Boca Raton Plaza Hotel
 

Through Priceline we just got 6 nights at the Boca Raton Plaza Hotel during Spring Break in March. Since then, I have read VERY mixed reviews about the property and am worried. We understand that it's not on the beach, anyone know how far to the beach and is there day parking available? Is it a nice beach? Any suggestions on how to deal with hotel management if we are given crummy room (size is not as important as cleanliness and noise distractions) because of Priceline. Any suggestions for family restaurants (we have teenagers, not babies) that are NOT chains, but not a fortune either. Thanks in advance for help!

Spring Break in March will give you many "noise distractions" regardless of where you stay as this is a noisy raucous time at any beach in Florida. It's sort of like being at a fraternity party but at the beach. Combine that with lots of people with kids on school break and you have a very crazy combination.

But I know nothing of this particular hotel nor the beach.

If you go to Mapquest, or a similar mappint site, and plug in the address, it'll show you the location of the hotel. You should then be able to figure out proximity to the beach.

Read "mapping" for mappint...

lauralue--You are on a MAIN HIGHWAY in Boca- which runs from Miami all the way up thru Palm Beach...Ie. MAJOR traffic..

Not anywhere near the beach..You will have to drive and go N on Federal Hwy to Spanish River Blvd and turn LEFT and head OVER the Intracoastal to the BEACH..

There is a PUBLIC BEACH at Spanish River Park which is super nice- but you DEFINITELY need to drive there daily...

Personally, I would NOT stay there---

As for cheap restauants, the best places to try are Brewzzis or Cheesecake Factory ( and they are not super cheap)..or get a friday edition of the Sun Sentinel Paper and look in the weekender section to see who is advertizing early dinners while you are there..

There is a Missississippi Sweets Chicken place near this motel which is good...and Inexpensive...

Plus there is a Mexican Restaurant called Baja which is very reasonble...

DO NOT go to a place called MAMA GIOVANNI's for Italian..someone recommended it to us last week and it was HORRID>>>

Grinders Grill is also good to take teens and for GREAT ITALIAN ( served family style) head over to Marios--on Military Trail...the wait is long but definitely worth it!

oops- typo--turn RIGHT on SPANISH RIVER and go over the Intracoastal to the Beach....

Is this a suite hotel? Did you get two rooms or is everyone staying in one room?

When you check in, before anyone unpacks, inspect your room. If you don't like it or it is 'crummy', go back down to the front desk and politely ask for a different room.

Thanks for all the feedback to everyone. We will have a car, so driving to the beach won't be a problem. Has anyone had experience about refusing a room when using Priceline? I also heard there are some great NY style delis in Boca, which would be a treat for us.

laura, I wouldn't go there expecting to refuse a room. My suggestion is if you are unhappy, going back down to the front desk (do not call the front desk) and politely but firmly asking for another room. It does the hotel no good having unhappy guests on property.

It sounds like you are setting yourself up for a bad stay.

Look at it like the glass is half full and not half empty. You are going to Boca for a week with your family and will have a great time! I week at the beach in March while everyone else is freezing!

Remember, all the hotel is required to provide you with is a room with one bed and a bath in the area you requested per your agreement with priceline. Anything outside those perameters (my family won't fit, I have no view, etc) leaves you with no recourse.

If it makes you feel any better, a couple of years ago my husband and I spent 5 nights at the very very pricey Boca Raton Resort and Club and were also located across the waterway from the beach! Holy cow! $$$$ per night in peak season and we were a mile from the beach!

GoTravel, definitely not setting myself up for a bad time, just want to be prepared. Very much looking forward to Florida trip. Always have been a "cup is half full" person, but need practical approach. My mother lives in Tamarac and we have the option of having the kids stay with her if the hotel room is too small. We used Priceline on our recent trip to Chicago suburbs for Thanksgiving and got a fabulous Hyatt hotel for $35/night. we are paying less than 50% of Travelocity/Expedia/Orbitz price for our room, that's not too shabby. There is terrific shopping in Boca Raton and that will be lots of fun. Just got a little nervous about reading mixed reviews.

