Casa Marina Resort & Beach Club, Waldorf Astoria

My wife and I went to key west for a week. We first stayed at The Grand Guest House. Stay there, it was fantastic. Now to let you know the poor service, snarky attitude, and overall dingyness of Casa. Lights outbin the hallways, room service dishes that sat outside peoples doors for 2 days, the wait staff and bar tenders were not just slow, but not well trained. When at check out, they tried to throw on a $50per day ocean view charge. We were on the other side of the hotel looking at a parking lot. There was only one person who actually showed interest that we were there was the bell hop. When we go back to key west we will book The Grand Guest House. Read less

This was my 6th stay at the Casa Marina but my first in 4 years. I’m not sure if the change of hands to Hilton is responsible for the degradation but we were beyond disappointed with several aspects of our stay. Patrick at the front desk is a true gem! He went above and beyond to try to make our stay better but until some changes are made we will not be returning. The check in experience was lacking. Although check in time is 4:00 I’ve never had to wait until 4:00 in the past. Finally after threatening to leave a front desk member went to “personally check on the room” and we were able to check in at 3:50. We were told someone was going to do so several times before that and not until we became upset did someone take the 6 minutes to make good on the room check. I get that “check in is 4:00”. We called ahead (I have cancer and am undergoing chemotherapy) and were told an earlier check in should not be a problem. We arrived at the hotel at 11:30. They told us the previous guest had checked out and the room needed to be cleaned. 4.5 hours is a long time to wait to have a room cleaned. Had a better expectation been set we would’ve taken a later flight. We also asked for a late checkout by an hour. We were denied by the front desk staff. Only after asking to speak with the manager were we granted an extra 20-30 minutes. Thankfully the housekeeper said our room wasn’t being cleaned anytime soon )which we obviously expected after waiting 4.5 hours on the front end. We made sure to tip her for allowing us the extra few minutes. The condition of the room was sub par. We stayed in 1014. I’ve stayed in this room in the past. The location is great but the state of the room was not acceptable. The entire wall in the bedroom where the closet door is located looks like rain water came in at the ceiling and poured down it with no attempts to clean afterward. It was honestly a little gross. The internet did not work...at ALL. Once we brought this to the attention of the front desk staff, we were offered a free high speed upgrade. This would’ve been great but no one at the front desk could actually get it to work on any of our devices. The safe in the room did not work. The room had a very strong mold smell and the floor was FILTHY. We asked housekeeping to refresh the room while we were at dinner hoping they would notice the black foot prints and clean the floor. They merely left a lump of towels in the bathroom and did nothing else. We had to ask for slippers because the floor was too dirty to walk on with bare feet or socks. The next day Patrick made sure someone came to address the floor but this should be a priority for the minimum acceptable cleanliness of a room. Especially if WA is still charging 5 star pricing for this room. Our coffee machine was also broken. On to the breakfast...this used to be one of my favorite aspects of the Casa, the extensive buffet with the lovely omelette station and ability to order a la carte. The omelette man is less than friendly IF you can actually find a plate anywhere in the room and all three mornings many of the fillings for the omelettes were out. Each day we had to ask for a plate or a glass for juice (they were completely out). Each day we had to request items be replenished. I finally gave up and went for cereal because at least I could find one bowl. The cereal was very old and no longer crispy (Raisin Bran) and the milk was warm. We initially intended on eating dinner at the Casa but decided against it after the multiple poor breakfast experiences. There is only one bathroom near the lobby but you couldn’t access it because there was a “training in progress”. We were later given permission to “just walk through the training”. We were later told that the owner was using its resources to update the sister hotel The Reach next door. This made sense after all we witnessed. I understand hotels cannot stay new forever but I am not the first to voice the opinion that the Casa has been neglected. We typically stay in a hotel in the Fine Hotels and resorts collection. The Casa used to be a part of that program. We most likely won’t return until it is again. I was so excited to share this trip with my husband and raved about the Casa. I should’ve read updated reviews first. I’ve included photos of this morning breakfast. Take a look at each and see if you can find even one plate for guests to use. We asked three servers for a plate and waited 10 minutes before we finally got one. We hope the Casa is returned to its former state in the near future. Read less

From the moment we entered it smelled like mold and stale air as if the room hadnt been opened in quite some time. The ceilings were low and espresso so in the bathrooms. I’m 5-4 and my husband is 5-10 if we were any taller we would have to hunch over when used the sinks. There were numerous pubic hairs in the bathroom and in the shower. When I tried to clean the shower by turning the water on it became clear that it had a thick layer of dust in it and NO shower curtain. I tried to call the front desk to get a shower curtain but the phone didn’t work. There was only one espresso cup which as an easy remedy except I had to walk to the front desk because of the phone issue. 3 rd night there we had turn down service by a cockroach. I didn’t complain too loudly because it was a special trip with my husband. We are currently in Savannah, GA on the last leg and I’ve had the chance to reflect and concern your hotel to the one we are currently staying in. There is no comparison: our current hotel is much cleaner. As a Waldorf-Astoria I would have expected more. Read less

Excited for a getaway from extremely cold Chicago. Picked this luxury hotel nearest to the ocean as there are few. Walked in the room and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Reserved a one bedroom oceanfront suite for $670 a night (without resort fees). The room was sparse and uninviting, dingy, completely dated. The walls were dull and painted a yellowish ivory that seemed dirty. The floor was basic tile but felt dirty under my bare feet. The light fixtures again dated and bathroom lights were the worst with ugly fabric shades that cast you in a dull yellow glow looking in the mirror with a rusted, pitted frame. There was a dull fiberglass tub shower, in no way 5 star. There was water condensation leaking and running down the walls in several places and on the bathroom ceiling, leakage that had caused damage and what I thought looked like mold. Housekeeping manager assured it wasn’t mold and that the leakage everywhere was from the air conditioning being on too high and freezing pipes behind the walls and ceiling. We had just walked in the room and hadn’t touched the thermostat. The balcony was postage size. The bedroom was situated at the back of the suite as far away from the balcony and ocean so no view from there was possible and no hearing ocean waves falling asleep. We were told that was for hurricane safety. Actually felt sad being in that room and couldn’t imagine spending 6 nights there. Fortunately able to switch to the Southernmost Resort for $420 a night reserving the most beautiful room, fresh and clean, nicely decorated, with a huge balcony overlooking the ocean. We stayed one night at the Waldorf and I slept on the pullout bed from the sectional to be near ocean and heard fighting and yelling and swearing late into the night as we were right next to a public beach and pier. One good thing, we were able to check out with no hassle or penalty. Read less