Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa — Hotel in Fort Lauderdale

As far as the front desk goes, this was lacking in service the most. A lot of that has to do with management and it definitely needs to be addressed. First one reason we booked this hotel again was because we had a short layover from a cruise back in December and decided that we wanted to return to actually enjoy what the hotel had to offer here. When we came in December it must have been a better manger because the person who greeted us and checked us in was so kind and helpful. Even upgraded our room without asking and gave us drink tickets (didn’t even have to tell her we were elite members). When we checked in a week ago the service was sub par. We couldn’t use our free nite on the same reservation so we had to book to separate ones. Upon check in the guy said nothing about our membership ( and its honestly not a big deal but the point is some are offering a better level of service than others) Owning a business (myself and my husband) go above and beyond regardless of who we are face to face with. And we make each person that walks through our doors feel like a VIP even if they are not! We had to ask for a room upgrade and then we had to explain why we had 2 reservations ( this is not the hotels issue we know that is an issue with chase and redeeming points. but he seemed uninterested and like he could care less). He made it a point to keep us in the same room ( which we appreciated even though we wouldn’t have minded moving) but that was a nice effort made on his part. Once he did that and checked us in. He gave us a key and was like thank you. NO drink tickets were given to us we had to ask, nothing about what we were paying for the resort ( its $50 a day and includes the amenities) didn't explain which ones. We had a cockroach in our room. When we went back down the next day to speak with someone about it, she offered to change rooms for us but finally apologized when we were almost through talking to her. She did offer to move us, and we couldn’t wait on a exterminator because we were leaving for the water taxi that day. Also YUCK the smell from spraying our room after, who would want to stay in a room like that. We opted out to move for those reasons. While worrying about cockroaches being in our luggage or on the floor scurrying around while we are sleeping. Okay so that was our choice to stay but honestly like we should have even been asked, they should have moved us and upgraded. But no when you are paying this kind of money at a resort you would think happy customers are their top priority! 2nd day in and so far experience not so great. Then we had an issue with our CC on file. It was a mid week holiday and since I don’t use this card a lot while traveling, they sometimes block the card on file. I brought a new card down but told them not to charge the room for it because I spoke to the bank and it should be fine. They still put a hold on the funds. When I went down and explained to them what happened, they refused to delete the card on file and wouldn't recharge the card that we had first given at check in. SO now i have pending charges (the same charges on 2 CC) They told me to talk to my bank. So I did that and the bank told me that it was lie and they can remove it, they just don’t want to do that. This resulted in me canceling the other card so that I would not get charged twice, which clearly has happened to other guests. Upon checking the incidentals we were charged $94 and some change for what? My husband went down to the desk and asked them to explain what the charge was. We had been on the beach that day but didn’t sign off on anything. The manager there arrogantly said "maybe its a $30" tip. I mean WOW!! Upon checking the incidentals we were charged $94 and some change for what? My husband went down to the desk and asked them to explain what the charge was. We had been on the beach that day but didn’t sign off on anything. The manager there arrogantly said "maybe its a $30" tip. I mean WOW!! Really this is how you speak to...

FIRST AND LIKELY LAST VISIT.

The review below is from my observations and experiences at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa from June 30th to July 6th 2024. I’ve themed it as the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Good:

HB Fresh - This was the bright spot of the whole stay. I won’t attempt to name everyone I encountered, however, I will mention Shatia. I can’t speak to the details of her compensation, but it’s likely not enough. Everyone was welcoming, very friendly, appeared to work together, and had a good vibe about the store.

Starbucks - the team members were not as welcoming as HB, but they appeared very focused on their work - nothing wrong with that. Staying focused so the wait time is low is appreciated.

John (Riva) - from my observation John was the busiest waiter in the hotel. He was very friendly, provided outstanding service - what I would expect to see at a Marriott property. I was actually disappointed John wasn’t our waiter on our last day.

Thomas (Kids Surf) - this gentleman set the stage for what could’ve been an outstanding stay. He took extra time to explain the upcoming activities, the layout of the resort, and some of the top interests of previous guests. He went above and beyond to answer all of our questions.

Jennifer (check-in) - to be fair there’s nothing outstanding to note. Yet, the level of service and professionalism was what I expect to receive at a Marriott property. Unfortunately, since Covid, the level of service as a whole in the United States has dropped dramatically. Therefore, when I observe good service, I typically recognize it.