I always take reviews with a grain of salt. Being in the hotel biz for so long does that to me!

Remember, the hotel doesn't want unhappy guests. Unhappy guests tell everyone about a bad stay.

If you have issues, go to the front desk and ask to speak with someone. If no one at the hotel can help you, find out the parent company and call them.

Don't worry, you'll have a great time!

laurelue- there is a GREAT deli right down the block from you...

Go out your hotel, turn right and as you cross 20th st ( there is a shopping center on the left called the Fifth Ave shoppes)...look to your right--it is FLAKOWITZ-- great deli food, wonderful bagels, and some good baked goods..

The real original Flakowitz is up Glades Rd just W of the FLA Turnpike on the 1st shopping center on the left with Marshall's in it..but it is just a BAKERY- but a GREAT bakery!!

Also there is a TOOJAYS Deli off Jog Rd in the Polo Shopps shopping center that is also good:

TooJays Gourmet Deli
3013 Yamato Rd, Boca Raton
561-997-9911

This gourmet deli recently won CityLinks best for their Black-and-White Cookie, but that's not all they serve. Try deli fresh sandwiches, salads and more!

Hours: Open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. 7 days a week.

FORGET ABOUT Wolfie Cohens Rascal House on GLADES- OVER RATED, OVER PRICED,and NOT good...just OK...


Also try this one for Ocean views:

Dune Deck Cafe
100 N. Ocean Blvd, Lantana
561-582-0472

Enjoy good foof and a relaxed atmosphere at this breezy beachside cafe. For breakfast enjoy specials such as French Toast or Eggs Benedict. For lunch, be sure not to pass up the Chicken Brochette, marinated chicken on a skewer served with a greek salad and fries.

Enjoy!!

TooJays is the bomb and they do have great black and whites!

Andy, thanks so much for the deli suggestion, we will be sure to go there. I do agree with you about Rascal House, we ate lunch there last year, it was very expensive and the corned beef was inedible. Deli is a real treat for us. Where we live, good corned beef is hard to find and you will be asked if you want mayo with your sandwich (!!??)

Thought I would share our experience as we just returned from the Boca Raton Plaza Hotel. As someone who always sees the good and the bad, we have a mixed review. The major dissatisfaction is with Priceline, as this place is a motel not a hotel and is definitely not a 3 star place as others we have stayed in through Priceline, such as Hyatt Hotels or Marriott. The pluses were that we saved about $40 dollars a night, which is good as we stayed 6 nights. While TripAdvisor reported others who had problems with the motel's cleanliness, we did not. The room was spacious with a mini fridge and a microwave, which is good for storing snacks. We had one motel clerk who recommeded a great family oriented Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. Now, the negatives. There was a motel clerk (woman) who had one of the rudest personalities I have ever witnessed in customer service. We asked for restaurant recommendations in the areas at check in and were told she wouldn't give us any, as the motel had a restaurant and why didn't we eat there! On the second day, we discovered that the motel had limited beach passes covering parking fees ($18 day). When asked if we could get one, she laughed in our face (it was 10:30 a.m.) and said we needed to wake up much earlier than that. During our 6 night stay, we never received one pass. We complained about her to the management who just shrugged their shoulders. One day the elevator didn't work and we had to use a scary service elevator where the license had expired over 2 years ago. Another day, the telephone didn't work. Luckily we had a cell phone or our family in the area would not have been able to reach us. Also, this motel had doors that opened directly on the street, which you would not expect in a 3 star rating. If my husband had not been with me, I would contacted Priceline immediately, as safety is a concern.

The lesson learned to us is that although we have used Priceline many times over the last 5-6 years and had very happy experiences, you can get burned, as we did here.