We stayed at the Riverside Hotel 2 nights pre-cruise. We booked an Executive Tower room based on previous reviews on Tripadvisor. Our rate included free breakfast in the Indigo restaurant.

When we arrived, we found the front desk person to be efficient but not very friendly. We took note that the entire lobby was devoid of guests. It might have been due to the fact it was a Monday afternoon. Once we were given our room key, I inquired about how the free breakfast was handled. I was immediately told breakfast was not included. I produced my confirmation, which was directly from the hotel website and we were given vouchers for 2 free breakfasts for each morning.

We found it disconcerting that had we not brought a copy of our confirmation along, we would have been denied the breakfasts we were entitled to.

Not a great welcome.

We went along with the bellman to our room, and we noticed a loud hum in the room on the top floor (12). I thought it was coming from outside the hotel, but we shortly realized it was coming from an air conditioning unit on the roof.

We requested another room and were accommodated with a very nice room on the 10th floor which at first glance seemed fine. It was large with a nice view of the river and had a very large but sparsely furnished bathroom. It wasn't until later that evening I noticed the grab bars in the bathroom and that we did not have a bathtub just a shower. I concluded we had been given a handicap accessible room without even a mention from the front desk. I called down to the desk and confirmed it was in fact a handicap room and expressed our displeasure with the fact that we were given the room without our knowledge, not a great way to handle guests. We were offered another room, but since we only had one day left on our stay, it wasn't worth the effort.

Considering the lobby was virtually empty throughout our entire stay, and that we only encountered one other guest on the elevators during the two days, we find it hard to believe we couldn't have been offered a better room on the first try.

The next day, we checked out the pool and like everything else, it was empty and in our opinion represented a security risk. The pool is located across the street from the hotel and no hotel personnel were present. Entry is gained via your hotel key.

Later that day I checked our charges on the TV in the room and noticed we had been charged for 2 in room beverages when we had only used 1 bottle of water. The water was $3 and change, the second beverage was $5 and change. I called down to the desk and informed them of the mistake and we were credited for the charge but again it left a bad taste. We were offered free drinks at the hotel bar, but we declined the offer.

All in all, the room was large, clean and modern, and the hotel is conveniently located to the shops and restaurants on Las Olas. We think the whole Las Olas thing is overrated, although we did have a good dinner at the Big City Tavern directly across the street from the hotel.

The breakfasts at Indigo in the hotel were quite good and reasonably priced if you have to pay for them.

When we return to Fort Lauderdale, we'll stay at a chain hotel on the beach, they generally offer a more consistent product and the beach is only a 5 minute taxi ride to Las Olas for those interested in what the avenue has to offer.