Bad:

Cleanliness - I was disappointed upon arrival as we needed to request the room be cleaned again. The floors were dirty, and there was dust all over the headboard - suggesting that either it’s not an item that is cleaned often or they simply don’t do it at all. For the duration of our stay, I found the cleaning to be satisfactory at best some days and subpar most with a less then friendly housekeeping staff.

Riva hostess (Lucy & Alexandria) - Either more training is required or the hospitality industry may not be a good fit for them - inconsistent courteousness and easily stressed. Not all side conversations are appropriate, especially in the presence of guests. Additionally, it’s not a good idea to tell guests who are being added to a waitlist that it will be 15 to 20 minutes: when a line of people that have been waiting 44 minutes since they were told the wait is 15 to 20 minutes.

Kids Surf Club: Trying to find this open is like looking for Houdini. The front desk will tell you one story, you get another at the Kida Surf Club, and if you're sent to the Jackson room, you get another. I don’t know who runs this area, but I found it to be a complete discombobulation.

Ugly:

Unfortunately, we were next to a family (Rm. 725) who likes to fight. Meaning it sounded like they had a few too many drinks during the day and it turned into a Jerry Springer show in the evening. The first night I didn’t give it much thought. I’ve been Titanium Elite for seven years. It’s going to happen from time to time. However, the second night was a bit much. Since the phones in the room lack descriptions for any of the hot buttons, I dialed zero a little after 11 PM Tuesday night. When I explained the situation to whoever answered the phone and that we needed security sent to the room instead of granting my request, she wanted to argue, “Why didn’t you tell us this last night?” My response, “I am telling you now, so you can do something about it,” and she hung up. Therefore, we got dressed and went to the front desk to get it handled. This is not something any guest should experience at any hotel. At this point, I struggle to see a time I visit this...

Hotel was beautiful, pool and beach are gorgeous! Was a little chaotic when we arrived, we arrived at check in very early (we arrived from a cruise) and expected a wait to check in… the front desk told us maybe an hour but we had access to the pool so that was all we needed for our 4 year old daughter. 4 hours later I called the front desk after no news about our room, the women promptly told me it was not ready yet and hung up before I could ask any questions. Then 15 minutes later I received a text saying our room was ready, weird. Drinks and food at the pool are pretty outrageously priced and come with a long wait for that cost. Our first day we spent a significant amount of money on food and drinks. The second day we had some coronas left over from the previous day, and brought them in a portable cooler to the pool with ice from the ice machine as we went out to the beach soon after with our 4 year old. The beach personnel let us know we could not bring the cooler out but we could leave it at their station until done. We ordered 2 frozen drinks and seltzers, which they also gave us 3 waters with. Service at the beach was EXCELLENT. We brought the seltzers and waters back with us once our daughter was done and but then in our cooler until at our seats at the pool. We waited for about half an hour before we had a female server come by and asked for a bucket of ice. We never received our bucket of ice to place our ALREADY PURCHASED beverages into, we were at the pool with our daughter for more of the time but one was never left by our seats. We were then 3 hours later hassled about our cooler bag and not bringing your own drinks, we hadn’t thought to bug the waitress AGAIN about a bucket of ice to abide by the hotels rules. Again, we had purchased these drinks previously at the pool/beach but weren’t being the leftovers to our room in a bucket… we had been on a Disney cruise prior and have a cooler bag from that that was easier for transport until we could get the appropriate “bucket.” I then came back to my chair to have security approach me and say I need to take the cooler back to my room, I explained that my daughter was at the pool and I’d have to drag her with me, asked if I could leave the cooler at the towel hut until we left. Security said this was ok, but then the woman running the hut was very rude and said no, suggested leaving it outside the hut. How come the hut on the beach was so accommodating but not the pool. I also saw our waitress walking away from the pool hut laughing as I walked up to see if I could leave my bag, she was so rude, especially when we tried to explain that we have purchased our drinks at the pool and beach prior (coronas and seltzers, check out receipts) but apparently those drinks still weren’t allowed? I get the bag, but not honoring our already purchased drinks? What a rip off on drinks and horrible staff communication and service, instead of listening to us and maybe getting a manager to check our receipts, they get security who is on a different page from other staff and ruining the end of our family’s pool day. Our waitress was working in the section between pool and ocean, between towel hut & showers. We asked for ice bucket and never were serviced and then she spent valuable time making our time difficult rather than serving customers or at least getting us...