More about Embassy Suites Hotel Fort Lauderdale
Ho-hum
by TripAdvisor Member prettypiphi
I would have preferred staying at a cheaper hotel on the beach. At least then I could have had the beautiful view outside my window to distract me.
The breakfast ranged from fair to poor. I have stayed at a few Embassy Suites and this one definitely had the worst breakfast. The cocktail hour was great when you consider it's free liquor.
The pool area is outside and it closes at 11pm so people who like to sit in the jacuzzi late into the evening are out of luck. The hotel security guard makes sure that nobody hangs around.
The bar maid was rude when I asked her for a drink suggestion. Even though there was only one other couple in the bar and they already had their drinks, she shrugged her shoulders and walked off.
Another problem was parking. There was a multitude of parking spots but the hotel charged you $7 plus tax (46 cents) to self-park in a lot that was about as secure as a WalMart lot.
The wireless Internet costs $10 a day but we could not get a decent signal even though we walked outside to the atrium area. It was extremely poor for a business hotel. Especially since they don't offer dial-up or cable as an alternative to the wireless. They charge $1.00 per five minutes at the computer center behind the concierge desk. It would be nice if the connection was a little faster though. I spent half the time waiting for the web pages to load.
As an added bonus the fire alarm went off two nights in a row. On Saturday night itwent off from 3:30am to about 5 or 6:00am while on Sunday night it went of at 5:00am. Needless to say a few of us were tired and grumpy the following days.
For $118 per night (plus 3 nights parking) I was extremely disappointed. I won't be staying at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale at 17th Street in the future.
Okay
by TripAdvisor Member Wmacetheace
We stayed at this hotel for a pre and post night stay for our cruise. We were picked up with the shuttle late in the evening. We waited about 20 minutes for the shuttle. The rooms needed to be updated. The floors seemed wet and the decor was outdated. When we entered the room the room seemed clean, but the toliet wasn't flushed! We called the front desk and immediately moved us to another room. Didn't get to attend the happy hour, but did breakfast. It was okay. The free transportation to the cruise ship and airport were worth it.
embassy ok, not great
by TripAdvisor Member jfd
Stayed here for the 3rd time precruise on Hilton points. The location is very convenient to the port and airport. It is also close by to the water taxi and restaurants. They are still renovating and there was a loud party out by the pool until 11pm that kept us awake. The breakfast was adequate. There are still patches on the glass roof from the hurricane. The room was fine but the hotel will be better after they complete the renovation.
it was ok
by A TripAdvisor Member
We (the guys i work with) stayed there while we were working out at the Everglades power plant. The location was convienent and there was alot of stuff to do at night and on the weekends. Dirty Harys has excellent hot wings and an all around good atmosphere.
The rooms were always clean and comfortable. The breakfast was convienent and fairly good. We stayed there for a month so we got to know the Complimentary bar servers pretty well. The hotel substained alot of dammage during hurricane Wilma. My group rode it out in our rooms and i must say that we were very well taken care of. Overall i'm impressed with the Embassy and I will and am going to be staying there again.
Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!
by A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at the Embassy Suites pre-cruise and it was the worst hotel I've ever stayed at. The rooms looked old and shabby and not very clean. We figured it was just one night so we'd endure. After being out all day viewing the sites in Fort Lauderdale, we returned to our room to relax and get some sleep. I noticed that there were lots of little bugs crawling around on the furniture. I called the front desk to inform them that the room had bugs. The lady told me she would send someone up to spray the room. I told her that was unacceptable because I would not sleep in a room and inhale insecticide all night. She told me if she could find a room we could move to another one. After going down to the front desk to speak with her, she did find another room but insisted the room had bugs because Fort Lauderdale was a tropical place. I told her that was insane because I'd stay in many hotels in tropical places (Aruba, Hawaii, Jamaica, etc.) and never saw a bug in the room. Sad to say, the new room had bugs too. Don't stay here.
No shuttle bus service from the airport!!!!!!!
by TripAdvisor Member juliebug52
2nd time we stayed here for a precruise night. Our room was recently remodeled and very nice and clean. The staff was friendly and helpful. My only complaint is no shuttle service from the airport They do take you to the airport and to the cruise port of departure...just plan for a taxi ride. The nightly reception pours the good stuff. I probably will look for a hotel that picks you up at the airport...but I booked the room with Hilton Honors points. In January the hotel and city was still cleaning up from the hurricane but I didn't see any bugs.
