We were alittle tense reading some of the reviews before our vacation. We know that there are alot of snooty people who would right a bad review, just because they think that the world is there to pamper them. But our stay was wonderful. The beach was awsome, my girlfriend who is nervous around the ocean, never even went to the pool. She spent the whole time on the beach and in the surf. The rooms were clean, the lobbys were clean too. You have to take into account that people are tracking sand in constantly, its hard to have every speck picked up every minute. The staff was overly courteous. There was no attitude as other reviews stated. They were eager to help and informative. They made you feel welcome and never acted like we were an inconvenience. We plan on returning next year with our kids. Food was expensive all around Ft. Lauderdale, but hey, what can you say.

I booked on Hotwire, requesting a three star hotel in Ft Lauderdale and was placed here for a one night stay. I just wanted a nice hotel room for an overnight trip on my way to Coral Gables - just an hour away, but I was driving and thought I'd take a night in Ft Lauderdale on my way down from Atlanta.

So. Checked in, provided my Starwood Gold card and was upgraded to a king bed beachfront room, a very nice gesture - a low-priced Hotwire rate ($30 below the webrate on the hotel site) is run of house, so they didn't need to upgrade me.

The view and the bedding (the new Sheraton bed) were wonderful. The rest of the hotel and room were pretty much not. I have stayed in 1 star motels that are better maintained - both from a long term maintenance perspective and a housekeeping perspective.

The hotel itself is very dated - the windowless lounge and restaurant (through which you must walk to reach the separate beachfront building) are worn and way too thematic for my taste. The pirates on a sailing ship theme is much better for Las Vegas, and I was, in fact, reminded of the old theme hotels in Vegas in the 70s. Public areas have the smell of deoderizing sprays (possibly in response to the earlier comment about the permeating smell of mildew). This always just makes me wonder what the deoderant is covering up - I try to hold my breathe and walk quickly.

My room. As I stated, the bed had the nice new Sheraton linens and there was a wonderful beachfront view. But when I retired, I discovered that every pillow was foam - most hotels have half foam and half feather so people can choose. Since I always choose feather, this was a disappointment.

And the rest of the room was a disaster. It was an old room with new furnishings slapped on - the ceiling was combination dropped ceiling tile and popcorn - both of which showed heavy discoloration from dirt from the a/c unit, all in a fan away from the vent.

Then there was the carpet - clearly new, but with stains and discolorations throughout. There was a sign (the first I have ever seen in a hotel - and I used to work in the industry) telling me that I would be charged $40 if I took the $10 iron from the room. That told me about the clientel at this hotel.

And finally the bathroom. They have left the old tub and toilet but have replaced the sink and the tile surrounding the tub and serving as a baseboard moulding for the room. Well, technically, the tile hasn't been replaced - they have put new tile over the old, which (as any renovator will tell you) is a recipe for disaster - water seeps under the new tile and causes all sorts of issues, which were evident in my bathroom, including air pockets where the tiles start to fall in. Also, the entire surface is half an inch extended from the walls and existing fixtures, making it feel more closed in.

There is no way to regulate water pressure - it comes out of the bath / shower tap at about three times the pressure needed. And the bath drain was extremely slow. The combination resulted in the majority of my shower time wading in undrained water.

My final comment is that they provided only plastic cups, wrapped in plastic wrap. This, too, I have found in one star motels. Ostensibly it must be to conserve water (a notion I fully support). But they would save much more water if they reduced the water flow issue in the tub and replaced their old toilets (3.5 liters per flush and I had to flush twice every time!) with the new 1.6 liter toilets they'd save about 100 times more water than they would save from washing glasses for the rooms. Incidentally, I like a glass in my room to hold my toothbrush and toothpaste, of which a plastic cup is not capable.

Motels up the street advertised rooms for $50 and would probably have been just as satisfactory. How this hotel maintains its 3 star / diamond rating is beyond me.

This hotel was wonderful. My friends and I went on a girls week and we would def. go back. The staff was great. They were so friendly and helpful. It is just a short walk away from the beach. The hotel offeres complementary chairs and towels. Great for a fun get away.

Since I'm not much of a writer.....try to follow:
only a few minutes from the airport.....easy to find.....check in was a breeze.......skipped the valet....parked ourselves.......reserved and received a room in the beachfront building......1st room was the "garden view"......looked at the building next door.......since this was already an upgrade we opted to give $20 per nite more for ocean view......great choice..(rm. 557).....looked down the beach....fl. to ceiling windows.......ocean to the left.....volleyball courts below.....always a game to watch........air in room worked good...actually had to turn it down........room overall were avg. for the price.....a little worn......no fridge......but for $10.....you can get one....most of the public areas smelled like cheap old espice....mermaid show was ok....short....sit at the bar and have a couple of drinks first.......pools are small.....we only did the beach(which was right out our building).....pool bar was ok.....bar staff kinda slow.....vacation mode......beach chairs are free.plus tip...ok.....now i'm tired.....any question....i will answer......BTW....great non-tourist breakfast @ EGGS TO YOU.......5-7 min car ride....and try the Jai Alai in Dania....