Port d'Hiver Bed and Breakfast — Hotel in Melbourne Beach

Where do I begin? Easy breezy drive to the beautiful hotel. If you hit the ocean, you went too far! It is literally the last building before the ocean. You can't miss it. Surrounded by a parking lot, strip mall of fabulous stores, and smaller seaside town looking shacks of good eats, bait and tackle and you see this perfectly manicured pink Key West meets New Orleans looking house that truly speaks to you and says, "Come Inside. I want you to relax and be well with your soul." The minute you enter the check in, you are in a Cape Code/Martha's Vineyard/Nantucket old money home library/sitting room that smells of fine pastry, fresh flowers, old books, Peshawar Rugs, and leather. It is so clean with stations for hand sanitizers, tissues to open doorknobs if you wish and other safety precautions (I never knew you could make Covid safety protocol so classy:). The indoor eating area is quaint & filled with natural light with a touch of classic B&B romance. There you can get your breakfast in the morning (or request to have it delivered to your room. I did the latter and all the food is magnificent). When you walk outside the breakfast area door, it leads you to a small brick patio with more seating, overlooking a lovely tiled wall fountain, white lattice with greenery intertwined everywhere that immediately takes you out of the indoor feel of Nantucket to the outdoor feel of true non-touristy Key West! As you go down the small steps, behind you is a lovely outdoor shower with fresh herbal L'Occitane toiletries, a rain shower head, and more gorgeous bright and beautiful tile as the white door hides for privacy and elegance. If you walk straight down the small brick steps and look to your left, you see an outdoor seating area fit for the Kings and Queens you are! A fire is always going with intimate seating around the tall fire place that is so strategically built, each of the four seating areas around it are private or a place to meet new people like I did! I sat there with my champagne as I looked at the authentic Florida tropical flora and fauna, amazed at the architecture of the building/house and the landscaping. You are transported to the Florida Keys. There is a gazebo seating area for those quick rain showers this time of year. Sit there then enjoy the magnificent spa/hot tub that is sparkling clean, surrounded by plants and rocks with a perfect rock and moss waterfall to soothe not only your sore muscles in the 104 degree water, but your soul as well. The ocean breeze blows through the trees and plants and its sound mixed with the waterfall and crackling fire and honestly, it's heaven. Walk a little farther past the spa and to the left you have more rooms and buildings with an incredible staircase and blue tiles fountain...perfect for couples photos, selfies and even, if you are like me, it is perfect to simply look at. Sure, I sound like I'm a bit much...but when you experience this place after you read this, you will say, "Y'no. I thought that woman was being ridiculously flowery and a bit much but, I'm sitting by the pool, looking around and I am thinking the same thing!":) The pool is small on purpose, meant for cooling off and staying in it while another fountain calms you. There is plenty of seating around the pool area (wicker tables and chairs) to relax, dip, drink, and repeat. There are so many amenities to mention and the kind people show you when they give you a tour of the grounds :) For those needing any assistance getting to their rooms on the second floor, there is a wonderful lift to assist you so you can enjoy all the balcony views from your elegant rooms. I stayed on the first floor, in the Mangrove Suite. It is like old school Ethan Allen meets Key West with a little Amalfi Coast thrown in. Add Peter Reed linens on THAT ROMANTIC BED and I am returning for my anniversary! Booked! Enjoy the elegance of their 5-6 hour with food and beverage that is done so well, you will change how you lodge forever. Really. Well, seems I'm at my limit for the review so I will leave the rest for YOU to...

