The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort — Hotel in Fort Lauderdale

April 27 2024 I made a reservation at this location for my husband and I as well as a couple that was traveling with us that wanted to stay here. We arrived this Feb 28, 2025. Throughout that 11 months I periodically checked in with the hotel directly to confirm all was well with our reservation as I know things can happen. I was told each time that we were good to go and all was correct and that had on file that we wanted to be next door to each other for those 2 nights. The last time I confirmed was 3 days before we were due to arrive at the location. And it happened to be the manager that confirmed and stated that at would be great with our Premium Ocean view rooms.... fast forward to travel day. While we were in flight, I had received an email stating that if we did not call by 4:00 pm that we could loose our rooms. What? seriously why? I called in a panic to the hotel at 5:30 or so after we landed and I read this email. It immediately sent me into a panic since I could not call by 4:00 since we were in flight, but why what is even necessary anyway? All was supposed to be "good to go ". I told them we were on our way and would be there soon.

After we arrived , at check in, not only were we not next to each other , they put us 2 floors apart. And not 2 Premium Ocean view rooms like I booked. I was furious!! I took the time to confirm several times to make sure everything was set only to arrive to find out it was not. When I complained to the gal at the desk and said that was NOT going to work , she got the manager. The same one that confirmed just a few days before that "all was good"... after taking a long time to search the system he found a room that was on the same floor but was not Premium ocean view, in fact it had a view of the building next door out of a filthy window. I was PISSED after going to the room and seeing what we were given...prior to that while we were waiting for him to fiddle around with the system to see what to do , He actually said "Well, you can find somewhere else to stay"...all 4 of us are standing there after a 10 hour flight day with all of our luggage and he says that to us after THEIR screw up? And it was the first day of Spring Break. We did not know that when we booked the hotel because we don't follow spring break dates, but he know FULL WELL that we were NEVER going to find another hotel. We did not have a car and he was just being rude. He even admitted that he was the one that spoke with me the last time I confirmed. And in the end both of our rooms ended up costing the almost the same price. Why? My room had an amazing view and my friend's room was looking at a building. We had no idea which was which as we headed up to the 8th floor. He told us he would wave the resort fees for the trouble but did not seem sincere or apologetic in seeing all the stress this whole thing had caused starting with the email while we were in flight and unable to respond in time (that we shouldn't have had to do anyway) .

After getting settled we decided to head to get something to eat at the LONA COCINA restaurant ...yes it was busy. We waited an hour plus for a table ( that's fine), had a waitress that never showed up and literally left our food sitting so long that it was COMPLETELY cold. I have never been served quesadillas that had cheese that was completely cold and solidified. Not melted but hard from sitting so long .The fajitas were cold, they usually are sizzling hot. We were SO tired and angry that we left and didn't want then to remake the food.. We should have but after the travel day, arriving to a nightmare with the rooms and then a horrible dinner, we were just DONE. I will never book this hotel again. It has such an amazing view and the potential was there but after the customer service we received even from a manager I won't ever recommend it either!! Since I am NOT allowed to respond to the owners reply or write a 2nd review, I am forced to shorten my review to respond. I did NOT USE AN INVALID CREDIT CARD! In fact I used the same card when I arrived...

That response was a canned, cookie-cutter reply—and exactly what I hoped not to receive. My family and I will never stay at another Westin again.

As a veteran of the hospitality industry, I’ve always held your brand in high regard. Unfortunately, this experience—and your lack of meaningful engagement—makes it clear how far your standards have fallen. We did ask for a manager. We did speak with the front desk. And yes, I was knowingly misled when I called ahead to request a room with a partial view for our honeymoon.

Instead, we arrived to a disappointing room, a poor dining experience, and the final blow—food poisoning to kick off our honeymoon. That’s not just unacceptable—it’s insulting.

What I was looking for was a human response, some accountability, and an indication that someone cared. Instead, I got a generic template. You’ve lost lifelong customers, not because of a bad night, but because of how you handled it.

I hope you do better for the next couple.

Reservation / Front Desk

This was the first night of our honeymoon. We left the next morning on a cruise. I called when I made the reservation, I called before we drove down, sent a message..... Let them know that even though we had a partial view so we could see the ocean from our room. Come to find out when we got to our room that non only can we not see the ocean at all, we are looking directly at the back of the next building with the HVAC unit and a bunch of trash bottles that people had tossed out of their window...... We were exhausted so we shut the curtains, after the meal at the restaurant, this entire experience was a nightmare, and it was the first night of our honeymoon..... The room we were in had zero view...... Don't respond like you are going to be able to do something like that, let the person get excited and then put them behind that room. The least you all could do if you are going to have rooms there is to paint a mural on that ugly wall or something.