Why the bad reviews?
by A TripAdvisor Member
I was a little worried about staying at the Fort Lauderdale Embassy Suites after seeing some of the reviews here. I stayed at the hotel for two nights and throughly enjoyed my stay.
The staff was nice and accomodating even giving four of us a ride in the hotel shuttle to the concert we were attending two miles away. The pool was beautiful. The gift shop well stocked, and I am a fan of the clock radio which attached to my ipod. The room was big and not worn, and we didn't hear noise from any other rooms.
I was charged twice for parking and when I checked out the charge was immediately cleared off my bill.
One of the best parts of the hotel is the location. Strip malls with every kind of store you can imagine surround the property, and the beach was a few miles away.
I would recommend this property to other travelers.
Lower Class Than Expected
by TripAdvisor Member smorga48
I had read one review that mentioned bugs in the rooms but I thought it was either an exageration or a one time thing. No hotel would allow bugs right?
WRONG! There were in fact little bugs in each of our groups rooms that the staff was not too concerned about.
The bar closes early (11 p.m.) during spring break. Are you kidding me?
The valet staff has very bad attitudes and charged me a parking fee for each night of my stay but I only had a car there for two of the five nights.
Do your self a favor and pass on this hotel. There are far too many better choices.
Loved it!! Highly recommended!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at the hotel in mid-march for two nights just prior to our cruise. I was a little apprehensive based on previous reviews, but found none of them were true for me. The hotel does not have a shuttle, but that was not an issue for us - this hotel is so close to the airport that the costs are minimal, and it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the property. Our room was newly refurbished - everything was new. It was very well cleaned and if we had a request it was attended to immediately. The fridge in our unit was damaged so we called about it, within about 10 minutes a new one (still wrapped in plastic) was wheeled into our room. A quick apology, a quick installation and we were good to go. Their breakfast in the morning was fabulous, the pool was a delight, the room service was fast and the meal sizes were large enough that we dined on them the next day as left overs (that's why we needed our fridge). The front desk staff were very friendly and helpful. There was a notice displayed in every elevator regarding the upgrading of the hotel post- hurricane which informed which floors have been upgraded to date. There was work ongoing in the pool area and some replanting on going. Not a bother to us. I would VERY HIGHLY recommend this property. We walked to the various malls, and also walked to the water taxi (15 minutes away) where enjoyed the most fun and cheap way to see the waterways of Ft. Lauderdale with hilarious captains. Great location! Kids loved the pool! WE love the service! We'd go again!!
Poor Management Response
by TripAdvisor Member One Joe Cool
We visited this hotel in April of 2006.
When we arrived to check in, we were told that our room would be ready in a half an hour. According to the hotel's web site, the check in time is 3pm. We didn't get our room until 6 pm. After sitting in airports and planes and traffic all day, I was looking forward to checking into my room on time. Every time I questioned about the room, I kept being told it would be ready in a half an hour. I spoke to 3 different people at the front desk and they were rude at best. I was speaking to one woman who was paticulary rude and kept on making excuses. When I tired of that, I told her I wanted to speak to the manager and she told me she was the manager. Needless to say, I knew that I was in a no win situation at that point. Not once did management ever apologize for the extremely long wait, nor did they offer anything to help offset our displeasure. If you ever use this hotel and have a problem, don't expect any help or sympathy from the staff or management because you're not going to get.
The rest of the week went fairly well, but the maid staff was spotty. I could definately tell when different maids cleaned my room. They never changed the sheets and a couple of times, left dirty dishes on the counter and never cleaned the coffee pot.
I had to call maintenance the first night because when my daughter took a shower, the drain was clogged up and water filled the tub. Maintenace came and cleaned out a bunch of yuck from the drain.
The beds need to be updated in the rooms. Sleeping with my wife in one bed was a challange because it kept sinking to the center and we kept rolling into each other every night. I didn't sleep well the entire week that's for sure.
On one positive note, the breakfast every morning was great. And one more thing to keep in mind, you have to pay $8 to park each day. We travel a lot and overall I guess the hotel was average, but it would make a big difference if the management would at least act liked they cared even if it was apparent that they didn't.
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