We stayed at the W August 9th-14th 2023. We are frequent visitors of this property (5-7 times a year over a 6-7 year span). The location of this property is perfect. The onsite property restaurants and pools are wonderful. The rooms are nice and the views are amazing. That’s not why we are loyal to this property though, it is the employees that make this hotel great. . I can honestly say I’ve never met an employee that was not GENUINELY interested in doing everything they can to make your stay enjoyable. From the ambassadors who greet you and help with luggage/checking in, the bartenders and servers, and maintenance. Michael is one of the Ambassadors who first greets you and he will put you at ease with his professionalism and kindness. Raul, at the check in desk, is a game changer when it comes to caring for any request you may have. Luis at the pool is one of the hardest workers who constantly attends to everyone’s need. There are many more who go out of their way to make sure you can have the best experience. We have gotten to know many of the staff and they are truly what makes this property great! I will have to write another review after our next stay to give a shout out to all the servers at the pool. They give a wonderful vibe to the place and set the tone for a great day at the pool. Try the poolside cheeseburger and fries, you won’t be disappointed!
385biankar
We were staying at the W for a conference and stayed at their lobby bar every night. One of the greatest bars in Fort Lauderdale! Make sure you ask for Patrick, he’s very knowledgeable and entertaining.
kerrylL9479FA
The front desk staff were lovely. We had to change rooms because the room was damp and musty and the smell was overpowering. The second room had the same issues except with cleaning product/perfume overlap, which was worse. The grout in the bathroom and shower were in need of cleaning. Overall, the rooms did not meet expectations especially for a hotel at this price point.
Doctormom0705
I’ll start off by saying that I travel a fair amount for work and leisure and stay in a variety of accommodations. The W Fort Lauderdale exceeded just about every single one of our expectations. Baseline: We were here with a large group for a conference (rock guitar camp). Location was great. The amenities were top-notch and our buffet style food was noteworthy each and every meal for several days in a row. Where this particular hotel exceeded any other I have ever been a customer in before was customer service. Hands-down. Particular shout outs include Patrick and Fabio at the living room bar, JJ, Drew, Ed, Marco, and Kevaughn at the pool. Each one was personable, friendly, helpful, and knew their craft. Within a day I felt, and was treated like, a VIP regular. And I mean that in the best ways. Every single staff we encountered, whether in direct interaction or passing in a hallway, was courteous and genuinely cheerful. Even when they might not have been. There was an elevator issue causing some delays while we were here and staff were unfazed and gracious, despite pushback from a few hotel guests. Staff also needed to navigate the management of two separate and very different events simultaneously (rock guitar camp and drag brunch) and did so seamlessly, confidently, and cheerfully. In fact, I wanted to attend the drag brunch, which was a Sold Out event. While the Director of Marketing handling the event was unable to find a way to get me into the event, he generously offered admission to a future event, which he did not have to do. I thought that gesture to be professional and savvy customer service representative of a top notch and well-run hotel. TLDR: I’d stay here again and again based on amenities alone. The professionalism and dedication and amazing customer service of every single staff here? Has made me a soon to be repeat customer, a regular, and a big fan of W hotels, and this hotel in Fort Lauderdale particularly.