My wife and I went to the Port D'hiver for the second half of our honeymoon. We spent the first half at the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando. I've stayed in hotels of the highest quality in Paris, Phnom Penh, New York City, D.C. and everywhere in between and while I've enjoyed beautiful accommodations and the personal touches at a quality establishment which typically means everyone calls you Mr. suchandsuch with a smile and you're car is always waiting for you at the front door, I wouldn't trade a night in those establishments in exchange for any of my nights at this bed and breakfast. Now in all fairness, my wife and I enjoy a more quaint feeling and the Waldorf was a little stuffy for us. So if you enjoy the cold, crisp precision of a fine hotel that is impersonably personable then you may want to choose another place. But if you want quality and charm in a beautiful location with a nice romantic feel in a really nice little town, then choose the Port D'hiver. We chose the Carriage House which has it's own balcony and shares no walls. The other rooms seemed nice as well, but I would advise digging a little deeper for the Carriage House. It's worth it. We arrived and were warmly greeted and shown the small grounds. We went to our room where our chilled champagne and romantic background music awaited us. The pictures don't do this room, or any of them I imagine, justice. It was actually hard to leave the room. It's a wonderful little oasis of tranquility with wood floors that are a joy to walk barefoot on. I spent much of my time barefoot for the week. The staff were well versed in all the local attractions and the local food. They provided suggestions for dinner and would make reservations for us before we had even fully decided to ensure we would get a table. The breakfasts were phenomenal and my wife, who has celiac disease, was fully accommodated with a gluten free breakfast that had all the same flavor, which is a wonderful surprise (you'll have dreams about the french toast). My wife never once felt a tinge of sickness, which is difficult any time we travel away from home as so few people appreciate cross contamination issues. Every night there was a delightful gluten free dessert left on our bed that we would find on our way back from dinner. The beach is across the street and we went down the road to do stand up paddle boarding in the river with the manatees, rented stand up paddle boards for the beach, looked for sea turtles that were coming ashore and frolicking in the water, and went to the zoo for the ropes and zipline course which I recommend. Every place we went, whether for recreation or food, knew the Port D'hiver and provided us with extra care as we were guests there. The first morning I sweetened my tea at breakfast with some Splenda so every morning thereafter the girls at the Port made me a pitcher of sweetened tea. They truly anticipated our needs without having to ask and just made you feel like you were a guest in their home. The only negative is that this is only the second time my wife has been to a bed and breakfast and I fear that I will not be able to top the experience. I may have set myself up for failure by jumping straight to the top. I've already recommended the place to several friends and would suggest that anyone who wants a romantic, laid back weekend that will make you a hero with your significant other stay at the Port...

Do not recommend due to the extremely poor management at this price point.

For reference, I stayed for 2 evenings a Saturday and Sunday evening. Really couldn’t use the amenities because it was for our wedding. I as the groom checked in at 4pm on Saturday without my bride, because that’s what we wanted to do and stay there together after we got married. Saturday was our rehearsal dinner. So, after checkin, I showered and was gone in 20 minutes to go to our rehearsal dinner.

I didn’t return until after 11pm and went immediately to bed.

After a good nights rest, I got up showered and made it to breakfast at 9:40am. (They said breakfast was served until 10am.). I could tell the minute I came in and the attendant asked if I was gonna have breakfast they were obviously annoyed as I was in the last minutes. They got me my coffee and after I ordered served me my food which I could hear was heated in a microwave oven. The entire breakfast tasted like it. Warmed over.

Then I was out. Tons of errands to run before my actual wedding. So I was gone until 3pm. When I returned to shower and leave by 4pm, I had a photographer show up to take a few pictures of me getting ready in my room. Typical for wedding photos. She was taking pictures of my shoes and cuff links leaned against the fence as I got out of the shower and overheard someone chastising her saying she could not take pictures here. That it was not allowed.

When I finally got dried off and presentable, I asked my photographer what that was all about. She said she had no idea, but a lady came out of nowhere and immediately started telling her that professional pictures were forbidden and she was to stop immediately. I was like “what?????”

Now, bear in mind I’m stating here for 2 nights. Basically to sleep. No wear and tear on their property. 2 nights sleep. 3 showers. 1 awful breakfast. 2 cups of coffee. Grand total = $1,292.04.

I also had 4 guests stay on property and book 2 other rooms. So let’s multiply the Port d’Hiver making approximately $3,876 on me.

I didn’t get back from my wedding night on Sunday until 11pm. And we were out at 7am on Monday as I grabbed a cup of coffee. Too early for breakfast and it was awful anyways.

I booked the Port d’ Hiver for its outside beauty. The flowers and the scenery. I could have stayed at a Baymont Inn and received better service. We gave them almost $4,000 and I can’t take picture of my wedding shoes outside? Or we pay a $350 penalty.

Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Don’t try to call the Port d’Hiver. They never answer the phone. You have to call, call and call. They don’t answer.

I finally got through to a Stacie who said she’s the general manager. I asked her to have the owner Frank Talerico give me a call. She didn’t want to take my name and number basically demanding she could resolve anything. She reluctantly did, but 48 hours later, I’ve received no follow up call from either Stacie or Frank. Shows you how much they respect us being a customer. Awful customer service. Awful.

We will never return obviously. What a disappointment. We chose the place to be magical and it far from delivered. Do...