My wife and I were looking forward to our stay at the W on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Unfortunately, this property did not meet our expectations of an acclaimed 5-star resort.
The resort property feels dated and tired. We did not find their indoor public areas particularly attractive. The décor lends itself to a modern style like most W properties do, but the décor here was uninviting. The long halls in the residential tower are painted a stark white without any artwork on the walls giving an institutional feel as you make your way to your unit.
Jourd’s unit is spacious and provides a beautiful view of the ocean and intracoastal. However, the unit appears worn and could use some color and freshening up. Inside the unit we were met with the same stark white walls as the corridors, which just made the space feel cold and sterile. It would not hurt to hang a few pictures to warm up the space. We found it quite odd that there was no full-length mirror in the unit. Most people tend to use a mirror when dressing and the only mirror available is the half mirror above the bathroom vanity.
The unit was clean on our arrival, but we felt it was lacking certain necessities we have come to expect from our previous stays at rentals or time shares. In the kitchen, the pots and utensils were old and showed signs of excessive use. We were only provided with four low tumbler glasses, two tall glasses, one of which was cracked down the side, and some mismatched plastic cups that looked to have been left behind by previous occupants. Any time we have stayed in vacation rentals, most kitchens are stocked with wine glasses. It is not unusual for people to enjoy a glass of wine or cocktail while relaxing in their unit. Though a corkscrew was provided, there were no wine glasses to be found.
In the bathroom, we were provided with four bath towels (for a seven-night stay) but no hand towels or wash cloths. There was not even a box of tissues in the unit. Thankfully, I came across a maid’s cart on our floor one morning and was able to get some hand towels and tissues. In my mind, these are basic household necessities.
It appeared to us that the unit is furnished with the same furniture used in other W units, as we noticed the dining set and patio chairs in our unit were the same as other units we caught a glimpse of. The dining chairs were not particularly comfortable to sit in, nor were the chairs on the terrace. As a result, we did not get to enjoy those beautiful water views since it was not comfortable to sit outside.
Communication with Jourd during the reservation process was easy and seamless. He was quick to respond to any inquiries we had. During our stay, there was unfortunately a fire on the property one evening, which left the resort without any water or air conditioning in either of the towers. As a result, we relocated ourselves for the night. The W management would not assist us in finding alternate lodging because we were not hotel guests. When we returned to the property the following morning, not only were the water and air conditioning still not restored but also there was no power to most of the units. Since it was not possible to remain at the resort given the lack of these necessities, we checked out. Jourd was apologetic and responded quickly when we first reported the issue to him when we relocated the first night. However, we began to feel he was stalling in responding to our inquiries about a being refunding for the for the nights we were unable to stay in the unit because of this unfortunate incident. As a result, we needed to reach out to Airbnb’s resolution center to address our refund request for the time we were unable to occupy the unit.
We had booked our reservation with Jourd in early August, and shortly thereafter learned from the W website that the large East pool would be closed from August 1 – 31st. This information was not disclosed to us at the time of booking, and unfortunately the closure was extended to September 25th. As a result, not only did we not have access to the main pool, but we also had no access to any of the beach side outdoor public space. This was a big disappointment. The West pool in the residential tower was the only pool available for all hotel and resident guests and could not accommodate the number of people who wished to use it. Consequently, we were unable to use the West pool over the Labor Day weekend because of overcrowding. We feel it was unfair for the W to charge guests the full resort fee, even though these amenities were not available for our use.
We feel this resort is subpar compared to other five-star resorts in the area and is not worth the hefty price tag to stay here.