AugustoM337
This W hotel in Fort Lauderdale is one of the worst service experiences of my life in 14 years as a BONVOY member, 7 of which were at Platinum level. In fact, I had a reservation for 15 nights and decided to leave after just 8 days. I couldn't bear it any longer. It's a hotel for partying or extreme relaxation, not suitable for business or long stays. The building is very nice, with excellent ocean views and a highly valued location. However, the guest service is dreadful. Some of the deficiencies are as follows: 1. Long waits to access the elevators that lead to the rooms. There are very few elevators, and it takes a lot of time. 2. Long waits for the Valet Parking to deliver the car. They require at least 15 minutes in advance. 3. The Valet Parking price is $49 per day, which is excessively high. The service providers are rude and shout at the guests because they are overwhelmed. 4. FIRE ALARM goes off every day, which end up being false alarms. As a result, nobody takes them seriously. It's very annoying when they are activated during rest hours. 5. They do not deliver AMAZON packages. I made 5 orders, and only 2 arrived, which I had to claim at the Front Desk. The rest they couldn't find. 6. They do not have a VIP Lounge for BONVOY PLATINUM members. 7. They do not offer Free Breakfast for BONVOY PLATINUM members. They only offer a discounted price. 8. The MINIBAR was not restocked during the 8 days. I requested it to be done, but they didn't fulfill the request. 9. Housekeeping finishes the room around 5 pm on weekends. 10. I requested a scale in the room, and it took them 4 days to bring it. I had to complain about it more than 6 times. And the worst …. They made a mistake in my invoice … i call 5 times asking for a correction and they said that Finance dont let them make changes. I finally lost 300 dollars and one night credit in my Bonvoy
543allegrav
Our king room was amazing as always. Happy to be a Marriott Bonvoy member! It was my birthday and my fiancé’s and my anniversary and the champagne and balloons that they sent when we checked in with a note from Tania at the concierge desk was so thoughtful. The service at the Lobby Bar is amazing. We always look forward to seeing Fabio, Patrick and Haley there. They always provide the best hospitality, friendly, fast and welcoming. Ed at the pool bar is always wonderful as well. Looking forward to returning in October.
Rowins N
Dominick the beach attendant was so respectful, nice, and took care of all my needs I would definitely come back again. I've never had an experience this awesome before, so l'll definitely give this a 10 out of 10 experience. The pool deck was cool as well.
BillyBoyTop
I had just been to two W hotels in Europe where the vibe was modern and the service was luxury/5 star which is what you expect at a W and what they advertise. This place is kind of worn out annd depressing. Our accommodation which was a two- bedroom suite was subpar. Ours was actually a condo repurposed as a hotel room with NO updating. It looked like someone moved out and left behind a few pieces of furniture. The furniture was minimal and the sofa was dirty. Not one picture on the walls. The handles on the sliding doors were filthy and the furniture on the balcony was rusted (and dirty). Bedrooms were nice and the maids were great! That being said the servers at the pool and the guys at the beach were lovely and tried to accommodate you as busy as they were. The valet was on it as well. The front desk did not do what it promised to expedite our room and call us immediately when ready. So we waited for hours to get into the room, because no one called. The luggage only arrived after 2 calls and going back down to the desk. When we got the luggage, it included 2 bags that weren’t ours. Currently this W should not be considered luxury. I’d avoid it. There are plenty of hotels across from the beach.
Barbara S
This was once a beautiful resort, but you can see that there is very little maintenance in the building. 23 floors and one elevator was working. Many little things show that they do not value caring for the property. The staff was warm and friendly, and working under duress because of the situation. Unfortunately, the price of the room plus the parking fee and the resort fee made it $600 a night and in its heyday I’m sure it was worth it but certainly not now.
Ambassador725878
I’ve stayed here for years. Genuinely so upset all the rooms are showing sign of decay. This place was the bees knees - the staff I can tell is frustrated - how much can you do to “fix” something that needs to be replaced. The hotel needs a major overhaul but it deserves it, it was and has everything to be a great hotel. Our master room flooded at 11:30pm EST and by the grace of God my husband caught it and was able to shut off the washing machine, they have one elevator working for the building we are in. I don’t blame the staff I blame ownership I’ve been in the commercial real estate game forever and you have to take care of an asset for it to stay on point. The staff has genuinely tried their best tonight. But I think in the future we will be staying elsewhere.
Fishy tasting shrimp, watered down cocktails, dirty sofas, and savorless flatbread. Would not recommend the food however the rooftop is great for lounging and the view of the beach at least keeps the rating from plummeting down to 1 star.
Rick Guinazzo
There was a decent selection of liquers and seating both in and outside. The bar tender Patrick was great.
