bthobe

The hotel is undergoing extensive renovations last time I was there (approx 5-8 weeks ago) They no longer have the golf course as they sold it to build the waterpark. Great place for families with kids. Not sure when renovations will be finished. I would call to verify what is open and what is still under renovation.

Mahalo

Thanks for the feedback as I will give this hotel a try. I did call and most of the renovations are already complete including rooms and the restaurant. There are some renovations still left such as the lounge but the front desk informed me that they hope to have this completed by end of July. My trip is the 3rd week of July. I will post an update after my stay.

FYI - further information on the water park can be found @:

http://www.cocokeywaterresort.com/in...n/waterresort/

Mahalo

Just returned from a 1 night stay at this hotel. I had not stayed in this hotel before the renovations but many of the public spaces have been clearly renovated such as the lobby, lounge (bar), restaurant (trade winds) and hall ways. As a Platinum, I had asked if there was any suites available and there was one but on a smoking floor (thought Starwood went smoke free but I am clearly wrong). It didn't smell too smoky so I accepted the suite. It was a large rectangle of a room with some renovated furniture and what I think was the old furniture. There were 3 leather club chairs, an old sofa bed, a small round dining table (old), a desk (old) but most importantly, a new bed. The tv (zenith) and the dresser were old though and this was disappointing considering I was at a courtyard marriott prior and they had a flat screen LG television. The bathroom was renovated with new tiles and wall paper but for the size of the suite, the bathroom was the usual size as those in the regular room and could have easily been expanded during the renovation.

As a platinum, I was given breakfast vouchers and it was good for the breakfast buffet where there was a vast assortment to choose from. I used the indoor pool but this has definitely not been renovated. The new Waterpark seems to draw quite a number of families with kids and was told that the tickets to the waterpark are quite expensive.

The lobby has free wireless internet as well as free high speed internet where several ports are available in a large circular desk.

If I were in the area again, I wouldn't hesitate to stay here.

NBSPGMEMBER

Since I recommended this place, I'm glad to see you had a fairly good stay. Unfortunately only Westin properties are non-smoking at the moment, hopefully the whole Starwood family will be non-smoking soon...

vindesante

We (parents and two teenagers) had a one night stay using a Travel Zoo promotional rate of $139/night. The rate included four passes to the new indoor Coco Key water park. The water park is extensive and designed to appeal to mostly families with toddlers to pre teens. I am gold with Starwood and initially received verbal recognition at check-in, no upgrade however. I did later ask for late check-out, which I was readily given to 3pm. This was a nice perk since we were entitled to use the water park until 3pm with our included passes. We had a renovated room, mostly cosmetic improvements, the bathroom is tiny. There was no directory in the room, I was told that they were removed because the information was so outdated. I did get a room service menu when I pressed, it had just come in from the printer apparently. Room service was a challenge, the staff working in room service speak English as a second language, which meant that both times we ordered with room service, the orders did not come quite as we had requested and needed to be returned, after much effort to explain what we wanted. The phone in our room had the annoying habit of continuing to ring even when answered, so that talking on the phone was challenging and irritating. If we had not gotten what is clearly a very good deal with the promotional rate, I would have felt for the price, that we had seriously over paid, given the the various service lapses.

NBSPGMEMBER

Update!
Great news, this property will be completely non-smoking starting December 15, 2007.

CTPLAAT

Stayed 3 nights at this hotel in the past week. Would not recommend unless you had to (read - waterpark)

Room service was non-existent, though a room service menu (straight off the printer and stapled together) was in the room. Despite 3 calls to guest services over a period of an hour, they were unable to get room services to answer the phone and take down an order.
A visit to the manager was required before the order was taken and then took 90m to be delivered.

Housekeeping was another hit-or-miss affair, with no-one showing up to clean the room on the first day (and yes, we called many times), though the second day it was done with no drama.

Got one of the renovated rooms - basically, new granite on the bath counters, looked like a new duvet, but the same retarded HVAC, ecccentric plumbing, etc.

This looks like a place with serious workforce issues - though the success of the waterpark is going to mean that there's no reason to change attitudes.

