We had a wonderful Ft. lauderdale vacation and overall really enjoyed the Hilton. But, there are definitely things this hotel needs to improve on.
In my opinion , their biggest problem is that they are short staffed. There are just not enough employees to run this hotel efficiently. And many of their staff (housekeeping in particular) don't speak one word of english. So, even trying to get a pillow is difficult.
On our last day, they were so short-staffed at the pool, the manager was taking drink orders....
I think they are very aware of their shortcomings as we saw many of the staff listen to complaining visitors. In this economy, I would be surprised if they can't find staff..so why Hilton is fixing this problem is puzzling. If there is a problem finding workers down there, that huge W hotel that is going in next door is going to be in big trouble.
Other downsides: too few elevators..you have to wait a lot for elevators. We saw lots of people taking the stairs. Parking..$29. a day? No thanks. Not a lot of dining options in walking distance. Especially for a casual lunch... Hopefully this will change with the other new hotels going in. The charge for umbrellas and chairs at the beach...bummer. And the pool is too small for this size hotel. Oh, and although there is construction going on next door, it didn't bother us a bit.
Now..there are a lot of plusses here too. We LOVED our suite. We got upgraded from an oceanview one bedroom suite to an oceanfront one bedroom suite for only $30. extra a day. The room was fantastic...beautiful view, wonderful kitchen, spacious, clean, awesome balcony, perfect!! We had our two young boys with us and made breakfast everyday in the room which worked perfectly. We ran to the Winn Dixie ($10 cab ride each way) and stocked up on food. Oh, and there is a gourmet shop going in soon in the hotel which will be a great addition.
We found the staff (although there were not enough of them) to be very helpful and courteous. So, no complaints there.
So, its not perfect but don't let it ruin your trip. We had a wonderful time and can see going back.