Bob D.
Comfy upscale lounge in a library setting. Drinks great and unique, wait staff excellent. Not a typical NOLA bar.
V833PH
The food and beverage team at WET and Living Room (Jordan, Patrick, Ramazan, Anthony, Andrew, Ed and Fabio) were phenomenal. They went above and beyond to take care of me and make me feel like a friend instead of just another customer. I got stuck in Fort Lauderdale because of the flooding and they made what could have been a bummer time a lot of fun. Overall, the rooms and hotel are nice. Water pressure and heat in the showers is a gamble each time. I had my AC set at 80 and the room probably never got above 60. Housekeeping was fairly inconsistent. The front desk was overall good but again inconsistent in quality. The amenities are a bit over crowded, finding space in the gym or a chair at the pool/beach is difficult. The elevators are pretty slow.
FormerNYTHotelCritic
Mediocrity. You can practically bathe in it here. We came down for a week’s stay, hoping for some relaxation. But the little things just kept getting in the way. We called the hotel in advance and asked them to put a cake in the room for my youngest’s birthday. When we arrived, there was no cake. So we told the concierge about it, but nothing happened. Then at 10 pm, after the kids were already fast asleep, the phone rang— would we like the cake now? You’ve got to be kidding. The next morning, we went to the main pool. You have to go early in the morning, since the deck chairs fill up fast, even on weekdays – and to top it off, they sell day passes to people who aren’t staying at the hotel. But the water was cold. Apparently the heater was broken. So we went to the secondary pool. That one was warm, and the hot tub was warmer… but there were no bubbles. A technician came by to take a look but didn’t seem inclined to fix anything. A day later, the hot tub – still devoid of bubbles – was colder than the pool. And as we soon found out, the secondary pool’s bar was completely unstaffed for most of the week. I called the front desk using my own phone to order drinks, because there wasn’t even a phone for service at the pool. I was told that they would send someone over from the other pool to take a drink order. But no one came. So after a little while, I called again. The same person told me that there was a new procedure and he would have to take the order himself. Sure enough, the drinks eventually arrived. But one of them was made with scotch instead of rum. At this point it felt like they were screwing with us just for fun. So it shouldn’t have surprised me that the clock in the gym was permanently showing a few minutes before nine, or that the screen on the machine I was using was a mess of unruly pixels. At least I could fix the latter – I bent down and found a loose coaxial cable. But does anyone even check this stuff? In the meantime, the kids had embarked on the hotel’s scavenger hunt, looking for turtles painted on the walls of the hotel. They started by the secondary pool, but couldn’t find anything. So we looked and looked, and finally asked a member of the hotel staff who happened to be passing through. She said the wall had been painted over, so the kids were on a wild goose chase. The same was apparently true at another location listed on the scavenger hunt. It’s the kind of stuff that makes you tear your hair out as a parent. All of these things had happened before the third night. And that’s not even mentioning the weird smell of onions constantly coming through the air conditioning vent, the sofabed so uncomfortable we had to buy a mattress topper at Target, or the regular five-minute waits just to be packed into an elevator with a dozen sweaty beachgoers. I could go on, but honestly I’m getting tired of reliving this stuff through my typing. The one thing this hotel still has going for it is its physical structure. You can get a balcony with a full view of the water attached to a spacious room. But the rooms themselves are in a regrettable state. The indoor furniture is stained, the outdoor furniture has holes in it (as do the linens), the ceiling is moldy, switches are broken, lightbulbs need replacing, and there even seemed to be blood splattered on the back of the bathroom door. (I forgot to bring my CSI kit, so I couldn’t say for sure.) The hallways aren’t much better, with the tired old carpet graying and matted in spots that are supposed to be something approaching white. The housekeeping and valet teams are unfailingly friendly and helpful. But they alone can’t save a hotel that’s long past its sell-by date. This place needs a major redo, with the addition of a few more key staff as well. Change can’t come soon enough. In the meantime, sink into that cold, bubble-less hot tub… and feel the mediocrity.
