We flew into Fort Lauderdale airport via Jetblue. The flight was smooth- Jetblue is definitely one of the best airlines (if not the best) we have flown. We arrived at Ft Lauderdale at 3:30 PM and use the Go Shuttle to transfer to our South Beach Miami hotel. The van was full and by the time we got to the hotel it was 5:30 PM because of the traffic and all the stops. We went with Go Shuttle because it cost $48 including tips whereas we heard that taxi would have cost $75. If I had to write a review of Go Shuttle Miami/Ft Lauderdale it would be a 3 out 5. The wait for the shuttle at the airport was long, the trip was long, but you save some money. Would we use them again- probably not.
The hotel we booked was a boutique hotel called the Chelsea Hotel. Upon arrival, the reception guy told us that we've been "upgraded" to the junior suite at the Chesterfield Hotel. I was not happy about it- firstly I doubted it was an "upgrade", and secondly they should have called me if they needed to move us. Although the Chesterfield Hotel not too far at 2 1/2 blocks away, we had two large luggage and had to lug them across busy traffic intersections. At the Chesterfield we had to go about 2 buildings down to a building called Lily for our room. The room itself had nice modern decor but was a bit dark. It was even closer to the beach which was only a block away so we thought hey maybe this was really an "upgrade".
We then went to Miami Beach beach area at Lummus park and spent about half an hour there before the sun went down and the weather started to get a tad too chilly. When we returned to our Chesterfield hotel room to change, we noticed this loud music blasting next door from the "lounge" at Hotel Leon. It was about 6:30 so we didn't think too much of it.
After eating at
Puerto Sagua and walking around the streets some more we returned to our room at the Chesterfield Hotel. The music was still blaring. It was about 9:30 PM so we though okay maybe they'll stop at 10 because that's what the Chesterfield Hotel receptionist said when we asked about it earlier. At 15 minutes past midnight the music was still blasting and the college kids were still hollering at the top of their lungs, so we called front desk and the the guy said he would "take care" of it. Sure enough the music was turned down and the yelling seemed to subside. 15 minutes later, however, everything was back on full blast including all the hooting and hollering. I waited until 1:30 AM and called front desk to complain again- he seemed sympathetic and said he would take care of it and talk to the manager of the property. About 5 minutes later the sounds did seem to die down a bit, but sure enough 10 minutes later all the noise was back, this time maybe even louder. At 2:45 AM I decided to call the South Beach police department, who directly me to another #. A woman picked and said she would send someone over to check it out. I don't think anybody showed up because the extremely loud music and yelling and partying lasted all the way until 6 AM, and we were able to sleep finally at around 6:30 AM.
This was the worst hotel experience we've had. If you ever plan on staying at the Chesterfield Hotel or the Chelsea Hotel- please do yourself a favor and don't because you may very well regret it.
Rating: 1 out of 5
