We stayed at the Westin Diplomat for a corporate conference. Overall, my husband and I found the hotel to be clean and comfortable, with a few minor service hiccups. On the other hand, we were extremely unimpressed with the Club Level.

Our room was a city view corner room with a sliver of ocean view. At first, we were a little disappointed. However, the city lights are absolutely breathtaking and the beach in this part of Florida is really not all that great. The room was clean with a very comfortable bed and one of the finest bathrooms we've ever encountered.

Our major quibble pertains to the "Club Level." First, the Westin tries to maximize their profit by making the top four floors "Club Level." Accordingly, we had to go down three floors every time we wanted to use the Club. On our first try, our keys did not work at the Club. After having the keys re-coded, we found that they didn't work in our room anymore. We had to have our keys re-coded almost every day of our stay for one problem or another. It was very frustrating!

After we finally got into the Club, we found that it was not worth the extra fee. The view is very nice, but it has no amenities to speak of - really pepsi's, cookies and cheese and crackers for an extra $50 per day. Any wine or other alcoholic beverage is charged to your room. On several occasions, the Club was closed early or there were no snacks at all. Definitely not worth the cost!

Overall, it was a pleasant stay, but we would not waste our money on the Club Level rooms next time.

The diplomat is not only aesthetically pleasing... it smells great! Located right on the beach and close driving distance to great shopping and restaraunts. The rooms are spacious and beyond clean. The decorations are modern and gorgeous. The staff is attentive and willing to help. The concierge worked with us on several occasions to find the perfect spot for dinner/drinks (and I'm a picky eater). The concierge provided me with a multitude of options and even menus (not to mention easy directions.)

The entire hotel is basked in their signature scent - White tea. The hotel lobby is sun drenched and leads out to the zero-entry pool that has been in MANY movies - im sure youll recognize it! There is also a much larger pool for the kiddies. Although I dont have kids, there seem to be a lot of activities especially planned for kids (beach sports/scavenger hunts.) When I was there they were having an amazing sand castle building contest.

Now, this place is not cheap - but youre on vacation. A daiquiri at the pool costs $14 and chicken fingers are around $12. The wait staff around the pool however is very attentive and will bring you whatever youd like! The beach behind the pools are beautiful and well maintained. There are chair, chaisse and umbrella rentals. My advice ... especially if travelling with a big group is to bring a big blanket or spread out some towels. No need to spend $15 a day on a chair rental.

Cabanas are available, I think around $150 for the day. I used one on my last day at the hotel. I checked out around 11am. Got to the cabana and was able to utilize the last day i was there for some fun and sun, instead of being couped up in the airport for hours.

There are plenty of restaurants and Aventura Mall is right up Hallandale.

There are three or four restaraunts in the hotel ... all of them expensive and delicious. Great place to go with your sweetheart! Classy !

I hope you go and have as great a time as I did!

Overall a good experience. I went for a convention.

The rooms were clean. The mattress was comfortable. The pool areas were wonderful. The bathroom had an "open" kind of plan so you can relax in the bath while watching tv or having a bit of view from the window. There were lots of areas to enjoy the sun: quiet tables and couches in corners where you can read, restaurant areas where you can eat, several bars by the pool areas, sunbathing areas overlooking the beach, and several pool areas which ranged from quiet to crowded with kids.

I wish there were more to do around the hotel. I walked about 45min to the broadwalk to get something to eat because when I got to the hotel, everyplace was closed. They probably should offer bike rentals or something so guests who want to go to the broadwalk or other places around town to sightsee can feel "connected" to other areas.

Food was the main problem at this resort. I usually don't like heavy meals for breakfast but the small coffee place they had only offered bad muffins and some cereal. This is not acceptable for a resort such as this. I didn't want to sit down and eat at the restaurant because I wanted something fast and light to go to get to meetings. I think Common Grounds was closed for renovations or something during this time. They should really have a small cafe open in am for breakfast to go. I did have lunch at The Cafe and it was pretty good.
The other problem was dinner- very expensive for the quality of food that you get. Also if you're vegetarian, there were very limited choices in the resort. The sports bar across the street was good, but expensive for the type food they served.
The staff was ok. They weren't helpful in giving advice about what to do if you wanted to explore the area and spend one day outside the resort. But they were friendly.

It was great in the beginning, then went the wrong direction. Now I see that the Westin Diplomat is making changes as far as appearance, accuracy and staff friendliness and knowledge. I enjoyed my time at the Westin and definitely look fwd. to going back. I encountered an internet problem and yes this was inconvenient however the service express agent in which whom I delt with was more then happy to assist in feeding me exactly what was happening and even assisted in trying a diferent avenue of connecting. Even though it didn't work she offered a credit for the inconvenience. When I had called again the following evening and surprisingly she remembered who I was and asked how I was enjoying my stay. The Westin is a place now that shows you that your not just a number. They speak to you by name and are so friendly. Very orderly. From the valet to the door opener then the check in to the bellman to service express then wherever you need to go weather it be food, bar, etc.etc. its unbelievable. The food is great , yes $$$, but worth it. The view is great! city lights or ocean view. My opinion great for business travel, honeymoon, getaway, not so much family.