Bluegreen Vacations Club 36, an Ascend Collection Resort — Hotel in Paradise

Where do I begin? My wife and I arrived today to an extremely hot room which was 77 degrees. I turned the AC to 69 to cool the room and we left to go to the pool; which was located on the 4th floor and beyond a maze of trash due to an ongoing renovation. Afterwards we went to Planet Hollywood for a few hours. Upon returning, we found that the room was still hot and now at only 76 degrees. I call the front desk and they said that they would dispatch maintenance to our room. After waiting 20 minutes to a No Show, I called back and a different person stated they would send someone right away. He showed up about 15 minutes later. He immediately went to the thermostat, removed it from the wall, flicked a switch inside of it then placed it back. He stated the room would begin cooling in a few minutes, to turn on our fan and then he walked out. After about 15 minutes I checked the thermostat and saw that it was still at 77 degrees. I proceeded to call the front desk again and told them that someone needed to come fix this or place us in another King suite room. About 15 minutes later the same maintenance guy returned and after completing a reset, a jump, and a lot of other noise making things that he did, he called for assistance. After the additional maintenance person showed up, they discovered that the entire AC unit had to be replaced I told us it would be about 30 minutes before being back with a new unit. My wife then got on the phone with the front desk and spoke to the manager who agreed to send security to us with keys to a new room. While waiting on security, the maintenance guys returned with the new AC unit on a dolly. While they begin working on that, The security guard (Kelly) showed up with the new keys. My wife asked if we were going to have the same issue with the new room and the maintenance person stated that we might because they switch all of the thermostats to use heat only during the winter. It is obvious that within the past week or so the weather has been very warm. I explained that they should have processes in place to convert all thermostat units when it warmed up so that the guests could use the AC. While my wife was expressing her frustrations to Kelly, the maintenance guys started laughing, which triggered my wife even more, who was already tired and frustrated because these guys were showing a lack of professionalism and urgency.

I asked one of the maintenance guys if they could check the new room to see if the AC unit was working properly, and the young guy bolted out of the room, violently pushing open the doors to the stairs and blurting out profanities while going up the stairs. Kelly and I shared a look as if we cannot believe what was happening. The older maintenance person said they did have protocols in place to switch over the thermostats but instead of doing it when the temperature actually warmed up, they do it mid-March. I find completely irresponsible and ridiculous, and think that is something he made up on the spot. The maintenance guy returned with a dolly and walked passed my wife and I without saying a word. I asked him what was the status and he condescendingly replied that the room was good. I told my wife to grab our things and let's get away from this guy before things escalated again.

When we arrive to the new room, we discovered that it was not a king suite and also the television did not work. So another call to the front desk and another security guard bringing us keys to another room. I have found that the management of this hotel as well as the maintenance guys are unprofessional and need training. The only good thing out of this moment is that my wife and I are now in a room with a functioning AC, and also we had the privilege to engage with a professional security guard named Kelly. Kelly brought us additional towels about an hour later and apologized for the young maintenance guy. I will never return here and am clueless as to why Hilton...

This review was somewhat tough, because although a lot of pros, they were quite a few cons as well. Our family stayed here three nights and has a mixed feeling about the overall experience. However, I gave it to four because of the room itself:

Pros:

The price is pretty comparable for most chain hotels. The room was great. We stayed in the deluxe suite which has two bathrooms, one of which has two showers, which makes it very convenient when you have a large family and everybody has to get ready. The kitchen and the laundry room were definitely a bestseller so to speak. I highly recommend the deluxe if you come stay here with the family of 3 to 4 or more. I like the fact that Security is on the premises 24 hours a day and you definitely do feel safe. The other convenience with having shops downstairs and the pool in the fourth floor makes it very convenient regardless of the weather outside. Although it’s not too far from the strip, they give you a shuttle service and you’re still pretty close walking distance if you wanna do that too nearby MGM. You have free Wi-Fi and parking is included with your stay as well. The staff and crew were very courteous and informative.

Cons:

This is a Silletti doesn’t have a casino like many other smaller hotels. The outside could be a little cleaner, including the hallways. We literally saw a piece of crayons. For instance, sitting in the same spot in the hallway on the bottom floor literally for three days straight, and nobody seemed to be able to sweep it up. One can argue that if the outside is not well-kept what about the rooms? However, I didn’t find the rooms to be dirty, but again it speaks volumes about the overall housekeeping. Some of the curtains were torn in the room and the remote didn’t work well even though Security came to try to fix it. For being an indoor pool I’m surprised they don’t have a heater because the temperature of the water felt pretty much like the outdoors. Although you can make breakfast in your own kitchen, breakfast is not included in the morning like many other hotels. They charge you almost $100 to have housekeeping come in and clean up your room if you stay longer than 2 to 3 days. Interestingly enough many hotels, at least in other states that I’ve gone to include housekeeping every day if you wanted to. You are at the foot of the airport so every so many other minutes you can feel and hear the vibrations of the airplanes taking off or literally flying by the hotel building.

I know the pandemic has hurt a lot of businesses, especially when it comes to hiring personnel or even retaining them. This may have been the case at this facility, which explain some of the minor issues that I observed. Overall, I definitely recommend you come over and stay here if you don’t have the budget for the big casinos like the Maroge with...

Enjoyed a free weekend here as part of the timeshare preview. I was there for a girl's weekend and we had a very nice time despite a few disappointments.

The good:

The property is newer (or recently renovated, not sure which) and very nice. Our room was clean and comfy. The shower was amazing They offer free shuttle service There are a few restaurants and shops right outside the property, which was very convenient

The bad:

The location is less than ideal. For one, it's right next to the highway and airport so you don't have good views and it's a mile to the end of the strip. The shuttle only takes you to planet Hollywood and stops running at 11pm which makes little sense in a city where the nightlife is the big draw. Even if you're willing to walk the mile to the strip, it's a lot farther than that if you want to go anywhere beyond the mgm or planet Hollywood. You'd also have to walk through a pretty shady neighborhood.

They call this a resort but I would not classify it as such. I'm my opinion (and in my experience) a resort is a place you can stay and relax and enjoy many amenities without having to leave the property. This would also add the convenience of being able to charge things to your room instead of having to carry cash/card with you all the time. There's no restaurant or bar and the pool is basic and indoor only. Reminded me more of the pool at the YMCA than a resort. The lounge area is outside but there were few tables, no umbrellas and no landscaping or decoration at all. They also close the pool at 11pm. That said, there is a restaurant/bar just outside but they are not associated with the property.

Despite hanging out "do not disturb" sign, hotel staff would let themselves into the room if they felt like it. That definitely doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, if you know what I mean.

The ugly:

Timeshares are a ripoff. They tried selling us a $50,000 package which doesn't make sense on any planet especially if all of their "resorts" are this basic. That didn't include the monthly fees and there's no guarantees you could book where and when you want. I could easily do 20+ separate trips for that kind of money,...