After a failed room at the Loews we made our way to the Fontainebleau after an abrupt escape from the sub par accommodations at about 1130 pm and entered what seemed like a different planet. Our room had an unbelievable balcony, beautiful ocean view, super clean interior and equipped with extremly comfortable beds. I could hardly wait to for morning to come so we could get down for some R&R at one of I think their 5 pools... Our service guy at the pool was very friendly and attentive and we wanted for nothing as we relaxed the day away soaking up that Miami sun. Hardest part of the hotel is trying to pick between their exceptional restaurants. I know it's not in the heart of south beach but it's an $8 cab ride from it. This resort gives you the feeling of being in Vegas plush and upscale and we had no problems with anyone parting or young kids. My husband and I have already decided to make a annual trip here with our kids next time since they even have a kids pool with slide and all. Thank you Fountainebleu for exceeding our expectations and making my birthday weekend special can't wait for next year when we come back!!!

Arrived Sunday night for a three-night stay and was immediately surprised by the scene--lobby was crowded with young club-goers. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the service at the front desk. THey checked me in quickly, upgraded me to a suite overlooking the ocean and made sure I knew where I was headed.

The ocean-front suite was well-appointed and large. Bathroom was spacious; room came w/ an iMac and large-screen TV. Bathrobes were plush and bed was comfortable. And the ocean-front patio was terrific.

Fontainebleau is a resort complex with multiple restaraunts, pools, bars and nightclub. Found the staff to be very helpful and respectful. I was travelling on business at conference at the hotel--and it seemed a bit overwhelmed by the size of the conference but everyone made the most accomodations.

Only small complaint--my coffee maker wasn't replenished with coffee each morning. I enjoy making coffee for myself as I wake up and couldn't on this trip.

Would recommend this hotel for business travelers and couples that need a beach-front retreat. Well done, Fontainbleau!

Where do I begin???
My husband and our two small children just spent a very long week at the Fontainebleau, after previously making sure they are a 'child friendly' hotel and checking the 'children in room' box when making the reservation online. Upon our arrival we checked in and had to ask the person attending us to repeat everything 3 times because the 'background' music was so loud and we could barely hear him, let alone understand him.
Amongst other things, he mentioned something about the minibar being in a cupboard and another part being on top of some shelf and that they all have sensors, so if you take any item off the tray or out of the fridge for over 20 seconds it is automatically charged to your room. You can only imagine, with 2 small kids in the room, all those goodies are just begging to set off those sensors!! Smart move, no??!! So we ask if they can lock the fridge and remove the tray and we are told there is a 50U$ removal fee in order to do that!!!
Then, we look around, beyond the gorgeous view from our room on the hotel's AC installations, and there is not one single drawer to put our clothes in. Just one small closet. Again, we are a family of 4, including a baby and 3 suitcases... so basically we had all of our suitcases open and spread out throughout the room for one week…camping in a supposed 4+ star hotel. A real shame. Needless to say there is no bath in the bathroom, and only 2 miserable hooks to put your towels and bathing suits to dry! Keep in mind we are in February, it is nice and warm and somewhat humid outside and as soon as you walk into the hotel it is absolutely freezing, from the AC at full power. Then you walk into your room where it is as freezing and even after turning off your AC you realize it is still as freezing. So we ask to block the vent, which is also extremely noisy. And since it takes almost 4 days for someone to come around and actually block it, we have to cover it up with baby PJs as best we can.
Having a visit over and you want to have a nice drink next to the pool?...forget it! At 6:15 pm, all the outside bars are closed. We are literally told by some guy closing down the bar that 'we're done here, the bar is closed, if you want a drink you have to go to the inside bar'. So we have to head back to the inside bar, which takes a good while, between the long labyrinth-like hallways and the elevator. There I explain that we would like a couple of glasses of wine to take outside with us, which they serve me in a plastic glass!!!!!!! After asking kindly and making a huge effort to remain calm, I actually managed to get real glasses, but it seemed like I was asking for the moon. This is a place where they serve drinks all day by the pool to anyone who will pay. to the point where we coincided with a very drunk group of russian customers, who actually ended up getting kicked out of the pool area after getting naked and harassing customers.
On one particular night, we hear a woman pounding on a door in the hallway telling the person inside to 'open the ------- door' repeatedly. We don't know if she was a hotel guest or other sort of customer, very similar to the ones who attend the different night clubs at the hotel and invade the lobby in the evenings. A real meat market.
Oh, and the phone…don’t even get near it. We know phone rates in hotels are more expensive than anywhere else, but at this hotel, the rates are outrageous and simply abusive. 27 US$ for an 18 second call to NYC!!!!
We did try all the hotel restaurants. In our opinion Hakkasan is excellent, the sushi was OK, La Côte was not good. Gotham is pretentious. Vida is decent…they are very kind, but so much staff that they end up getting everything wrong. You either get the order twice or not a all or wrong! The best part of the hotel is the buffet breakfast, which is extremely varied and delicious.
The Fontainebleau is definitely not a place to go with kids or even family. The overall hotel service is cold and very impersonal. To us, it has been an absolute disappoinment and total rip off. A hotel that lives off of its reputation thanks to Sinatra, Elvis and James Bond.

From the moment we arrived, we were treated so nicely by the doorman and the front desk attendant Ezra. Ezra was so accommodating and answered all of the questions we had about the room choices and locations, dining, and other general inquiries. The rooms were nicer than expected and we had a very large balcony with an ocean view. I am very particular about bathrooms and showers, but the one in our room was awesome. Each room also has a MAC computer to use during your stay.

I really don't understand the negative reviews of this resort-like hotel. The restaurants were very good, the pool area is gorgeous, and the little boutiques for shopping are nice. We rented one of the poolside 'beds' and our server, Maria, was so kind and gracious. Sunday brunch at Vida was delicious.

Our room was quiet, and far away from the elevator, so I can imagine it may be noisier in that at that end of the hall. The nightlife is incredible and the hotel lobby is very crowded most late nights. I love a lively place, but I can see how others may see this differently.

Overall, the trip was amazing, and I would stay here again without a second thought. In fact, I'm sure I will. It was a great pre-Valentine's 4-day trip with my boyfriend.