We stayed at the W August 9th-14th 2023. We are frequent visitors of this property (5-7 times a year over a 6-7 year span). The location of this property is perfect. The onsite property restaurants and pools are wonderful. The rooms are nice and the views are amazing. That’s not why we are loyal to this property though, it is the employees that make this hotel great. . I can honestly say I’ve never met an employee that was not GENUINELY interested in doing everything they can to make your stay enjoyable. From the ambassadors who greet you and help with luggage/checking in, the bartenders and servers, and maintenance. Michael is one of the Ambassadors who first greets you and he will put you at ease with his professionalism and kindness. Raul, at the check in desk, is a game changer when it comes to caring for any request you may have. Luis at the pool is one of the hardest workers who constantly attends to everyone’s need. There are many more who go out of their way to make sure you can have the best experience. We have gotten to know many of the staff and they are truly what makes this property great! I will have to write another review after our next stay to give a shout out to all the servers at the pool. They give a wonderful vibe to the place and set the tone for a great day at the pool. Try the poolside cheeseburger and fries, you won’t be disappointed!
We were staying at the W for a conference and stayed at their lobby bar every night. One of the greatest bars in Fort Lauderdale! Make sure you ask for Patrick, he’s very knowledgeable and entertaining.
The front desk staff were lovely. We had to change rooms because the room was damp and musty and the smell was overpowering. The second room had the same issues except with cleaning product/perfume overlap, which was worse. The grout in the bathroom and shower were in need of cleaning. Overall, the rooms did not meet expectations especially for a hotel at this price point.
I’ll start off by saying that I travel a fair amount for work and leisure and stay in a variety of accommodations. The W Fort Lauderdale exceeded just about every single one of our expectations. Baseline: We were here with a large group for a conference (rock guitar camp). Location was great. The amenities were top-notch and our buffet style food was noteworthy each and every meal for several days in a row. Where this particular hotel exceeded any other I have ever been a customer in before was customer service. Hands-down. Particular shout outs include Patrick and Fabio at the living room bar, JJ, Drew, Ed, Marco, and Kevaughn at the pool. Each one was personable, friendly, helpful, and knew their craft. Within a day I felt, and was treated like, a VIP regular. And I mean that in the best ways. Every single staff we encountered, whether in direct interaction or passing in a hallway, was courteous and genuinely cheerful. Even when they might not have been. There was an elevator issue causing some delays while we were here and staff were unfazed and gracious, despite pushback from a few hotel guests. Staff also needed to navigate the management of two separate and very different events simultaneously (rock guitar camp and drag brunch) and did so seamlessly, confidently, and cheerfully. In fact, I wanted to attend the drag brunch, which was a Sold Out event. While the Director of Marketing handling the event was unable to find a way to get me into the event, he generously offered admission to a future event, which he did not have to do. I thought that gesture to be professional and savvy customer service representative of a top notch and well-run hotel. TLDR: I’d stay here again and again based on amenities alone. The professionalism and dedication and amazing customer service of every single staff here? Has made me a soon to be repeat customer, a regular, and a big fan of W hotels, and this hotel in Fort Lauderdale particularly.
