As far as restaurants, there are a number of casual restaurants within walking distance.
I hope you reported your issues to management while on property.
Dec 4, 2012, 6:58 am
#168
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Dec 4, 2012, 9:33 am
#169
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
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I will be in South Florida next week and will be staying at the W Miami Beach. I stayed at the St. Regis Bal Harbour a number of weeks ago and I enjoyed that. If I needed to go back to Fort Lauderdale beach, I would stay at the Westin. I won't be returning to the W Ft. Lauderdale until I hear they have cleaned house with the staff......including the General Manager.
Dec 4, 2012, 12:04 pm
#170
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 930
Actually I was asking that in case I was offered an upgrade. But my main question is which of the two to actually book
Dec 4, 2012, 12:24 pm
#171
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There appear to be different types of condos even within the 1 bed and 2 bed categories. Do normal conventions apply with Fabulous, Fantastic, Mega and Marvellous being on progressively higher floors?
Dec 4, 2012, 1:04 pm
#172
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I did not report the issues to management....and for good reason. The problems with the property were so vast and omnipresent that I concluded the core problem was with management itself. Hence there seemed no point in even communicating with management since I believe they are the source of the property's problems. Perhaps I should have communicated with Starwood corporate, but I didn't.
I will be in South Florida next week and will be staying at the W Miami Beach. I stayed at the St. Regis Bal Harbour a number of weeks ago and I enjoyed that. If I needed to go back to Fort Lauderdale beach, I would stay at the Westin. I won't be returning to the W Ft. Lauderdale until I hear they have cleaned house with the staff......including the General Manager.
I will be in South Florida next week and will be staying at the W Miami Beach. I stayed at the St. Regis Bal Harbour a number of weeks ago and I enjoyed that. If I needed to go back to Fort Lauderdale beach, I would stay at the Westin. I won't be returning to the W Ft. Lauderdale until I hear they have cleaned house with the staff......including the General Manager.
Do you mind sharing why you believe this is a management issue?
I've been to this property several times and trust, if I reported it to be bad, I believe, based on my trip reports track record, people would question the service at this property. How many times have you stayed here?
Dec 4, 2012, 1:07 pm
#173
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I highly doubt if you book a certain suite, you'll be upgraded further than that. I say go fantastic, the rooms face the front and south of the property.
Dec 4, 2012, 4:35 pm
#174
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Dec 4, 2012, 4:39 pm
#175
Join Date: Dec 2010
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My opinion is that this is a lousy property. I provided detailed information why I believed that to be the case and yes, I believe management is at the root of the problem because the problems are so pervasive.
I'll be in South Florida next week and I am very happy I'm staying at the W South Beach and even happier I won't be at the W Ft. Lauderdale.
I'm not questioning your credibility and I don't appreciate you questioning mine in your last post.
Dec 4, 2012, 5:08 pm
#176
Join Date: Apr 2011
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I will back up those critical of the W Fort Lauderdale. A "culture of arrogance" is rampant among the staff. I could go on and on about problems with this hotel.
Guest beware!
Worldspan
Guest beware!
Worldspan
Dec 4, 2012, 7:47 pm
#177
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Cincinnnati, OH USA
Posts: 44
Thanksgiving
Was here over thanksgiving. Used my suite certs to upgrade to a spectualer suite.
Three rooms, General dining room (6 chairs), couch, tv
Kitchen (very cool looking)
Bedroom with Jacuzzi.
Over all I like the hotel
It is very much a W hotel.
Couple of small issues. In my suite the Wifi was not good. and was unusable in the Bedroom
It took a long time to clear room service trays in the hallways (like two days)
The shower is not priviate (not a big deal for me but some people might not like it)
The food and beverage cost is about what you exepct.
I had no issue with the valet, just called when walking out and the car was there.
Bed was comfy
eat at the steak 954 for breakfest, very nice but overpriced IMO
Eat at the pool, good. Overpriced IMO
Easy to walk to other places to eat.
The beach in front is nice
the pool is very nice and was not crowded (but this was the off season)
My hotel rate was cheap (sub 200) and for that I would stay there again.
Three rooms, General dining room (6 chairs), couch, tv
Kitchen (very cool looking)
Bedroom with Jacuzzi.
Over all I like the hotel
It is very much a W hotel.
Couple of small issues. In my suite the Wifi was not good. and was unusable in the Bedroom
It took a long time to clear room service trays in the hallways (like two days)
The shower is not priviate (not a big deal for me but some people might not like it)
The food and beverage cost is about what you exepct.
I had no issue with the valet, just called when walking out and the car was there.
Bed was comfy
eat at the steak 954 for breakfest, very nice but overpriced IMO
Eat at the pool, good. Overpriced IMO
Easy to walk to other places to eat.
The beach in front is nice
the pool is very nice and was not crowded (but this was the off season)
My hotel rate was cheap (sub 200) and for that I would stay there again.
Dec 4, 2012, 11:14 pm
#178
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FWIW, always found valet to be pretty decent if you call down 5-10 mins before you need the car. If anything, it's sometimes slow at night due to the hotel, 954 and bar guests all arriving.
Dec 5, 2012, 11:32 am
#179
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Huh? I'm not helping? How so? Because my assessment of this property is different than yours?
My opinion is that this is a lousy property. I provided detailed information why I believed that to be the case and yes, I believe management is at the root of the problem because the problems are so pervasive.
I'll be in South Florida next week and I am very happy I'm staying at the W South Beach and even happier I won't be at the W Ft. Lauderdale.
I'm not questioning your credibility and I don't appreciate you questioning mine in your last post.
My opinion is that this is a lousy property. I provided detailed information why I believed that to be the case and yes, I believe management is at the root of the problem because the problems are so pervasive.
I'll be in South Florida next week and I am very happy I'm staying at the W South Beach and even happier I won't be at the W Ft. Lauderdale.
I'm not questioning your credibility and I don't appreciate you questioning mine in your last post.
I asked you how many times you've stayed at the property? You didn't answer. If you've only had one stay and you've had issues, maybe its was just a bad experience with that property. I myself had one bad stay and refuse to stay at the property again, [see the W Chicago Lakeshore master thread] so I understand your point. Everyone experience varies and my questions are not to question our different views of the property but to better understand. When I don't understand something I ask for clarity so I don't assume.
What I'm trying to understand is why you wouldn't speak to management? Again, did you have just this one stay or have you had several stays and have bad experiences each time? If you only had one stay and didn't speak to management about your issues, I'm a firm believer that things wont change because management is not aware or assumes things are fine, when in reality guest have a different assessment of their property. If you've had multiple stays and reoccurring issues, then I totally agree with you not spending your money at this property.
Dec 5, 2012, 12:34 pm
#180
Join Date: Dec 2010
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Whooooooooooooa. Hold it! I'm only asking questions to better understand your point of view. Nothing more. In no form was I questioning your credibility. So please don't make it more. If you - or anyone else - thinks that is the case and has misunderstood my previous post, please point out my offense so I can present it in a more concise and simple format.
You have forgotten that we have had an exchange on this same property in another thread. You seem to take issue with anyone that does not love the W Ft. Lauderdale. I don't know why that is, but I suggest you just let it go. I do not appreciate the third degree from you on yet another thread regarding the W Ft. Lauderdale when you stated on the previous thread: 'we'll just have to agree to disagree'. I suggest we leave it at that.
Have a nice day!
The thread in question is:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...auderdale.html