Booking a hotel room often comes with an expectation of luxury, or at the very least, comfort. But one woman shared a recent hotel trip where both qualities were absent.
DeNisha LaChelle (@_sincerelynisha) stayed at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. But she didn’t have a positive experience. Instead, LaChelle said the hallways were dirty, the drinks were expensive, and the pool closed earlier than expected.
Her video review has since received more than 3,900 views.
What happened at this Miami hotel?
LaChelle had bigger expectations when she booked a stay at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, but she was unfortunately let down.
She told her audience it started with the hallways.
“Walking down the hallways, you got nothing but scuffs [on the walls]. The hallway got … marks all on the freaking doors,” she said.
She went to the bathroom on the property, only to notice there were dirt marks on the fixtures. LaChelle captured a video to document what she saw.
She did, however, compliment the staff. Her group requested an ocean view, and they got exactly that. Additionally, she said the staff as a whole were very nice.
But she was soon surprised again by the drink prices, which are often served poolside. LaChelle said one margarita cost $32. Two shots cost $52. She wasn’t able to enjoy the drinks either. LaChelle told her audience that employees watched over the pool, which had an early closing time. They made sure that no one was in the pool past 7 p.m.
“ The pool closes at 7:00 [p.m.] with the sun still out … [Employees] kinda walk by, and they be like, ‘You gotta come inside. You can’t be in the pool’ … Then they just keep doing rounds and checking to see [if people were there] … You also can’t go to the beach past a certain time,” she said.
What did online reviews say?
Online, others echoed LaChelle’s complaints. Some said that the restaurant had high resort costs and inconsistent service.
“Probably because of its popularity and relatively lower prices, it feels very worn out,” one person, who commented on a Reddit post inquiring about the property, said. “They don’t keep up with maintaining many aspects of the property such as the elevators, pools and common areas. When I was there the main pool was closed. I felt nickeled and dime’d constantly. It’s a 3 star property at best while trying to give off a 5 star vibe.”
On Yelp, the Fontainebleau Hotel has 2.7 out of 5 stars, with more than 2,300 reviews.
“Every single item or experience is an extra fee or heavily monitored, effectively killing any relaxing vibe you might want for the high, ‘luxury’ price you pay,” one reviewer said. “This is a tourist trap extraordinaire. It made me feel like I was paying to be in a place trying to extract from me, not serve me.”
According to LaChelle, they encountered the same issue with the pool.
“[If] you dare to be in the pool at 6:01, there were six staff for every one guest to tell you to get out,” they said. “Seriously, we got warnings to get out at 10min to 6, 5min to 6, and at 6:00. Why every five minutes? Because a group of staff members were hovering over us, watching and waiting for the moment to kick us out. Very relaxing.”
By contrast, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach has a 4.2 out of 5 stars rating on TripAdvisor, based on more than 21,000 reviews.
Commenter Recommendations
In the comments section of LaChelle’s video, viewers recommended alternative stays at other hotels in the area.
One viewer, for instance, told her to stay at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Another commenter said, “The Dolce in Hollywood across from Hardrock casino is better check it out,” referring to the Dolce by Wyndham Hollywood.
Viewers, too, shared in her disappointment with Fontainebleau Hotel.
“Yea we don’t go there no more been raggedy for past few yrs,” a commenter said.
@_sincerelynisha my honest review of the fountain blue Miami ##fountainebleau##fountainbleaumiami ♬ original sound – DeNisha LaChelle | BSN student
Subplot News reached out to LaChelle via TikTok direct message and Fontainebleau Hotel via email for comment.