This W hotel in Fort Lauderdale is one of the worst service experiences of my life in 14 years as a BONVOY member, 7 of which were at Platinum level. In fact, I had a reservation for 15 nights and decided to leave after just 8 days. I couldn't bear it any longer. It's a hotel for partying or extreme relaxation, not suitable for business or long stays. The building is very nice, with excellent ocean views and a highly valued location. However, the guest service is dreadful. Some of the deficiencies are as follows: 1. Long waits to access the elevators that lead to the rooms. There are very few elevators, and it takes a lot of time. 2. Long waits for the Valet Parking to deliver the car. They require at least 15 minutes in advance. 3. The Valet Parking price is $49 per day, which is excessively high. The service providers are rude and shout at the guests because they are overwhelmed. 4. FIRE ALARM goes off every day, which end up being false alarms. As a result, nobody takes them seriously. It's very annoying when they are activated during rest hours. 5. They do not deliver AMAZON packages. I made 5 orders, and only 2 arrived, which I had to claim at the Front Desk. The rest they couldn't find. 6. They do not have a VIP Lounge for BONVOY PLATINUM members. 7. They do not offer Free Breakfast for BONVOY PLATINUM members. They only offer a discounted price. 8. The MINIBAR was not restocked during the 8 days. I requested it to be done, but they didn't fulfill the request. 9. Housekeeping finishes the room around 5 pm on weekends. 10. I requested a scale in the room, and it took them 4 days to bring it. I had to complain about it more than 6 times. And the worst …. They made a mistake in my invoice … i call 5 times asking for a correction and they said that Finance dont let them make changes. I finally lost 300 dollars and one night credit in my Bonvoy
Our king room was amazing as always. Happy to be a Marriott Bonvoy member! It was my birthday and my fiancé’s and my anniversary and the champagne and balloons that they sent when we checked in with a note from Tania at the concierge desk was so thoughtful. The service at the Lobby Bar is amazing. We always look forward to seeing Fabio, Patrick and Haley there. They always provide the best hospitality, friendly, fast and welcoming. Ed at the pool bar is always wonderful as well. Looking forward to returning in October.
Dominick the beach attendant was so respectful, nice, and took care of all my needs I would definitely come back again. I've never had an experience this awesome before, so l'll definitely give this a 10 out of 10 experience. The pool deck was cool as well.
I had just been to two W hotels in Europe where the vibe was modern and the service was luxury/5 star which is what you expect at a W and what they advertise. This place is kind of worn out annd depressing. Our accommodation which was a two- bedroom suite was subpar. Ours was actually a condo repurposed as a hotel room with NO updating. It looked like someone moved out and left behind a few pieces of furniture. The furniture was minimal and the sofa was dirty. Not one picture on the walls. The handles on the sliding doors were filthy and the furniture on the balcony was rusted (and dirty). Bedrooms were nice and the maids were great! That being said the servers at the pool and the guys at the beach were lovely and tried to accommodate you as busy as they were. The valet was on it as well. The front desk did not do what it promised to expedite our room and call us immediately when ready. So we waited for hours to get into the room, because no one called. The luggage only arrived after 2 calls and going back down to the desk. When we got the luggage, it included 2 bags that weren’t ours. Currently this W should not be considered luxury. I’d avoid it. There are plenty of hotels across from the beach.
This was once a beautiful resort, but you can see that there is very little maintenance in the building. 23 floors and one elevator was working. Many little things show that they do not value caring for the property. The staff was warm and friendly, and working under duress because of the situation. Unfortunately, the price of the room plus the parking fee and the resort fee made it $600 a night and in its heyday I’m sure it was worth it but certainly not now.
I’ve stayed here for years. Genuinely so upset all the rooms are showing sign of decay. This place was the bees knees - the staff I can tell is frustrated - how much can you do to “fix” something that needs to be replaced. The hotel needs a major overhaul but it deserves it, it was and has everything to be a great hotel. Our master room flooded at 11:30pm EST and by the grace of God my husband caught it and was able to shut off the washing machine, they have one elevator working for the building we are in. I don’t blame the staff I blame ownership I’ve been in the commercial real estate game forever and you have to take care of an asset for it to stay on point. The staff has genuinely tried their best tonight. But I think in the future we will be staying elsewhere.
Restaurantji Recommends
Fishy tasting shrimp, watered down cocktails, dirty sofas, and savorless flatbread. Would not recommend the food however the rooftop is great for lounging and the view of the beach at least keeps the rating from plummeting down to 1 star.
There was a decent selection of liquers and seating both in and outside. The bar tender Patrick was great.
