Caribbean Resort by the Ocean — Hotel in Hollywood

My husband and I stayed here for my 30th birthday. I grew up in South FL going to Hollywood Beach. We weren't looking for anything fancy, just a clean hotel room next to the beach with a pool for pool time. We were booked in a suite room. Pros: -Rooms were clean and remodeled. The room had a slight musty smell when we arrived, but once the AC ran for awhile, it went away. -They use eco friendly bath products. -Tiki Bar on site with complimentary welcome shots. The bartender was great our first night there, the second night not so much. -Very close to the Broadwalk. Cons: -No pool access at the Caribbean Resort by the Ocean. The pool was only for Caribbean Suites guests. This was not specified on the website. We were extremely disappointed, since that was one of the main reasons we booked this hotel. The room we were staying in at Caribbean Resort by the Ocean was a suite, just not at the Caribbean Suites hotel. My husband ended up spending $350 to get us a resort day pass at Margaritaville so we could use the pool there. Considering that our suite was $350+ per night, it was ridiculous that we couldn't have pool access. -Poor Wi-Fi service. This hotel offers free Wi-Fi, but it did not work most of our stay. The staff blamed it on an area outage, but the Wi-Fi was working just fine at Margaritaville and other parts of the Broadwalk. It seems that it seems to be an issue with the hotel's system. My husband only spotted 1 router in the hotel's office. Being on the other end of the building, there's no way that one router can serve a whole building. I understand that this is an older hotel, but if you are advertising free Wi-Fi ,it should be working. It seems like they need to update their system. -Poor customer service. You are treated as a motel guest, not as a resort guest. There is no guide book in the room with area information or extra touches that make your stay special. I've experienced better hospitality at other hotels that were both less expensive and more expensive than this hotel. The staff here isn't rude, they just lack basic hospitality training. Making your guests feel welcomed,offering local recommendations, celebrating special occasions. These are the kinds of things that keep guests coming up. Again, more of a management issue than a staff issue. I love Hollywood Beach. The weather is awesome and the Boardwalk is a lot of fun. My husband and I had a great time. We will definitely return to Hollywood Beach, but not likely to Caribbean Resort by the Ocean. The hotel wasn't bad, but the lack of amenities and hospitality was a real turn off for us. When you spend your hard earned money traveling, you expect to be treated more like a guest and not just a...

The worst hotel experience in my entire life, and I've stayed at over 100 hotels. Overcharged, paying almost $400 a night-after agreeing to an nice room-arrived to find that I had been moved--without my knowledge nor consult. I had called 17 times over the previous two weeks and no one ever answered the phone. At least 10 of those times I left the extended message saying this is my message number eight, number nine, number 10 etc. no one ever responded. When I arrived, I was shown to a different room. Immediately upon entering the room with the manager, I could smell a foul smell that was as if something had died, maybe there was a dead rodent behind the furniture. I immediately commented on it and the manager tried to say it was Cleaning equipment. I told him point-blank that is not a cleaning smell. No offer to move me, have the room checked for the horrendous smell, cleaned - nothing. I left the door open all day, hoping the smell would dissipate but it did not. I had some friends over that evening and one after another immediately said "Oh my God what is that horrific smell?" Several people said it smelled like mold, including a homebuilder/developer and that I needed to leave that room, but by this time the management had left. I closed the door and spent most of the evening out. When I entered the room again, the smell was overwhelmingl. So although I was exhausted, I didn't want to get sick, so at 12:30 at night, I had to pack up my things and drive home because I could not stay in that room. At 1:45 AM I texted the hotel manager on his personal cell and told him I had left because of the, overwhelming mold smell. I requested a refund and my request was dismissed. That room was not fit for my dog. The hotel is old and needs to be refurbished. The one bathroom in the bar area is a disgrace. Further, there is no alcohol at the bar -- only make believe alcohol, the food is only a few items- frozen chicken nuggets, frozen, french fries frozen hotdog, etc. the only thing they serve is what can be popped in the microwave for a minute or two. As other people have mentioned there's also a parking fee which no one mentioned for guests. This is the only commercial establishment I've ever seen rooms on the second floor without an elevator to take you to the second floor. I would think this is against code. It is absolutely not compliant with federal disability laws. I do not recommend that anyone spend even one dollar at this establishment, especially in light of the fact of the dishonest management. A complete waste of my money. So many nice places to stay in the area-less expensive than this--this is not one of them. I do...

The worst hotel experience in my entire life, and I've stayed at over 100 hotels. Overcharged, after agreeing to an expensive room-arrived to find that I had been moved-without my knowledge or consult. I had called 17 times over the previous two weeks and no one ever answered the phone. At least 10 of those times I left the extended message saying this is my message number eight, number nine, number 10 etc. no one ever responded. When I arrived, I was shown to a different room. Immediately upon entering the room with the manager, I could smell a foul smell that was as if something had died, maybe there was a dead rodent behind the furniture. I immediately commented on it and the manager tried to say it was Cleaning equipment. I told him point-blank that is not a cleaning smell. No offer to move me, have the room checked for the horrendous smell, cleaned - nothing. I left the door open all day, hoping the smell would dissipate but it did not. I had some friends over that evening and one after another immediately said "Oh my God what is that horrific smell?" Several people said it smelled like mold, including a homebuilder/developer and that I needed to leave that room, but by this time the management had left. I closed the door and spent most of the evening out. When I enter the room again, the smell was overwhelmingl. So although I was exhausted, I didn't want to get sick, so at 12:30 at night, I had to pack up my things and drive home because I could not stay in that room. At 1:45 AM I texted the hotel manager on his personal cell and told him I had left because of the, overwhelming mold smell. I requested a refund and my request was dismissed. That room was not fit for my dog. The hotel is old and needs to be refurbished. The one bathroom in the bar area is a disgrace. Further, there is no alcohol at the bar -- only make believe alcohol, the food is only a few items- frozen chicken nuggets, frozen, french fries frozen hotdog, etc. the only thing they serve is what can be popped in the microwave for a minute or two. As other people have mentioned there's also a parking fee which no one mentioned for guests. This is the only commercial establishment I've ever seen rooms on the second floor without an elevator to take you to the second floor. I would think this is against code. It is absolutely not compliant with federal disability laws. I do not recommend that anyone spend even one dollar at this establishment, especially in light of the fact of the dishonest management. A complete waste of my money. So many nice places to stay in the area-this is not one of them. I do...