We are DVC members and usually stay at Disney's Vero Beach Resort about 7 miles North of this property. However, Disney's VBR was booked solid, so we chose to stay here instead. I worked the reservation directly with the hotel and on several calls was assured we would have an ocean FRONT room. We had seen photos of the property, even looked on Google Earth and knew there were some rooms with fantastic views available.

A few months before the trip, the "resort" sent us a letter asking about when we'd be arriving - I assumed it was to try to have our room ready when we got there, instead of having to wait until 4 pm to checkin. We were flying into Orlando on a Saturday, early evening, staying the night near MCO, then driving to Vero Sunday morning - we expected to arrive by 1 pm, actually got there about Noon.

When we arrived, I was surprised and disappointed to see valet parking only. We usually try to avoid places that impound your vehicle, but as it turned out the valet staff were excellent - very quick to retrieve our car when we wanted it, very helpful with directions and tips for places to eat or visit. If fact, I think this group was probably our highlight of the stay.

Anyway, we turned over the car and all our belongings to them, expecting to get right into a room....big mistake on our part. There was, of course, no rooms available for us to checkin to. The front desk assured us they would call our cell phone however as soon as one was cleaned and that we could use the locker room facility to change into suits and enjoy the property. Well, all of our stuff was packed away in the bags on a valet cart somewhere (I know, I know, poor planning and bad assuming on my part...). Well, we headed to the beach anyway and went walking. Of course, it was Noon and the sun was out in full and we had no sunscreen on (how dumb are we), so we headed for the shade of the pool and just sat, waiting for the call on our cell phone, and we waited, and waited...until 3 pm, when I wandered over to the front desk to inquire as to the status of our ocean FRONT room.

They just happened to have had one cleaned at the moment I arrived.....hmmmm.....it was room 101. Well, immediately I was suspicious because we had asked for a room on an upper floor, so I knew that was not the case. Instead of fetching my family, I decided to checkout the room myself first. Room 101 is right on the corner of the building - pool level (technically it is 2nd floor, since the lobby is on the 1st (L) floor. The sliding glass doors looked out upon the end of the pool area, basically at tables set up for the poolside restaurant and lounge chairs. There were 2 smaller windows which faced East with an ocean VIEW.

So, I picked up the phone and called the front desk to voice my disappointment. They kept saying that their [computer] system listed 101 as ocean FRONT and that I got what I had paid for. So, I went to speak to them in person. The 2 folks there were not the most understanding people I've ever met, in that they didn't seem to really care that I was not happy with my room and that I believed I'd been misled by the reservationist. After some discussion, they agreed to find another room for me, on one of the upper floors that actually FACED the ocean. In the mean time, they offered me the use of room 101 while they found another room. Well, I didn't want to partially move into one room, then have to relocate. So I went to break the news to my wife and daughter......they were real happy......

At this point it was probably closing in on 4 pm and we still hadn't had a call from the desk. So, all of us head over there to see what's up. >> I should also point out here, that the hotel is amazingly NOT busy - very few people in and around the pool - almost no one on the beach - almost no one eating at the poolside place << We asked what was happening and they had tried to call us, not on our cell, but at room 101....I thought they knew we were NOT hanging out in there....what a start to the trip.

Anyway, the front desk had found another room for us, 205, however it was occupied by someone who had a late checkout and wouldn't be ready until 5 pm. At this point they mentioned that there were 2 BR units available, as long as we had another $400 or $500 to spend.....remember, the place is nearly empty of people from what we could see (and remained empty until Thursday when some mini-convention arrived). I didn't really expect a free bump, but with disappointed guests in the lobby and plenty of rooms available, it seemed like a possibility - maybe they were waiting for a bribe(?). So, we went up to "preview" room 205 and it indeed was ocean FRONT, as I was promised in my phone conversations with the hotel.

