Residence Inn by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Weston — Hotel in Weston

I’ve spent thousands of nights in hundreds of hotels, and this is undoubtedly the worst business I’ve ever dealt with. From being ignored for 5 minutes when I approached the desk, as the associate was on the floor behind the desk rummaging through a box. No acknowledgement, I’ll be right with you, none of that. To being handed off to a trainee so he could help the Spanish speaking people who came in after me, but were checked in long before me.

The real issues though were these. First, I was told by the trainee that my room rate was $40-50 more than the reserved rate. After mentioning that shouldn’t happen, it came down to about $30 more. The first associate then explained that a reservation is not a guarantee, but merely a suggestion, a reference. The reservation guaranteed me a room (more on that in a moment), but not a rate.

I tried to explain to both of them that Marriott has a guaranteed reservation for rate and room type, and they couldn’t charge me more on a whim. They weren’t going to back down, so I told them to charge me whatever was necessary, as I would call Marriott directly and sort it out after the fact. I showed them the reservation on my phone again, they punched a lot of keys on the computer and miraculously "found" my AAA rate on the computer, handing me a key…

…to a room that was not at all what I reserved. It seems there are 3 types of rooms at this property – one with 2 queen beds, an open floor plan studio with a king, and a suite type, with a king bed in a separate room, with a door between the bedroom and living area. I know. I looked when I booked. I looked again when I went in to the assigned room. I’ve looked over and over again at the descriptions and pictures on the website while being berated by the general manager. I booked a suite, at a premium price, not the studio I was given at the lower price.

Here’s the biggest issue. When I went back to the front desk to rectify the situation, explaining that I had booked a suite but was given a studio, the front desk agent told me, "THE MANAGER TOLD US TO TELL YOU that every room is a suite." Hmmm. Curious. The room that costs less to reserve is the "same" as the one that costs more? Nope.

After going back and forth for many minutes, they finally admitted that some had "a different floor plan", but none of those were available. I sat down and called Marriott to explain the situation to them. They contacted the hotel directly and was told that there were king suites available, just as I had reserved. After explaining to the agent that I had no intention of doing business with a business that treats customers as I had been treated, they were able to cancel my reservation and help me find another place to stay.

The Marriott agent helped me file a complaint against the hotel. The general manager responded the next day with an apology that "upgrades" weren’t always available and couldn’t be guaranteed. She kept telling me how busy they were, sold out most of the time, and that premium rooms commanded a premium price. Suspicious. I’ve never dealt with a manager so condescending, insulting and clueless. The hotel did offer me a few points, but I have yet to receive a response from Marriott directly or the guaranteed recompense, so here I am to recommend you avoid this place altogether.

To me, there are but two explanations. One, gross incompetence. The front desk staff are so poorly trained as to be incapable of doing their job. They were anything but friendly, efficient, knowledgeable, or any of the hallmarks of good employees in the hospitality field. Two, fraud. The front desk staff both try to charge me substantially more than my guaranteed reservation. Then they assign me to the cheapest room type in the hotel, try to tell me all the rooms are the same, tell me nothing else is available, on a night when they are sold out and walk-ins are paying twice what I was. All very coincidental,...

Myself and 5 friends stayed at this Residence Inn Marriott in Weston, Florida during the week of July 17 - 25, 2015 on a motorcycle vacation from NYC to Florida. I've stayed in Weston, Florida before and fell in love with the city and once this trip was put together, I made it a point to find a hotel in Weston. (It's about a 35 to 40 min. drive to Miami/Miami Beach and the shores of Ft. Lauderdale).

Due to rain storms, we arrived at the hotel around 10 pm. I called the hotel to inform them that we were running slow due to heavy rains. I was assured by Donny Dicaprio that our rooms were secure and for us to take our time and arrive safely. This was my first contact with the great and accommodating staff. Here's the review.

Rooms: We had two rooms. My room was on the 3rd floor and the other room was on the 1st. Both rooms were two bedroom suites with full kitchen areas. (plates, silverware, pots and pans were all provided). The rooms were clean and the beds and pillows were very comfortable. Neither room showed any signs of prior pet guests.

