We had problems from day one. When we arrived we found out about there $50.00 Per Day incidental charge (to be paid up front). We didn't complain. We arrived a day early, booked a room and on the way up the elevator got stuck between floors (great way to start). Decided o.k. things happen its vacation. We were also very tired after driving 1200 miles. We basically just went to sleep. The next day we woke up to ants crawling everywhere and both of us had ant bites. We went to the front desk to be told it was no big deal we had to check out anyway. So, we rechecked in under our original reservation to be charged more incidental fees and the parking up front. All of this ended up being an additional $490.00. Then we find out we paid orbitz had confirmation and everything- well we were double charged for the room thru Bahia Mar and by the way per their front desk manager it would take upto 30 days to be refunded. We filed a police report and had it refunded in 4 days but we had to pay all the bank fees which were around $160.00. We explained that was not satisfactory. He basically said oh well.(the front desk manager Darvis). We began this conversation at 8:00 am and there were no new rooms open until 12:30pm- so we were basically stuck in the lobby- no apologizes nothing. Next thing we did was booked snorkeling thru the hotel. We get up the next day excited to go on our 3 hours snorkeling trip- left the marina everything was wonderful- boat anchors to start snorkeling- everyone on board had never been snorkeling before- The boat anchors and set us out in a huge pod of jelly fish. Needless to say we all got stung. Our 3 hour trip now became a 1.5 hour trip. No refunds- No recourse- another oh well. The water never stayed a consistant temperature in our new room as well as every other time we went out we had to get the cleaning lady (who spoke no english) to let us in our room because our door handle was broken. Come to find out from the baggage guy the hotel is aware of the problem they just figured again no big deal (he told us it had been broken for a few months). He even told us our room number not the other way around. We had the sprinkler system leaking on us while eating. You have to sign out towels at the pool but no one was ever there to sign them back in- which you sign a form if they are not returned there will be a $10 charge per towel. We then get a knock on the door it is a bell hop and the police- the water is not safe to drink and the ice is no good. We could get no further information on that. The next morning we call the front desk to see if we can use the ice machine and water to be told they don't know but they would recommend bottle water to brush your teeth, you should be able to make coffee though because that water gets boiled, and an attitude of why are you asking you shouldn't drink hotel water anyway. By the way bottled water was $1.75 per bottle. We received wake up calls at 6:20am for other rooms. They bring your receipt up to your room and slide it under the door about 6:45am but wake you up if you happened to be lucky and not receive an unwanted wake up call. By the way they also knock on the door before sliding the receipt under it- wouldn't want to scare anyway in case you open the door while they were leaving the receipt. We ordered an in room movie to be charged double because their system gliched and ran it twice- and they will not take one charge off because how do they know you didn't watch it twice. One night they had rented out a ballroom for a wedding and we ended up having to pay for parking 8 blocks away because there were no spots to park there. By the way no $20 refund for not being able to park there. All in all if you want to be treated disrespectfully, hand out your hard earned money, spend your vacation trying to get average accomidations and still be miserable it is the place for you!! Better yet save your time, your frustration, your energy and donate your money to a good charity in the end you'll feel better..

A super location, walk to the beach and the "nightlife" on the strip in Ft. Lauderdale. We returned to the Bahia Mar after a two year "time out" after staying at this property about six times a year for ten years. It was great to be back. The pool and the pool bar are user friendly with a great staff. The view from the rooms can not be beat. We find it a very comfortable and safe place to stay. All the employees go out of their way to make the experience enjoyable.

We stayed at the Bahia Mar for 5 nights in September. We booked a marina view room, but we were upgraded to a partial oceanview for free (they said they closed the marina building for renovations because it was so slow). The room was spacious, and the view was great. We immediately saw a lot of ants around the bathroom vanity (looked like they were coming from under the wallpaper). We took care of those and didn't see too many more.

Positives: The deli in the hotel is reasonable and very convenient. The pool and the location were great. The fitness room looked well equipped, and most of the staff were friendly. We did not eat in the restaurant in the lobby, so I can't comment on that.

Negatives: The second night we were there, I woke up at 3 AM because I felt something crawling on my arm. I jumped up and turned on the light, but I couldn't find the bug. On our last night there, we forgot to leave a light on in the room before we went out. When we got back, I opened the hotel info book to find the wake-up call information. A bug ran across the book, but it was too fast to catch. I walked over to the phone, and there was a roach behind the nightstand. Then there were 2 roaches behind the nightstand on the other side. Then there were 2 on the wall by the TV. We removed the headboard from the wall (just grab on each side and lift up). There were 3 roaches behind the headboard.

I called the front desk (it was 1 AM, so I knew they couldn't do much). The front desk said to speak with the manager before we checked out the next morning, and "maybe he will give you a discount". After breakfast the next morning, we went to the front desk. We were told that the manager wouldn't be in until 10. She said he would call us (the clerk from the night before had left a note). She did not seem at all surprised about the roach situation.

By the time we checked out at 11 AM, we still had not heard from the manager. We went to the front desk to check out, and finally got to speak with him. He claimed that we were offered a different room when we called the front desk the night before (we weren't). The only thing he would do was take 30% off our last night (as if the roaches just moved in on the last night of a 5-night stay).

We are really disappointed with this experience. Up until the roaches, we thought we had found our new place to stay in Fort Lauderdale (our usual hotel is closed for renovations until next year).

I was at first nervous about getting this hotel on a winning bid through Priceline because of the negative reviews. We pulled up around 10:30 am and they had a room ready for us already. Check in was great. The lady at the front desk was very polite and helpful. Our room was beautiful, newly remodeled up on the 8th floor overlooking the marina and the ocean. We hit the beach immediately! The room was huge, the bed was comfortable, and everything was very very clean. Easy walk to many restaurants and shops. Location was great. The only bummer was the $18 per night parking, but hey, that's just about everywhere in south Florida. We loved our stay and will keep it in mind the next time we are in Ft. Lauderdale.