You know that scene in “Las Vegas Vacation” when Rusty as “Mr. Papagiorgio” is given the suite and as soon as the bellman leaves, he begins jumping on the bed? That’s how I felt when I walked into the 36th top-floor corner suite I was upgraded to during my 3-night stay in November. Although I didn’t jump on the bed, the views from 3 walls of windows (windows in living room, corner windows in the bedroom and another view at the end of the hallway) were beautiful and I was just as excited as Rusty to have this much space. The suite included 2 bathrooms, 2 walk-in-closets, a large bedroom and hallway with sliding French doors on both sides - one set to the Master bathroom and the other set to the larger walk-in-closet. The bathroom included double sinks, a large shower and a Jacuzzi tub. The furnishings were simple and comfortable and the room was very clean. I wish the lighting had dimmer functionality because at night your options were either to have brightly lit rooms or no light and it would have been nice to have alternative settings. As I was there for business, I didn’t get an opportunity to see/use the amenities, but just working in my room was a pleasure with the extra square footage and ocean views all around me and when not working the tub was a tranquil escape.

Honestly...this is the most overpriced hotel I have ever stayed at. Stayed in this hotel for over 8 days....as part of a work related stay. First off....the rooms are filthy....beds are comfortable...but the carpet...the bed clothing...is very second rate for a hotel of this stature...and it was not clean. Rooms are small ...unless you are in one of the suites....The check in time of 4 is not negotiable...and actually, you might not get into your room till after 5pm. Security everywhere..because apparently people walk in off the street to gain access to beach and pool areas....To access the beach you must have or wear a hotel armband...and you must rent all beach needs....As for the pool....it is like being pushed into a sardine can....there is no room to move...and all the chairs are stacked one right next to the other...it is not as the pictures appear on the hotel website. Just did not enjoy my stay at this hotel, and wanted to warn vacationers not to pay this amount of money for this place.

Our stay got off to a rough start due to beach restoration work; noone wants to pay for an ocean front room during the busiest/most expensive season (xmas - after new year's) to listen to trucks begin work at 7am every morning (and we were on the 20+ floor and could hear it loud and clear). This was definitely an issue on many fronts: 1. we like to keep our balcony door open at night and throughout the day, and let's just say the roar of trucks during the morning/day hours is not the most relaxing sound in the world; at night a bunch of rowdy college kids would invade the pool area, I think they would finally leave the pool area by 2:30 in the morning, only to roam the halls and hold loud conversations until 3am. Repeated calls to security would only silence them for 5 mins at a time. - we specifically booked the Westin and not some spring break hotel to get some peace and quiet. 2. spending time on the beach was out of the question due to the beach issue above which really made the stay very unattractive since we are not pool people. 3. Small child + large trucks hauling and flattening sand on the beach - not a winning combination! After complaining to management for a couple of days we were let out of our pre-paid 11 night stay 5 days early (these stays are typically non-refundable if you try to cancel). thankfully we have relatives in the area who were more than happy to accommodate us, otherwise we would have to pay top dollar for some 2nd rate hotel. (all the nicer beach hotels in the area were sold out by the time we wanted to get out of the Westin). Westin Management was very professional and apologized for the inconvenience; they also more than made up for the issues encountered at the hotel. I would like to add that we've stayed at the property several times before during the same time of the year and have always had a good experience. So even though the stay this year wasn't the greatest experience, Westin did deliver what was expected in this situation. I would still recommend the hotel, just don't hesitate to bring up issues to management so they are dealt with in a timely manner.

Surprisingly, this "official team hotel" for one of the Orange bowl schools, was a disappointment.   Overall, the level of service was similar to staying at  mid level hotel(Courtyard, Sheraton, Hilton Gardens, no offense).   For the Orange bowl prices paid, you would think the staff would have a better attitude, the rooms would be serviced well before 2:00pm, in fact we got back at 1:00pm and still no service.   The hotel is not booked to capacity.   Also, when we checked in on Tuesday, out room was not ready and they took our cell number and said they would phone us.   No phone call, but I did have to call and surprise again, the room was ready.  We booked a beach view and got a nice view of the condo next door.

Prior to this stay, we were at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Spa and Beach resort.   The service top notch, the staff called us by name, greeted us, smiled, the rooms were immaculate!   And, the rate was cheaper by $100!

The only reason I gave the Westin 3 stars was because of the excellent service we received at the Common Grounds and Rivals.   We also ate at BarSu, and those servers acted very put out, that we asked about their happy hour menu.  If the hotel is advertising something, then at least have the courtesy to oblige your customers, especially when we are paying $14 for one order of California Roll.   The bar was not full, seriously servers, is it that hard?

We have one more night here and I am dreading to see if I have to phone housekeeping to work on our room.