The Lucie — Hotel in Jensen Beach

EDIT: Jayla and the accountant for the hotel got involved this morning and they were both very apologetic, didn’t make excuses and found a way to immediately reverse the unauthorized charge to my card and explained in detail while also providing the paperwork to show the issues and their solutions for the issues. What I appreciated the most was that they did not attempt to gaslight me or make excuses, but rather owned their mistakes, apologized and went to the necessary lengths to make it right. Considering all of this, I am voluntarily modifying my 1 star review to a 4 star review. Mistakes happen but the true character of a company is how they choose to resolve them and I was impressed with The Lucie’s character. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The room was lovely, the view breathtaking, the pool and amenities were nice. But what was either an improperly trained or indifferent staff and hotel policies which seem to be poorly understood or arbitrarily enforced resulted in a credit card they refused to take and insisted was impossible for them to use being charged almost $300 after I checked out and was told that I was good to go.

Upon check in, I was told that the debit card I booked through, which was a digital only card number, was IMPOSSIBLE under any circumstances for them to use and I would need to use a different card. Ok, a little frustrating to have to move thousands around but I understood that apparently people are disputing the charges so hotels require chip cards to be used.

I needed a little time to move the money so the manager had Crystal modify my reservation for one night so I could use the existing balance on the only physical card I had and then extend it for another 3 nights so I would have time to move the money. No problems with the hotel staff or team yet.

I moved the money around and brought the physical card down to the front desk with in a hour and affirmed that the full balance required for my stay was now available on my card.

The next day I noticed that the card hadn’t been charged and since it was into the afternoon I went down to the front desk and asked what was going on with my bill. Joey told me to physically run my card for the remaining balance and I did. The full balance of the stay plus the 200$ deposit was now paid to the hotel and removed from my accounts. I then go about my vacation. I was there for days after this and never received a phone call or any follow up communications from the hotel staff. When I PHYSICALLY CHECKED OUT I was told by Joey that I was all set and good to go…. So I went.

Well, not 2 hours later did I get a notification from my bank that the digital card, the exact same one that I was told was IMPOSSIBLE for them to charge and that their system would not allow under any circumstances to go through without a physical chip, had been charged for almost a full night’s stay. I called to inquire what the heck and was told by Steven that it was the remaining balance on my account despite having already paid in full for my stay and for their deposit I informed him that I had paid my bill in full already and after quite a bit of back of forth he informed me that it must be a system error.

So now I am left with almost 300$ removed from my checking account in an unauthorized transaction which according to Steven and the hotels own policies should have been impossible for ‘accounting’ to even do.

Why was I not contacted about any issues at the beginning of my stay as I was assured would happen if there was a problem? Why was I not informed of any issues at all while I was there? Why was I told at checkout that I was good to go if I had a remaining balance? Why was a card that the hotel swore up and down was unusable and impossible for them to charge subsequently charged after I had checked out? This whole experience took what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation following some serious trauma and stress and just soured the whole experience and made me feel...

This is NOT a resort...it is a hotel. We've been here before under previous management and very little has changed.

Pros: It is clean, if not well maintained. The evening cookies and morning coffee are a nice touch...but for the price, breakfast should be included. The staff onsite are helpful and friendly when you can find them. The hot tub was working even though the jets didn't come on all the way around and the waterfall has seen much better days. The mismatched patchwork is cracked and looks awful. The AC works well, but gets too cold when it blows on you. There is no throw or blanket in the room other than the one on the bed. We used beach towels. They have a safe, fridge, microwave and coffeemaker in the room which is nice. They are in the process of replacing the pool access (boardwalk) to the beach which will be nice. Makes sense to do now (off season) but is still inconvenient as beach access is closed on that side for the time being.

Cons: 1. Started out before arrival with not being able to simply extend for one day. I was forced to make a separate reservation. Then they couldn't keep me in the same room or arrange check out/check in so I could just move from 1 room to the other. I'd have to move out at 11 and back in at 4. They weren't even busy during the middle of the week off-season. I was annoyed so I ended up cancelling the last night. On the bright side, since it wasn't busy, it was nice and quiet. The bed was hard and uncomfortable. I left early on check out day to go home and go back to bed. The first night we were there, there was a false fire alarm. We were stopped in the lobby when we came down the elevator and had to wait in the lobby before they would allow us go outside to the pool. Does this make sense to anyone but me? Wouldn't it be safer outside? For the price, at least grab and go breakfast should be provided. They don't even have oranges out in the morning that they have the rest of the day. Frankly, the choice of oranges over apples or bananas that can easily be eaten without a knife shows me they really don't want you to take them anyway. Another way to save them money. The ice machine on my floor wasn't working, The bathrooms are cramped and could be updated. The darker decor shows chips and imperfections in the fruniture. The shower is slippery and grout needs to be acid cleaned or replaced. Toilet is too close to the wall and there is barely any space to put your toothbrush and toiletries.

I really don't see a clear justification to call this a "resort" and charge a resort fee. This is not a resort. It is not even a luxury hotel. Next time I need a stay-cation, I'll choose a different hotel. If you want an example of a resort, look to Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa. We'll go back there...

The Lucie..... A stay to be remembered forever. What is so special about the Lucie? The Lucie has spectacular views from the ocean front rooms, a cozy feel of a boutique hotel with ease of everything you need at your fingertips, attention to all details, cleanliness, welcoming and friendly staff that makes every guest feel important and your needs are met to the best of their ability, easy and close parking, two elevators without a long wait, champagne toast upon arrival, fruit infused water, coffee available all morning, delicious cookies daily, restaurants within walking distance and the list goes on.

My husband, daughter and I had a 5 night stay. We extended it twice! It felt like home and we did not want to leave. The Lucie is a hidden gem. When I researched where to stay in Jensen Beach area I was taken aback by the amazing reviews. The reviews that really stood out always mentioned one person- the infamous Steve. I knew I wanted to meet him. We did not meet him until we were almost ready to check out and I wish we met him sooner. Steve is a man who gets things done. He made the impossible happen when we wanted to extend our stay for two nights and then again an additional night. Our room was booked and we did not want to move to another room. Steve worked a miracle when I thought we were leaving. We continued to stay in the beautiful oceanfront balcony room.

Steve has a special place in our hearts not just because of what he did for us but because of the person he is. We never met anyone like him. He is authentic, dynamic, brilliant, charming, charismatic, fun, cultured, and generous. My 9 year old daughter calls him Uncle Steve and describes him as being kind, caring and compassionate. We just can't say enough about Steve.

Ask Steve for restaurant recommendations. You will not be disappointed. Here are some of our favorite places where we would definitely return. We love food and wine! Go to Shuckers and get the shrimp scampi flatbread, Nonna's on Wednesday for half price bottles of wine and $9 pizza, The Dolphin Bar happy hour for calamari and tuna appetizers along with homemade peanut butter pie, Crabby's Oyster Bar for crab bisque, New York steak sandwich, fried conch or red shrimp appetizer, New England Fish Market - haddock milanese, lobster roll, red potatoes and hush puppies, and happy hour at Stuart Boathouse for wine, martinis, flatbreads and the tuna sushi was superb.

We can't say enough about the staff, the beautiful accommodations and of course the Incredible Steve! Thank you all for such a memorable stay! We can't...