NBSPGMEMBER

Any after renovations feedback for the Ferncroft?

NBSPGMEMBER

Gave this place a second try and stayed here last weekend; this place is now a very nice updated suburban Sheraton. I would recommend it to anyone staying on the North Shore. We arrived early before noon and was given a room right away, exactly to my liking. Top floor (8th) is a SPG floor, but the club lounge is closed for the time being. Anyone looking for suites will not be happy; few suites, but many regular rooms & junior suites. I looked inside the lounge and it looked empty (no furniture), but was messy. SPG room didn't look any different than other rooms other than the free bottle of water. The hotel is newly redone and classy looking, it was very clean everywhere, this property is very nice overall. Everything is now done; guestrooms, hallways, lobby, restaurant, the new Sheraton Link is in the lobby area, and a new Starbucks is opening soon across from it. I love the Sheraton Link, you have free access to desktops and it's wireless if you have your laptop; it's a cool modern area. The Sheraton Link is the best concept from Sheraton in years. I really appreciate it at all Sheraton properties when available. We ate breakfast at the restaurant, it was good and not too expensive, but the staff was overwhelmed. It was understaffed and the place was packed. The lounge/bar is new, nice and cozy, it reminded me of my favorite brand; Westin. If I could point out a few quirks it would be the following; (#1) this place is now a family place, people everywhere in bathing suits, kids are screaming, yelling and running everywhere (it does clash with the classy surroundings). If you want a quiet property this place is no longer for you, since they now have an indoor water park "Coco Key Water Park", this place doesn't feel secluded & restful anymore. (#2) No club lounge at this time (may be coming soon). (#3) Small bathrooms, upgraded & renovated, but still small. (#4) A/C & heat unit under the window is very very noisy (why, oh! why didn't they install central air in this place when it was built? (#5) Old, slow, squeaky elevators, (6#) Some staff don't speak English at all, but they were still nice overall. (7#) This doesn't have anything to do with this particular Sheraton, but I also wish they could put a small fridge in club level rooms at all Sheraton properties.

CaptainG

Just read some details on the waterpark.

65,000 square foot, $30 Million cost with Key West theme
Within the park are four water slides, an activity pool, a dip-in theatre, an indoor adventure river, an indoor-outdoor spa, a wave pool, a snack bar and a lounge.

PDX1K

My family and I stayed at this property one night last August and had a horrible experience. As a Plat we were put in a small room on the the club level floor. I peeked into what had been the lounge and it appeared that it was going to be reopened in the future. The real problems started when we called housekeeping for simple assistance. We just needed two extra blankets and 1 towel(4 of us, 3 towels in room). After waiting an hour a person who spoke absolutely no english brought up two sheets. After much sign language and pointing we thought she understood what we needed but she never came back. Long story short it took 4 hours and two trip to the front desk manager to finally get what we needed. The only bright spot of the whole stay was that we were given complimentary breakfast which was quite good although there was a long wait to get seated. Hotel was packed with screaming kids everywhere.

PDX1K

NBSPGMEMBER

William can you please confirm some information regarding this property as of today; February 25th, 2009. Is the club lounge open on weekends? Some SPG agents said yes and some said no. Thank you!

Starwood Lurker

The information I have available at my fingertips, which is the same as anyone on the phone would have access to, says the following:

Hours of operation:
Monday through Friday morning 6:30 - 9:30
Monday through Thursday evening 17:00 - 22:00

I take that to mean that the club level lounge is closed after 9:30 on Friday morning and does not re-open again until Monday morning at 6:30. YMMV.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

NBSPGMEMBER

Great, now I know. It is so nice to get a straight answer, why is it that no one can get it through like you do?
Thanks!

BVsmurfette

Just stayed at the Ferncroft this weekend. I was supposed to be in a club room, but got upgraded to a suite (and given coupons for breakfast, etc at the restaurant downstairs)... so i never did see the club lounge. BUT - at checkout, I overheard one of the front desk managers telling someone that the club lounge does NOT serve apps/drinks anymore - "due to the economy" they had to cut back. apparently. And instead, she said, they are giving their gold & plat SPG members the free coupons (like the ones I received)