Courtyard by Marriott Oceanside Fort Lauderdale Beach — Hotel in Fort Lauderdale

I would like to share with you my recent experience at Courtyard Fort Lauderdale beach. I was planning a few days trip to Fort Lauderdale and while I was looking for a place to stay, I noticed that there are many hotels in the area. Some of them offered more reasonable prices. But I chose Courtyard because of its outstanding reputation and amenities. I have always loved staying at Marriott hotels. Upon arrival, which was approximately 4:30pm (June 23d, 2024), my friend and I had to wait in a line full of angry guests, which was unusual. When finally, was our turn to check in we were greeted by a very rude and disrespectful receptionist. I believe her name was Leann or something similar. She kept yelling at us that our room was not ready, and that was not her fault. Very disappointing experience. Nobody goes on vacation to check in at a hotel and being yelled at. We had a few questions, and it took some time to get answers because the receptionist kept yelling at us that the room was not ready. We wanted to know when it will be ready. It was almost 5pm already. We were hoping to check in and go to the beach. But unfortunately, we couldn't do so. It was a very surprising and dissatisfying experience. We asked again when will be able to check in and why does it takes so long considering that the official check-in time is 4pm and we arrived around 4:30pm. Our room should’ve been ready by the time we arrived. She couldn’t tell us the reason why our room was not ready. Finally, after some more yelling from the rude receptionist we found out that whatever (she couldn’t say how long is going to take) the room is ready I’ll receive a text message. I can’t describe my disappointment. Such unprofessional behavior. I was very respectful and understanding and I got yelled at because of your miscalculations and mistakes. Very unsatisfying. I had no other choice but to leave the hotel and figure out something to do. Finaly around 6pm I received a text message that my room was ready. I have traveled to many places and never experienced anything like it. Unspeakable. I would like to point out that although the receptionist was very rude, I did not respond with the same attitude, but kept being understanding and polite. When I finally checked in and went to the room, it was very hot. The AC didn’t work properly, and I had to call the front desk. At some point a gentleman showed up and fixed it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. Early next morning there was a horrible noise coming from upstairs (apparently there was a renovation going on) we were not informed that there would be horrible loud noise all day long. Who goes on vacation and wants to listen to loud machine noises since 8 am? Why do you even check guests in? Nobody ever wants to listen to that. Extremely disappointing and frustrating. When I called the front desk, the receptionist told me that there is information on the website about the renovation. I checked multiple times, and the only information was about a pool repair (I’m not going even to bother to describe how disappointing that was as well). Absolutely nothing about rooms renovation. If I knew that in advance, I would’ve never booked a room. Because of the horrible loud noise, I couldn’t get enough rest. I didn’t get any rest as a matter of fact. Again, who goes to a hotel to be disturbed and kept awake. I wanted to sleep until late and relax but that was impossible. The next day was the same. Loud noises since 8 am. Unfortunately, it was like staying in horror hotel. I couldn’t really enjoy any of the activities that I planned because I didn’t rest at all. And everything mentioned affected my whole vacation. I went on vacation for couple of days and all I wanted was to enjoy a great experience and relax, but I didn’t get anything like that. Overall, an extremely disappointing experience. I regret that I didn’t book a room in another hotel. After everything I shared with you, I would like to know what kind of solution you would suggest. Thank you...

If you are reading bad reviews, they were probably written prior to the construction. The renovations are now completed and I would highly recommend this hotel!

My family stayed here for 3 nights but I was ready to write a 5-star review after the first day. Checkin was supposed to be at 4pm. We arrived at 10:30am and our room was already ready for us and they let us check in without any additional charge. They even upgraded our room from a regular double queen to a junior king suite with a partial ocean view! John was working at the reception and he was amazing. Absolutely started off our vacation on the right foot and set the tone for our entire stay.

