My young daughter & I accompanied my husband for a conference and we were thoroughly impressed! The hotel is in excellent condition and the grounds are beautiful. The staff could not be friendlier and it truly felt genuine. Our room was modern and large and the bathroom was, too. The crib we requested was the best I've seen at a hotel--with bumpers and a quilt. My only complaint was they were doing construction on a part of the hotel so one set of elevators were not in service and that made it difficult getting up- and downstairs. The cost of food and whatnot is really outrageous but they had several summer specials for room service, at the spa, and for Sunday Brunch. The pools are gorgeous and the cabana boys are so helpful setting up chairs and towels. The beach was OK but I am used to the Gulf of Mexico. Overall we really felt like special guests and hope to return soon!

OK, this hotel has the wow factor from the minute you arrive. You walk into one of the most incredible lobbies you have ever seen, or atleast I have ever seen. I stayed over the summer and got a what I thought was a great deal at a little over 200 a night for a deluxe room. The room was slightly larger than the standard room I had stayed in before, and the bathroom was better appointed. Over the week we were there we ate at every restaurant on poperrty, from the family Italian restaurant to the French Restaurant. My favorites were the sushi location and seafood bar. While there I also played golf and tennis and the staff at these locations were above par, regarding customer service. The many activities provide enough distractions to keep you and family entertained including many onsite shops and essentially a built in museum and art gallery. Last time I visited they offered a history tour, I am not sure if they still do. The pool and renovated cabanas are first class all the way. Palm Beach though has many great shops and restaurants in the imediate area that are worth exploring. A few things did get on my nerves... one in five staff members were not biig on customer service, the valet stood out as a particular issue. We drove a modest rental car and when departing the valet guy actually made a demissive coment, I did not think I had to rent a fancier car that I was only going to park for the week. Also valet is your only option, which can be a hassle when the property is busy. All this aside, both visits have been the type my wife and I will always remember. I hope to have a reason to stay again.

Especially if you have children... My family and I arrived at Breakers after having called in advance for a room, and they said they had to move a family that was staying an extra night into the last room that could accommodate a large family. In trying to brainstorm with the desk clerk on ways we could work it out (adjoining rooms, two close rooms, Dad could sleep on the floor, anything), the manager jumped in and literally ended up yelling at us.. in front of our kids, in front of everybody, because they couldn't accommodate us. It was miserable, uncalled for, COMPLETELY unprofessional... the manager even suggested in front of my children that I have poor parenting skills.

We didn't get to stay. no... we thankfully didn't contribute to the success of this hotel by paying them for a room, and I suggest you don't either. I asked the owner on multiple occasions why she was yelling at us, why she was upset, why she felt she had the right to treat my wife and I the way she did, and nothing talked her out of her tree.

Steer clear. This kind of rude service shouldn't be accepted from somebody you're paying so much money to.

My family recently visited The Breakers. We normally go to Playa Del Carmen this time of year, but chose not to do so this year because of safety concerns. We hoped to get as close to a beach resort vacation as possible, only stateside. We were not disappointed, and enjoyed our time at The Breakers very much. Our family is not known for maximizing "leisure time", so our friends and relatives have poked a little fun at the fact that we considered extending our stay. We didn't end up extending because of flight schedules, but the sentiment was there.

We took advantage of some of the promotions currently offered. I will try to list the positives, then the negatives in bullet format:

The Positives:
1. The location is perfect. I was especially surprised by the clarity and temperature of the Ocean Water. My family loves the beach, and we found the beach and the ocean water to be better than we expected. It had been mentioned elsewhere on this site that the beach area is too small. Inaccurate. I'm glad I did not heed that warning, even though I thought long and hard about it, initially.
2. The facilities have plenty to keep young ones entertained for about 4-5 days. The Arcade, the playrooms, etc. were clean and accessible.
3. The Flagler Steakhouse and the Seafood Bar were very good restaurants. The service at the Flagler Steakhouse (gentleman named Osmel) was outstanding. The Seafood Bar, a little less so, on both of our visits.
4. The cleaning staff was very polite and did a good job keeping the room clean.
5. The breakfast in The Circle, where my little ones ate for free, was a good value. Mom and Dad dug in on the Continental buffet.
6. My wife thoroughly enjoyed the Pilates class. It was no charge during the week. The instructor's name was Marcella.
7. The resort was far from empty, but never overrun with guests. We did not have trouble getting an umbrella or chairs at the beach.
8. Excellent help at the beach with set-up of umbrella, drinks, etc.

The Negative
1. I would not rave about the "value" of the property. We knew what we were in for, to a degree, but even the "Kids Eat Free" promotion did not take the sting out of some of the restaurant bills, especially where the food was not that great (The Italian Restaurant and the Ocean Grill).
2. The resort strongly discourages the use of cash. So, don't bring a big wad like I did, expecting to pay for your food and drinks.
3. Twenty percent service charge is added to all food service and spa service. Mildly annoying.

Things we'd do differently:
1. We'd probably venture off of the property a little more.
2. Most of the cab fares were reasonable and the cabbies were very friendly and polite. I think I got ripped off by an unscrupulous driver on the trip to the airport the day of our departure, so watch out for the guys who don't turn on their meters. I know times are hard and I bit my tongue, but if I had it to do over...

Bottom Line: We came to go the beach and enjoy the sun. Our expectations were exceeded. We loved it.