Hampton Inn Ft. Lauderdale/Downtown Las Olas Area — Hotel in Fort Lauderdale

I had to find a hotel in a rush and in a specific part of town and the only one available that I recognized by name was this Hampton Inn. I had stayed at Hampton Inns years ago so I assumed it was predictably reliable. When I checked into this hotel in downtown Ft. Lauderdale I was glad there was at least somewhere available in town in the neighborhood in which I needed to stay. Upon entering my room I noticed black spots and what appeared to be mold around the bathroom where the walls converged with the ceiling. It’s disgusting but not nearly as troubling as my next complaint.

After being out, walking around in the heat of south Florida, I came back to my room to find it rather hot. I’m one who always turns the AC or heat off or down because I’m energy conscious; even at hotels. As such, I’d left my room’s thermostat on 76 degrees F, which should’ve maintained a bearable temp until my return to adjust it to make the room cooler. It had risen in temp and the room was a sauna. Then I dropped it to 73 and prepared for a much-needed night of sleep. I noticed as I exited the bathroom that my room was quite hot and humid. I looked at the thermostat to find out what went wrong and as I tried to set it, it showed a very “busy” digital screen of many codes and “options.” I played around with it to no avail. I Googled the name of the make of this thermostat, which was “Verdant,” and to my surprise, this is a new route that certain businesses are going to save money (and be able to announce their dedication to saving the planet). I know some commercial buildings having governors in thermostats to avoid extreme temperature settings. I get that. However, I found multitudes of complaints about this Verdant thermostat being used because it can only be regulated by the technician with the required screwdriver, some passcode, a particular tool, etc.—which will be no normal guest; plus, who wants to feel like a sneak or a criminal? The deal with this thermostat is that it appears to be intentionally (greatly) difficult to understand on its face; then there’s the sensor (a circle under the digital display that is easily overlooked without doing internet research) that must detect “activity” in the room to continue to run the AC…at all! 😳🥵 I began to panic as I read one negative review after another on the helplessness and feeling of being tricked into believing they were paying for a climate-controlled room by reviewers. There were many YouTube videos that promised ways to relieve the discomfort through many steps to pop off the front of the thermostat to reveal a much more complex second layer that has more buttons and the real control panel. However, as I stated before, it’s out of regular guests’ tech pay grade and beyond what any of us would carry in our suitcases even if we did know how we were being duped or how to find a workaround. I took one former visitor’s advice and kept getting up every 30 minutes or so to wave my arms around in front of what I learned was the sensor. As exhausted as I was, this dilemma kept me from falling asleep because every time I got fairly comfortable in a sleeping position, the AC abruptly cut off and the room immediately began to heat up. I finally gave up and called the front desk. The very kind clerk sheepishly confirmed what I told her I’d realized about Hampton Inn’s new thermostats. She said the front desk gets calls and complaints about guests being unable to run the AC (or heat) without repeatedly having to amble over to the thermostat and flap like a bird in different positions in front of that stupid sensor. No one can sleep like that and it’s infuriating. I’m never staying at a hotel with this type of temp control set up again—ever! I also highly recommend you ask first if the thermostat is a Verdant or one that operates like this. It’s grossly unfair to have guests pay for rooms they expect to be comfortable when in reality it’s below par with the added insult of little to no climate control and no sleep! It’s the newest and worst hotel scam. This can’t be our...