Your hotel stay comes with :

1. $17 DAILY hotel credit (which we used towards our meals)
2. 2 complementary water taxi passes DAILY. The water taxi picks you up just across the street from the hotel at the International Swimming Hall of Fame. There are many nice stops but we decided just to hop on for a ride in the afternoon to cool off when it was too hot to be at the beach. I highly recommend going for the ride! It runs every 40 minutes and there are maps of all the stops. You can even take the water taxi to Pompano and Hollywood beach. The pass also gets you a nice discount at a handful of restaurants.
3. complimentary beach towels and 2 complimentary beach chairs (the beach is also just across the street). Umbrella rentals are $30/day.

The location is amazing! As I mentioned, the beach is across the street. There is a 711 just steps away where we grabbed cold drinks and snacks everyday. Also within a few minutes walking distance: Marina Village, a bunch of beachfront restaurants (including the infamous Coconuts), CVS, Starbucks, ice cream shops, etc. If you have kids, there are 3 playgrounds within a 5 min walk. The airport is just a 15 minute Uber ride.

Our room was clean and restocked daily. Housekeeping usually came around 3-5pm. The water pressure in the shower is good and the water can get super hot if you like hot showers. They provide really nice shampoo/conditioner/body wash. The beds were comfortable.

The pool was ok - not their fault but the water is super cold even when the weather is extremely hot. The rooftop bar has a nice view of the beach and everyone that works at the bar is really nice!

I don’t know their names but there was a lady that works at the bar and a gentleman that works at the restaurant who helped me to order food for my kids one night even after the restaurant was closed. They were so kind and helpful.

If I really had to find one thing to criticize, I think i would have preferred a continental or breakfast buffet. The way the restaurant works for breakfast is you line up at the register, order your breakfast and pay at the counter. It is a self- serve style so you grab some of the items and bring it back to your table. After ordering for my family of 4 I am juggling fruits, cereal, milk, juice, hot coffee, a number stand for my order, etc without a tray. There are also not many options to choose from the breakfast menu. However, this would not necessarily stop me from staying at this...

A classical example how a single horrible event can easily ruin a quite decent experience overall. My rating would be 4 to 5 otherwise. Details below.

The last evening of our stay (March 17, 2025), I bring my rental car in front of the hotel, where valet parking assists guests. After a brief wait, no one shows up, and the lady at the front desk comes out offering me to take the keys, if I was comfortable about it. Seeing her Courtyard t-shirt (and badge or some sort of identification if I remember well), I surely hand over my keys, but before heading up I ask, "are you not going to ask for my room #?" Her response is "not needed", which shocked me, but ok. As I am heading to the elevator, she shouts from the front desk: "What is your room #?", which is when I provide the room information.

As soon as I get up to my room, she calls the room asking me to come down, which obviously does not make sense. Her initial response is that I need to "register the car". Obviously, I reject this, since she has all the information & tools at her hand to register my car, including: My passport My phone # Deposit on the room Car, car keys etc.

She follows by claiming I need to pay now and cannot pay in the morning, which is absolutely ridicilous. My response is: "you specifically asked me to give my car keys to you, without even asking about records or even my room number. What you are telling me does not make sense, I am in the hotel and will pay tomorrow morning when I come down for check out and you can hand my car only over if I pay".

Things get further interesting at this point as she starts: Yelling at me Threatening to get my car towed Telling me exactly "I don't want to keep speaking like your mom, get down here" and more...

After I get down, attitude only gets worse, she instructs valet not to park my car, threatens to call the police (which police would probably only laugh at...). I go to the valet desk, apologizing for the situation and the only reasons I gave the key and went upstairs was due to the her actually instructing to do so. Then, he also refuses to take the car, and asks me to park somewhere else, which is absolutely ridicilous.

Long story short, I go and park my car next door, costing the hotel $60 just for that night.

Next morning (March 18, 2025), I walk up the front desk after personnel rotation to file a complaint. Front desk associate that morning and her supervisor are absolutely shocked at how events turn out and do confirm that paying for parking in the morning IS possible, and this person had all needed to keep my car. Supervisor was also extremely nice and helpful, tried to do everything within her power, but damage was done.

I am a regular visitor of Fort Lauderdale and thanks to this employee's "power play", Courtyard has probably lost 10 nights of business every year during or about peak season. Valet at the night shift was not helpful either.

Service I received from Carlos was pleasant earlier...