The Restaurant

In a nutshell — because I still get queasy thinking about it — my husband and I had an extremely disappointing (and frankly, horrifying) experience at the restaurant inside the Westin hotel where we stayed the night before our cruise.

Both my husband and I are passionate foodies. He’s not just a butcher, but also a chef, so we naturally expect a certain level of quality when dining at a chef-named restaurant inside a Westin, especially with the beautiful online presentation and appealing menu.

After a 16-hour drive, we were exhausted and just looking for a good meal. We sat at a table off the lobby and waited — and waited. About 15 minutes later, it was the busboy, not a server, who kindly brought us water and asked if we wanted drinks. Only after even more waiting did a waitress finally approach our table — wearing sunglasses indoors — to take our small drink order and our request to try the plantain side dish listed on the menu.

We were excited for the plantains — I love them and am familiar with their many preparations. After another 40 minutes with no food order taken, she brought the "plantain" side dish to the table.

Except — it wasn’t plantains.

What we were served looked, smelled, and tasted like overripe, rotten bananas topped with a bit of farmer's cheese. It was absolutely revolting. I always try two bites before making a judgment — I regret both.

When we politely mentioned that what was served was definitely not plantains, the waitress argued with us, visibly annoyed, and stomped off. Eventually, the charge was removed from our bill — and we appreciated that part, at least.

But the worst was yet to come.

The next morning, I woke up with the worst food poisoning of my life. The only thing I ate that my husband didn’t was that "plantain" dish. It ruined the first three days of our honeymoon — all because of a rotten banana side dish that should never have been served.

Westin, you have some serious updates to make. This experience left a very bad taste — literally and...

I never leave negative reviews as you can see on my page, but I would give this hotel zero stars if I could simply for the treatment we received from management. I have tried to contact the hotel multiple times since our stay to give them an opportunity to rectify their mistakes but have not received a call back.

For background: As a rewards member, my husband and I were excited to book this trip with our 1 year old son. I was here on business and they flew out to see me. We were so happy to be together and it was quickly ruined by this facility and staff within minutes.

My husband, unaware of their smoking policy, took a few puffs of his vape pen outside on the balcony. An hour later, we received a harsh, abrupt knock on our door from security, despite having the “do not disturb” sign up, as our 1 year old son was sleeping. Our son woke up crying. We were told we were being accused of smoking. My husband assured it was just a vape pen AKA “vapor” and apologized. We thought they were there to give us a warning. We were terribly wrong.

The security guard, Norman, forced his way into the room to “inspect” the room for smoke or cigarettes, to which he found none. A total invasion of privacy. He then showed my husband photos and videos of himself on the balcony, recorded on an iPhone, another invasion of privacy. Taking photos / spying on us on our private balcony? This was bizarre.

He then proceeded to hand my husband a paper and said we needed to sign it to authorize Westin to bill us $350 for “smoking” (a vape, mind you!!!!) and if we refused, we had to leave the premises immediately. My husband refused to sign and Norman left. 10 minutes later, we received a call from the manager, Hyman, who said the same thing to us and would not speak or reason with my husband. He kept repeating “it’s our policy, pay $350 or leave.” An absolutely wonderful way to speak to someone on family vacation. He then hung up on my husband and a few minutes later we received a knock at the door from Norman and Hyman. Again, they repeated the same thing “pay or leave.” When he told Hyman we’d be leaving, he informed us that we’d still be charged the $350 fee. My husband had to reason with him until he finally agreed that we wouldn’t be charged. And with that, we packed our belongings and carried our one year old to drive an hour in the pouring rain to the nearest hotel with availability which was one hour away.

To put it simply, a warning would have sufficed. This staff escalated this to no end. I can’t imagine how they treat people who really cause problems at this resort. I’m saddened that this resort values policy over humanity.

I would also like to mention that I slipped and fell on the premises a day prior to this incident due to the staff’s negligence (the ramp going into the south tower was completely wet with no wet signs anywhere!) and have since reported it to the liability department and I’ve not received an apology. They brought up the smoking incident which seemed odd as the two have no direct correlation…and seemed like they were saying “well you were accused of smoking so we can’t do anything about your fall.” I gave them the exact date, time and location of my fall which I’m sure they can see on their security cameras but they will not acknowledge it happened. There were multiple guests that had to help me up and it took a while as I landed on my hip and knee and didn’t think I could stand at first.

I hope management can look themselves in the mirror...