We told them 205 would be great and we also decided to wait in 101, while the cleaning crew worked on 205. It was about 90 minutes, just after 5:00 when the room was finally ours. While we waited in 101, we watched as the few guests there explored the property and routinely walked right up to the sliding glass doors and peered in, or hung out on "our" patio. Room 101 is sort of like an extension of the pool/poolside area. If they consider this room ocean FRONT, then it is the worst room in that category in the place. It also had 2 steps between living room and bedroom area.

Finally, we get the call, on our cell phone that 205 is ready and our luggage is on the way. We quickly checked out the room, changed into swimwear. But, by now the afternoon storms had rolled in and with the lightening we couldn't use either the pool or ocean....day 1, which we had planned (apparently poorly) to be at least a half day enjoying the resort, turned into a grumpy day for all.

Okay, I'm not going to write a book about the rest of our 4 days here, I'll just hit the highs and lows.....

The property, being rebuilt after a complete gutting following the 2006 storms, is truly beautiful. The designs of everything from floor to ceiling is very tasteful and all very new looking. The cleaning staff keeps everything spotless. The landscaping was nice, not too many palm trees - altho some of the rooms on the 3rd floor must have had blocked ocean views.

The room (a King "suite") was just a large hotel room. Oversized bath with 2 sinks - no tub, but a roll in (wheelchair) shower. The lighting was good, fan was loud but doors were solid and heavy so room was still quiet even when someone was using the bath.

The armoire/entertainment unit across from the bed was and odd piece of furniture. Two small closets on each end with a 27" TV in the middle along with a small safe (big enough for a laptop) and 3 small drawers for clothing. The light in the left closet was always on unless the door was completely closed. There was not enough space for even a family of 3 to unpack in this room - I guess it was meant for a single or a couple only. My daughter volunteered to sleep on the pull out sofa, which was actually quite comfortable - she was probably the only person who had ever slept on it. There were no linens provided for that, so we had to call for them to be sent up - even though they knew we were a family of 3 when we checked in.....

The king bed was VERY comfortable - 14" thick pillow top mattress of the highest quality. There were 2 ceiling fans which you pretty much want to run all the time. One thing we had a problem with was getting anything to dry in the room. We had the AC set at 72* and the fans running, but nothing would ever really dry - plus there was no place to hang anything - we had stuff hanging on the few hangers provided on every knob, door top, etc we could.

The 40" plasma TV across from the couch was nice and there was a good selection of channels. The other chairs in the living room were comfy and adequate for us. There were only 2 chairs on the balcony and 2 small snack tables, so we all couldn't sit out there together.

The maid service was excellent - room was kept spotless all 5 days. At first, I was not thrilled with the all tile floor - there are 2 small carpets - one under the bed and one in the LR, but it was cooler on the feet, it was kept clean and there wasn't as much concern with usual hotel carpets about what "fluids" may have been on them before you. There were 2 expensive feeling robes provided and 2 pairs of too small skuffs - my 14 year old thought they were cool, wife and I didn't use them.

Enough about the room. We ate lunch once at the poolside place. Food was very good, but for $45 plus tip we decided to venture into town for lunches the rest of the week.

We brought very casual clothing and based on some reviews of the Indigo Room believed we'd feel quite out of place going there in shorts, tank top/golf shirts and sandals. So, lunch was the only meal we ate at the resort itself.

The pool staff (3 college students working in shifts) were very friendly and helpful. Setting up beach chairs, umbrellas and tables every day for us. Sometimes the yellow pool/beach towels were not available, so we just went into the nearby locker room and grabbed a couple of white towels. All towels were fluffy, clean and large. The pool itself, while not large was VERY warm - water temp had to be 85 at least. The spa water was also very nice. The lounge chairs around the pool were all padded and comfy - although they were wet much of the time because of the afternoon storms.

The beach was a typical Atlantic coast beach. Very little dune area on this particular stretch, which puts the property very close to the water. In fact there were a total of 2 steps down from the small wooden porch right onto the sand.

