Pier Sixty-Six — Hotel in Fort Lauderdale

This past Sunday, my partner and I had a staycation at Pier 66 Hotel to celebrate the completion of my Master’s program. From beginning to end, it was an extraordinary experience.||Upon arrival we were greeted by name. The managers even stepped out to personally greet us. We were given a welcome drink as we checked in and the entire staff were so welcoming. It made us feel at home.||We were checked in by Daniela. She was so friendly and welcoming, and you can tell she loved what she does. The bellman, Marco, helped us to our suite and ensured us he would take care of our luggage while we enjoyed an informative tour of the hotel, the amenities, and our room by Klavie. She was very knowledgeable about the hotel and her and Marco offered some great tips on things to do during our stay. ||When we entered the suite, it was enormous! It had an amazing ocean view. The room was extremely luxurious and the staff had even handwritten a welcome letter for us which was placed in front of beautifully arranged decorative chocolate bites. It was such a thoughtful gestures that truly made us feel special.||The bed…It felt like sleeping on a cloud. I genuinely didn’t want to get out of it in the next morning, especially with the ocean being the first thing I saw when I woke up. ||Later in the day, my partner and I visited the spa. We where welcomed by Valerie. Her presence was so warm and welcoming and she 100% gave off the Zen vibe. From the moment we stepped inside, we were pampered by Carrie. She offered us prosecco, tea, and showed us all that we could do in the spa. It was the perfect way to unwind after the stress of working full time and going to school. ||That evening, we dined at Sotogrande, one of the hotel’s signature restaurants. The experience was exceptional to say the least. We started with the watermelon salad. It was so light and refreshing. A unique blend of watermelon, feta, olives, and baby tomatoes…simply a must have. We also had the hummus which was fresh and packed with flavor. In addition, we had the Frito Mixto, mixed/fried seafood. It was perfectly cooked… crispy on the outside yet soft on the inside. ||For our main courses, I ordered the lamb chops and my partner ordered the New York strip. We also shared a grilled vegetable platter and patatas bravas. Every bite was mouthwatering. So flavorful, tender, and cooked to perfection.||We were lucky enough to meet the chef after out main course. He was so down to earth and passionate about his craft. It was evident in the way he talked about the food and preparation. We were so full but he told us we had to try dessert. He recommended the Basque Cheesecake and Dubai Tart… and man am I’m glad he did. That cheesecake genuinely brought a tear to my eye. ||After dinner, our waiter recommended we take a walk by the harbor, it was a great way to walk off the meal. ||I would 100% recommend Pier 66 to anyone and would definitely stay...

Parking Not Included. Yup, that's right. $30 to park it yourself, $35 for valet I believe. I parked it myself. They have a button you push that gives you a ticket with a time stamp. Since it's also a marina I thought that perhaps people staying at the hotel could have theirs validated. However in the lobby I was told by the receptionist and I believe a bellman that you "only have to pay once" during your stay, like it was a good deal. I hated the pitch more than the information. I asked the valet separately to go over how it worked after I escaped the sales reps and that individual made it sound like it was once a day. I can't imagine that being the case but luckily I didn't have to find out because I was there only one day. P66 needs to be more upfront that your transport to the place you paid for isn't included. The receptionist was also surprised that we still had our room since they were overbooked. I'm not sure why she mentioned that since everything was all fine but it's disconcerting that the room I reserved and paid over $200 for several months ago could suddenly not be available.

The atmosphere is rather nice, the lobby and the courtyard were appealing but the rooms were fairly average, except the bathroom that was quite large and the balcony looking over the marina and the construction site on the other side (not their fault but it sort of cheapened the experience). Also no trash can... not sure what that's about. I read other reviews with this problem. In the morning, the air conditioning wasn't capable of keeping the room cool between the balcony and the outdoor hallway, and was quite loud for how ineffective it was. Not much soundproofing either because I was quite aware of everyone who passed as I tried to fall asleep.

Last, when I tried to call the front desk after settling in to my room someone eventually answered, mumbled something that I assume was a form of "please hold" because I was put on hold. For a while. Then someone answered and mumbled again and put me on hold. Then someone answered again and told me clearer this time to please hold. Why are you answering over and over to tell me to please hold? Checking in doesn't improve the experience of being on hold... I hung up. I wanted to ask how parking worked.

All in all it was about location. It has a nice view of the marina or the courtyard that seemed well maintained. However I found it to be more shine than substance. The overall experience wasn't too far off from your average hotel that would cost a third of the price (maybe you wouldn't get a balcony), have half of the walk time (the place was huge), and would let you park there for free. Maybe if you're there to stay for a few nights and don't drive in it's a different experience. But for someone who's more or less passing through and think, "why not something a little extra with a view?" this isn't the...

My wife and I booked this hotel for two nights around a cruise we had in the area. We stayed one night in the pool view area before and one night after in the Marina area. I have to say that our stay was...okay. The rooms were spacious and and bed was comfy, but other than a few pretty spots, it was below what we expected. There was a disturbing lack of attention to detail. When you walk in (and based on what we saw online) you feel like you're about to get Hilton for a great price. However, it quickly became obvious we were getting more of an upgraded Best Western for an average price. There are a lot of activities to do outside (a positive) and we found the pool area beautiful (another positive) but the edges of the pool seemed a bit dirty.

First night (ocean view): We walked into our room. While spacious, it looked like it hadn't been upgraded in awhile. Had the concrete/stucko walls. There was a picture hanging that was noticeably damaged. The lock to the balcony area (something we were excited for) was broken so we couldn't even enjoy the pool view. The room just seemed outdated (there was even a cord phone next to the toilet.) My wife wanted to take a bath, but decided she didn't think the tub was clean enough to enjoy it.

Second night: (Marina view): The room was a bit cleaner overall. Same bland design. The sliding door worked (we were on the first of two floors this time). Unfortunately, our "view" of the marina was simply a view of a boat parked outside our window. That became more annoying at midnight when I assume the residents of the boat decided to have a late night party and around 8am when marina construction began. I don't blame the hotel for the noise really, but def affected our experience considering we were told these were better rooms and charged more for the marina view as opposed to the pool view. The distance from the boat to our sliding door was likely about 40-50 feet. Bathtub still not clean enough for my wife's anticipated bath.

That said, I give three stars because overall, the experience wasn't a "bad" one...just not what we expected. Staff was friendly enough (although there was one time I talked to a guy at the front desk, then came back about 2-3 hours later and he didn't remember me in the least bit.) The area is great--the hotel location was probably the best thing about it. $6-8 Uber/Lyft ride to just about anywhere in the area including the cruise ports. We likely won't stay in this hotel again, but could be a perfect option if you're looking for an okay stay...