There were too many issues dealing with the sales and marketing department. I travel to Ft Lauderdale monthly to attend Doctoral classes. This was my first stay since we have returned to campus, after being online for over a year. I have been a patron of the Hilton brand for over three decades now and on three continents. That includes booking directly with the hotel, sales department, via my parents’ Hilton honors, online Hilton portal, and/or in person. I am extremely disappointed in the turn of events and have never had this experience at any Hilton brand hotel! The deceptively fluid communication that I had with the sales and marketing department set the expectation that I had a booking since we were communicating via email for days. This was in addition to a request from the Sales department director for me to place my credit card to be placed on file. I also requested and received clarification of the total cost of the stay in this same email thread and listed the exact dates on the authorization form. The director of sales and marketing failed to respond, clarify, or inform me that there was a price increase for the weekend. I didn't know about the concert, since I don't live in South Florida. I was also never informed that there were blackout dates and that I did not have a booking that week. I had to miss a portion of my Doctoral classes, missed required clinical rotations to see patients, on top of finding a last-minute Airbnb for a few hours Friday in a very precarious area that was far from my school. If I had not proactively contacted the front desk to check on the reservation, I would have driven over 200 miles on a broken foot and arrived to find out that I had no reservation. That also includes an initial lack of apology for the inconvenience, inadequate communication from the hotel, and undue stress this had caused. This is not what I had been led to believe that the Hilton brand stands for. Following this disappointing exchange to the point where we were able to finally check in to our hotel room, we entered our room, and it was filthy! There was hair in the microwave, stains on every single lampshade, the wall, heavily stained carpet, remnants of the previous guest, cleanliness of the sheets were questionable, the mattress had urine stains and it was clear that the area around the fridge and on around the tv had not been attended to in some time. We had to request a new room and it was slightly cleaner than the previous room. Although, I would not dare to sit on any soft fabric without covering it. In this room, it was not until we began to settle in for the evening that we noticed the copious amounts of hair in and around the tub/shower area from a previous guest and the broken handle. The standard of cleanliness during a pandemic was horrendous and it did not feel clean throughout our stay. Also, I feel it is imperative to mention the odor of men’s cologne that lingered in the room until my daughter spent over an hour disinfecting, heavily cleaning, and wiping down the room, while I attended class. There was someone else’s hair on many of the surfaces in the room. We received no housekeeping services, we emptied our trash and had to request more towels the next day. The towels that we ended up receiving by the way were meant for the pool and gym area and not for general use. One of the doors leading to the garage stayed ajar, which is a security issue. The breakfast was decent/filling and the staff there and at the front desk were very friendly. I did not trust to use the in-room coffee maker based on the dirty feeling of the room and would go to the lobby. Frequently, in the lobby, the coffee was cold, no creamer, or no sweetener available. Due to the lack of cleanliness, the unnecessarily stressful events that transpired before my stay, I could not in good conscious stay here again. I have proactively located other hotels that are also within walking distance and hope to have a...

The best thing about this place was the fact that they held my bags until waiting for my flight & most of the staff were very friendly. Besides that, I wouldn’t recommend. I checked in Sunday 9/4 for 3 nights 4 days. I was able to check in a bit early, but my check in was completely rushed. Two days later I find out for check in you get 2 free water bottles. Any time after that it’s $2. I never got the water bottles during check in until I asked about them!!! I also had to ask about where the pool was located, ice machines, breakfast etc. Shouldn’t this information be shared upon check in? This place advertised a pool & bar/restaurant. Both were closed TWO DAYS IN A ROW! On Labor Day- both the pool & bar were CLOSED! People go on vacation to vacation… to enjoy the amenities!!!! When asked about why the pool was closed we were told “Renovations” & to clean the pool due to mold. On Labor Day??? Really? How about a discounted stay then? Also there was one pool chair cushion outside for the 8+ Pool chairs. Oh wow thanks we can all share! When asked why the bar was closed we were told “the bartender didn’t want to come in”. THIS ABSURD! Also there was no restaurant! Just a menu with a few basic things that couldn’t even be ordered without a waiter/waitress/bartender?! To add, I got put on the 9th floor. It was just me & my 10month old. Couldn’t have accommodated us and put us closer? Not one person asked to help me with my bags. When getting to the room I couldn’t even get my damn door open because the lock/door handle is faulty. I shouldn’t have to chance hurting myself trying to open of my hotel door. I’ve stayed at plenty of hotels with easy access inside- this was ridiculous. Clearly it was broken and they have been lazy about fixing it. In my room, the air conditioner was filled with clumps of dust particles. So this is what me and my son were breathing in the whole time? The room also smelt musty/moldy… maybe because they can’t even take the time to clean the air unit! Or maybe because room service didn’t come not once during my whole stay!!!! Oh yeah that’s right Tuesday 9/6 the day before check out they started banging on my door around 5pm- woke my son up lol and I shouted no thanks. You know what they proceeded to do? Take it upon themselves to open my door! I was not dressed. I had to slam it shut and put my top latch on. How invasive. To add, the latch to the door peep hole was broken off, with a sign underneath stating the cover was for “safety” yet it was broken - yeah real safe. The shower handle wouldn’t stay in place so anytime I turned it on, it would just slide all the way to hot. My son almost was burned 2x due to this!!! When getting ice, there was a yellow hazard sign that stated the machine needed to be sanitized. I stayed 3 nights 4 days- the yellow light was on the whole time. I can’t imagine how long it has been on prior. When using the public restaurant there was old dried up blood dripping down the toilet. I mean, the list goes on! Ive seen plenty of staff waltzing around. What are they doing?! Rushing to clean rooms to get new guests in & make $ so they’re not even worried about treating the guests that are currently staying with the necessary care that should be provided after paying $120 per night! I have pictures of proof, too. The first day I attempted to cancel my reservation and rebook but I was not able to do so on my app that it was booked on so when I called my credit card company they were closed due to the holiday. I had no choice but to stay here- but again, never again! To add, the area isn’t safe you walk two blocks to the left and you hit a very shady area. Beware before booking! Now that I am home I will be contacting my credit card company today. I think I deserve some $ back! Any guests who stayed during the time I did and experienced what I...