Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort by Vacatia

Our family of four was comfortable here, and having a second half bath was a nice extra. The kitchen came fully stocked, including a dishwasher and garbage disposal, so we could shop for groceries and avoid eating out every meal. The resort is dated and not fancy, but it was very clean, close to a lot of places, and the value was unmatched.

The staff were really friendly and accommodating, and the location was perfect. It was clean and the bed was comfortable. This was a one-bedroom room on the 14th floor without an ocean view, and it felt small. The kitchen didn’t have much in the way of utensils, and we started with just three towels, so we had to switch them out ourselves every day. I won’t use a towel twice 😜

The big balcony and its wonderful view were the best parts. We also liked the kitchen, free parking, pool, and being less than a five-minute walk from the sea. The beds got a 3 on my scale, where 0 means they sink through, 5 is average, and 10 means lying on top of the mattress. Value for money was a 5, meaning break even on my 0-to-10 scale from throwing money away to the highest profit. We stayed June 18-21 and again June 27-July 2. We came back because we’d stayed here before and remembered a quiet hotel with a nice clientele and a wonderful location. It had changed. The pool was full of families with children, and the noise carried all the way up to the 17th floor. Staff seemed tired and couldn’t make the effort to be nice to me as a guest. The hotel also felt more worn out. There was a problem before we even arrived: they canceled the whole trip a week beforehand, saying there was no money in the account, even though our agreement was to pay on arrival. They said they’d emailed about it, but I still haven’t seen that email. Customer service was poor. At check-in, you couldn’t count on the room still being available. Other downsides were the noise on the balcony when the AC was running and the pool being occupied by children.

Check-in was straightforward enough, but the laundry setup was a pain. You have to take clothes to the first-floor washroom, where the machines need quarters. The coin machine was out of order, and its sign said to get change at the front desk. I tried on two different days and couldn’t get quarters either time. Apparently, helping guests with that wasn’t a priority. The room had a small five-cup coffee maker instead of the old 12-cup one, and it needed filters that weren’t provided. I only realized the next day, and there was no coffee supplied for the first day either. We went to Publix and had to buy a bag of 50 filters when we only needed five. In 35 years of travel, I’ve only run into one other place like this. I’m not coming back. I’m no structural engineer, but I also noticed spray paint marks on the underside of a lot of balconies. They looked like there might be a problem beneath those marks.