There were colored buoys set out where the ocean floor fell off in deep areas, which was a nice touch - not sure if the hotel did that, but it was helpful. Ocean was mid to upper 70's during our week (last week of June), so easy to get used to quickly.

Overall, the property was nice with a mixed bag of feelings about the experience. We certainly started off with a sour taste because of the room situation. We aren't really the kind of family that they're probably targeting for vacations here - shall I say really-well-heeled folks. We're doing all right, but to me $350 per night for basically a large hotel room still feels pretty steep.

If you're well-heeled, don't mind tipping someone every time you turn around, enjoy a really nicely appointed property, then this might be just the property for you.

I live in vero, and for my wedding I got the two of us a room here for the weekend. I'll start out with my complaints. First my "ocean view" room, was pool front, the ocean was way over to the left, but whatever, you can see it. Second, they leave the little clock radios on to a jazz station which adds a little mood to the atmosphere when you come into your room. Unfortunatly, I had to listen to the one next door all night, as the walls couldn't block out the noise. And finally, my major complaint, on our final morning I woke up to a piercing Fire Alarm. We both throw on some clothes expecting to evacuate the area, when it stops. So we start to get back into bed when theres that F'in Fire Alarm Again. So we call down, they say "oh, sorry, their resetting the alarm. " After 5 more minutes of random piercing noise, I say lets go home. When I check with the front desk, and inform them that they woke us from a sound sleep, they offer to comp a free 10 dollar movie. This is on a thousand dollar tab. I complain a little more loudly, and then they offer 30 dollars off. At this point, I'm furious, and decied that I will never recommed this hotel to anyone ever again.
Finally, I was billed for other peoples stuff, and even though I ordered strawberrys/champagne ect for the night, I find out later that friends and family had paid us to have the same things, and both of us were billed.

My Mom and I stayed here this past weekend and it was INCREDIBLE. I can not believe some of the reviews I have read on here about poor service...I mean, who is that person who got locked out of their room 5 times? Bring your key when you leave the room! I am not sure what kind of places some of these people are used to staying at, but I travel alot and stay in nice places-and this was by far the nicest I have experienced. For example, for my honeymoon a year ago I was upgraded (for free) to the master suite on the brand new Crown Princess ship, and this hotel actually was BETTER! Anyway, we experienced the best service possible, from the minute we arrived until we left. The hotel is SPOTLESS and the decor is beautiful. I thought the hotel had just opened a month or two ago, that's how clean it was. Anyway, our service by the pool and beach was excellent. As soon as we walked out to the beach, the attendants asked us if we wanted chairs set up and/or an umbrella. They gave us towels, menus, drinks, etc. We ordered ahi tuna at the beach and hummus with pita. VERY good. One morning we ate at the Indigo Room restaurant and had the buffet for 12.95. It has sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs with cheese, eggs benedict, french toast, crepes, pastrys, fruit, hot cereal, the list goes on and on really. The women's locker room for the pool and fitness center is really nice as well. The shampoo and conditioner in there were awesome, BTW. My hair never felt so silky. The locker room has towels, showers, lockers, mouth wash, combs, deodorant, and other amenities. The hotel room itself was gorgeous. I loved how the wall in the bathroom slides away so if your in the bath room getting ready you can see the rest of the room and the view of the ocean.

This hotel is magnificent ! Nothing short of a Ritz Carlton which we have stayed a couple of times. The rooms are definately first class and service is very good but could be a notch better especially around the pool area if their intention is to become a 5 Star Hotel. Did not eat at any of the restaurants at the hotel so cannot rate them. But overall, this hotel is definately highly recomended for a first class getaway of relaxation. The decor is very nice! The beach and pool area are beautiful and was nicely surprised to see many children same age as mine. ( children mostly aged 3 to 10) .
I give this hotel the 4 stars it advertises it is and not the 3 stars that trip advisor gives it.

Thank you,