August 20, 2016
Everything about the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort (except that heavenly fragrance) seems to have gone down the pits.
For starters, check-in was brutal. There weren’t enough clerks to handle all the individuals checking in and out. Not only was it a busy weekend, but there were two events in the ballrooms, they should have known better and staffed themselves accordingly. It took about 40 minutes to check-in just to be told that no rooms were available for early check-in. I had two rooms, one was ready within a few hours, but the second wasn’t ready until about 3:50pm, when check-in was guaranteed by 4pm. After my third trip to the check-in counter, I was given two keys that didn’t work. After I went back down to have them reactivated, they gave me an extra key and only one out of the three worked. Luckily, I didn’t need the extras, so I let it go.
Secondly, the pool is way too small and the elevator to the beach is faintishly hot and rundown. It honestly seems like a health hazard waiting to happen. They should really consider upgrading the elevator. Its only a matter of time before it gets stuck and someone suffers from a heat stroke in there. Save yourself a potential lawsuit and upgrade your elevator already.
Thirdly, the wifi isn’t totally free. After a couple of hours using the free wifi, I was prompted to pay for additional usage. Who doesn’t have free wifi these days? In today’s world, this isn’t ok.
The icing on the cake, upon check-out, I had charges for two large water bottles that I hadn’t even touched. Not to mention, no one had even been inside my room to confirm whether they have truly been consumed, so I was charged on an assumption that hopefully I consumed them or that hopefully I wouldn’t notice they charged me for them, since it was a small fee of $12. In addition, the valet was charged to the wrong room after I specifically told the clerk which room to place the charge on. This was consistent with all the negative comments I heard from other frustrated guests in line both during check-in and check-out. Apparently, discrepancies on invoices upon checking out is a common thing for the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort.
For a one night stay, I had several inconveniences. For this, I think you should save yourself the trouble related to this blacklist and head to the W Fort Lauderdale. The W Fort Lauderdale is only slightly more expensive, but service and ambiance are better, so I think it makes it worth the extra money.