My wife and I have been to Pompano 6 times in the last 8 years so know the area fairly well. We had walked the beach many times and observed a number of smaller hotels. We also knew that Briny Ave was a pretty quite area. So when we noticed The Ebb Tide "Resort" had very high Trip Advisor rating we decided to stay a week around Thanksgiving. We also wanted to stay near a friend who has a condo a 5 minute walk away. They only arrived the last 2 days we were there.
The motel (it is not a "resort", although it is definately "oceanfront") has about 31 rooms. From our observation, the rooms were fairly large and resonably clean. The place is kind of "funky dated". Our room had a miss mash of furniture. The large two leaf dining room table with two chairs would fit better in my grandmothers home. The king sized bed was OK although my wife found it soft. There was a large closet but it was half occupied by an old chest of drawers. There was a large LCD TV. The bathroom was small and dated with not a lot of room for stuff. We were provided with lots of towels and pool towels.
There were several windows but none opened having seized up years ago. The widow covering were a mix of old vertical and horizontal plastic blinds. We had to fiddle with them for a long time to make sure one could not peak into the room at night. This made my wife uncomfortable. We did notice that some other rooms had more modern wooden horizontal blinds that seemed to do a better job. The air conditioner seemed to work OK but it was noisy and we turned it off at night. I wonder how it would do on a hot day. We had to leave our door open for a half hour in the morning to change the air. There was no screen door. The room had a slight musty smell.
The grounds were very nice and the pool lovely. It had a really deep end that probably housed a diving board a number of years ago. There were only 8 deck chairs and 4 were in a poor state of repair but there was only a few people using them. There were some plastic chairs and tables spread around the area.
Parking was not a probelm for us altough one would wonder what happens if the motel is more than half full?
The kitchen was OK in that it had a fill sized fridge and stove and most of he things requred to cook a modest meal. We only used it for light lunch and breakfast. All kitchen stuff had to be returned to a box in the room before checking out.
There is a couch/hide-a-bed. The unit is advertised as being able to hold 4 people but it would be very crowded and we would not recommend it.
The location of the Ebb Tide was perfect. It is handy to restaurants and attractions. It was also right on the beach. You could watch the many surfers and hear the surf. It was very pleasant sitting out in the evening, having a drink, listening to the surf. These pluses almost made up for the shortcomings.
The staff were friendly enough and I believe they lived on site. The manager (owner?) lives in a large unit which is part of the motel grounds. However, there is no real way to contact management as there are no phones in the rooms. I believe they are available for a fee. Our 4th night involved a major party group occupying the adjacent room. Every hour or two from 11 to 6 am, there was constant loud noise that woke us up. I also had to place wet towels under the adjoining door as it was obvious that the occupants were heavy smokers and the smoke entered our room. There is supposed to a be a heavy fine for smokers.
I had been previously been advised by law enforcement that when confronted by a situation that is out of control, like this was, that we should pack our bags, leave the room and advise management to move one to another room. I am not talking about a loud TV here!!! One's safety can otherwise be compromised. Been there. Done that. Unfortunately, it was not possible in this case.
The next morning I advised management of the situation and was told that the person had only booked one night. I advised them that they had left at about 6:30 am. I was told that the fine would be applied. Big deal. I was not offered any refund or even an apology.
We had no other situations (we would have left if there were). I believe the motel was only half full which explained the quietness of the property with that exception. It might also explain why a one night questionable rental was made.
Which brings me to an issue I should have noticed. We had to pay our entire weeks stay in advance when we checked in. So there was no negotiating for poor service at check out.
We checked the rates for a number of other motels and hotels in the area and realized that we had overpaid, especially considering the less than par room, etc. We paid $192 a night, all taxes in. We could have had a better room for $125 to $150 (all in).
We have stayed at many non chain, smaller hotels in Florida and usually put up with less than perfect surroundings but pay a baragin rate. We usually get what we pay for. Had I paid only $125 a night, my expectations would have been different. We understand there are ownership issues and that some units have been cleaned up. But we were charged the high rate (plus had the situation).
I will not rate the Ebb Tide poor but is was not what we were expecting. It was a great location but we would not stay here again.
Room Tip: rooms 30, 17 or 25 but we do not recommend this motel
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
December 21, 2012
First off, I would like to thank you for giving such an extensive review. It is also my opinion that this hotel is not for everyone. Had you taken the time to read the reviews and not just go by the tripadvisor rating, you would have known that the rooms are clean and hospitable but not something you would find at a more expensive hotel. Here at the Ebb Tide, we give 1st class service as far as location, cleanliness and hospitality. As you rated in your review, the Ebb Tide is in a 5 star location, which in real estate we learn that the most important factor is location, location, location. It would be possible for the Ebb Tide to invest considerable money into décor for the rooms and charge like the other hotels on the beach, but we have decided to maintain cleanliness and maintenance and keep the prices lower, so that all can afford to share in this location. It is not all about the décor of the rooms but the free God given scenic views taking place in front of the hotel every minute of the day. Further, this is a hotel and single nights are allowed during the week but smoking is not allowed in the rooms, but if guests ignore this request, it is very difficult for the hotel to monitor this on a minute to minute basis. You knew exactly where I lived, so you could have told me about this by just knocking on my door even if there was no one in the office or call the office line, as we always answer the phone even late at night. I would have remedied the situation immediately. My guests and their well-being are the most important thing to me and I am never too busy to address their concerns, no matter how minute those concerns are. In closing, booking online, which you did, always involves a commission to the booking engine. Try to book direct with the hotel and ask if there is a discount booking direct. I had a coupon on Tripadvisor.com which could have been used on your reservation. The coupon was not valid for online bookings. Kindly....Karen Karam
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