Comfy upscale lounge in a library setting. Drinks great and unique, wait staff excellent. Not a typical NOLA bar.
The food and beverage team at WET and Living Room (Jordan, Patrick, Ramazan, Anthony, Andrew, Ed and Fabio) were phenomenal. They went above and beyond to take care of me and make me feel like a friend instead of just another customer. I got stuck in Fort Lauderdale because of the flooding and they made what could have been a bummer time a lot of fun. Overall, the rooms and hotel are nice. Water pressure and heat in the showers is a gamble each time. I had my AC set at 80 and the room probably never got above 60. Housekeeping was fairly inconsistent. The front desk was overall good but again inconsistent in quality. The amenities are a bit over crowded, finding space in the gym or a chair at the pool/beach is difficult. The elevators are pretty slow.
Mediocrity. You can practically bathe in it here. We came down for a week’s stay, hoping for some relaxation. But the little things just kept getting in the way. We called the hotel in advance and asked them to put a cake in the room for my youngest’s birthday. When we arrived, there was no cake. So we told the concierge about it, but nothing happened. Then at 10 pm, after the kids were already fast asleep, the phone rang— would we like the cake now? You’ve got to be kidding. The next morning, we went to the main pool. You have to go early in the morning, since the deck chairs fill up fast, even on weekdays – and to top it off, they sell day passes to people who aren’t staying at the hotel. But the water was cold. Apparently the heater was broken. So we went to the secondary pool. That one was warm, and the hot tub was warmer… but there were no bubbles. A technician came by to take a look but didn’t seem inclined to fix anything. A day later, the hot tub – still devoid of bubbles – was colder than the pool. And as we soon found out, the secondary pool’s bar was completely unstaffed for most of the week. I called the front desk using my own phone to order drinks, because there wasn’t even a phone for service at the pool. I was told that they would send someone over from the other pool to take a drink order. But no one came. So after a little while, I called again. The same person told me that there was a new procedure and he would have to take the order himself. Sure enough, the drinks eventually arrived. But one of them was made with scotch instead of rum. At this point it felt like they were screwing with us just for fun. So it shouldn’t have surprised me that the clock in the gym was permanently showing a few minutes before nine, or that the screen on the machine I was using was a mess of unruly pixels. At least I could fix the latter – I bent down and found a loose coaxial cable. But does anyone even check this stuff? In the meantime, the kids had embarked on the hotel’s scavenger hunt, looking for turtles painted on the walls of the hotel. They started by the secondary pool, but couldn’t find anything. So we looked and looked, and finally asked a member of the hotel staff who happened to be passing through. She said the wall had been painted over, so the kids were on a wild goose chase. The same was apparently true at another location listed on the scavenger hunt. It’s the kind of stuff that makes you tear your hair out as a parent. All of these things had happened before the third night. And that’s not even mentioning the weird smell of onions constantly coming through the air conditioning vent, the sofabed so uncomfortable we had to buy a mattress topper at Target, or the regular five-minute waits just to be packed into an elevator with a dozen sweaty beachgoers. I could go on, but honestly I’m getting tired of reliving this stuff through my typing. The one thing this hotel still has going for it is its physical structure. You can get a balcony with a full view of the water attached to a spacious room. But the rooms themselves are in a regrettable state. The indoor furniture is stained, the outdoor furniture has holes in it (as do the linens), the ceiling is moldy, switches are broken, lightbulbs need replacing, and there even seemed to be blood splattered on the back of the bathroom door. (I forgot to bring my CSI kit, so I couldn’t say for sure.) The hallways aren’t much better, with the tired old carpet graying and matted in spots that are supposed to be something approaching white. The housekeeping and valet teams are unfailingly friendly and helpful. But they alone can’t save a hotel that’s long past its sell-by date. This place needs a major redo, with the addition of a few more key staff as well. Change can’t come soon enough. In the meantime, sink into that cold, bubble-less hot tub… and feel the mediocrity.