Laundry Room: The guest laundry room is on the 3rd floor. There are ample washers and dryers which always seemed to be available when we used them. The machines were clean and seemed decently maintained. You do have to pay to use the machines by purchasing coins and detergent from the front desk. (I know you didn't come on vacation to do laundry but it may be helpful because you can cut back on some of the clothes you need to pack).

Pets: Yes, the hotel is pet friendly and yes we did see several dogs. Heard them bark maybe, twice. The 3 story hotel was very clean and had no animal smell especially on the 3rd floor where my room was (two bedroom suite) or in the lobby common area.

Breakfast: Breakfast was served every morning and was very fulfilling. (Make your own waffle station, Eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, muffins, coffee, tea, milk, juice and more). Trust me, you will save so much money by eating breakfast at the hotel than trying to feed a family out every day during your vacation.

Social nights: Every Weds and Thurs evenings, light snacks and free beer are offered for a couple of hours. (Yes, free beer)

Pool: Yes, there is a pool. No, I didn't have time to use it but, it was clean and inviting.

BBQ grill: We planned on using the grill by the pool to have a little BBQ but didn't get to use it because we were out more than we were in. But, again, the staff was great. They informed us that when we ready, all we had was let them know and they would get it ready for us to use. So since lunch or dinner isn't served at this hotel, you can go to Publix (supermarket) and have a BBQ lunch or dinner. (again, money saver)

Staff: The staff (Cristian Rivera, Rashel Davy, Marcia Morales, Patrick Bewley, Donny Dicaprio, Joey Requejo and Christopher Powers) were very, friendly and very accommodating (including the housekeeping and kitchen staff). We had one request that was outside the norm and after a brief deliberation by the front desk staff, our request was fulfilled. Thanks.

Overall, the Residence Inn Marriott Fort Lauderdale Weston is a hotel worth booking. No, it's not a swanky, high class hotel, it's just enough of what you need for a comfortable visit and a good time if you know how to think out the box a little. It's about a 35 to 40 minute drive to Miami and Fort Lauderdale. There's a reasonably priced sports restaurant and a Pollo Tropical chicken place right across the road from the hotel (walking distance). The hotel also sits on a lake in the rear of the hotel where you can sit and relax. So, check the reviews and make the choice for yourself, but for me, I recommend the Residence Inn Marriott...

When we arrived to check in the front desk clerk gave us two keys that were not registered to us. We went to this room and tried for about 10 minutes to get inside with both keys however was unsuccessful. After becoming frustrated my fiancé walked to the front desk and I called, she stated that she mistakenly registered us for the wrong room. Clearly, we were trying to enter in when we are another guest was already staying. Finally, we got to our assigned room and there were candy wrappers on the living room table, dust bunnies, ceiling droppings (popcorn ceilings) all over the floor and sofa as if there had been maintenance done and no one cleaned up behind themselves and urine on the bathroom toilet. The beds were comfortable but the pillows weren’t, leaving us with neck cramps. After a long night, we wake up on Sunday morning to go have breakfast and prepare for check out. I walk out to the car to grab something and realize that my passenger front window is busted out. I look at the truck next to my car and their driver side passenger window is also busted out. As I turn around to walk back inside I saw law-enforcement circling the parking lot so I immediately waved to stop them. The officer informed me that they have been out on the scene for about an hour and there is an officer inside that I needed to speak to. I go inside to speak to the officer the officer tells me that there were 14 vehicles broken into on this property and 40 cars broken into on another property. NO ONE from the office/front desk attempted to contact (via email, text message, call to the room, nor knock on the door) us to let us know that something had happened to our car while on their property. The officers that were there to serve us were talking on their cell phones, eating breakfast, and drinking coffee as if they were one of the guests. The officer that I spoke to simply gave me a report number and told me that if I needed more information I could call the police department. By this time, almost 2 hours had passed by and the general manager had not yet arrived to the property. Finally, she did arrive on property she only took my drivers license, phone number, and ask questions about did I verify if anything of value was missing from my car. She apologized for my inconvenience and basically sent me on my way. As she didn’t, I questioned her about compensating us for the nights for the room or giving us a free night stay at another Marriott and she did...