Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - URGENT - Need advice on La Playa Resort

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URGENT - Need advice on La Playa Resort

My husband and I are thinking of staying in Naples in early May 2002. We have never visited before. We are looking into the La Playa Beach Resort (newly renovated) - the renovations look great on their site. Can anyone advise us on this property? thanks!

the beach in front of la playa is wonderful find info by looking up vanderbuilt beach water will be very warm and calm in may I stayed next door at vanderbuilt beach resort and thought la playa looked wonderful although it was still being renovated at the time I do know people who stayed there and found it fabulous to open their patio door and step into the white sand

My husband and I are planning to stay at La Playa in September and I've been trying to get info about it, too. I've spoken to the hotel itself many times and of course they're not going to list any negatives, but it really does sound very elegant and beautiful without being stuffy at all. I understand it's a pretty large resort and they were having a very rough time with service during their renovation, but those things seem to be smoothing out now. All the hotel personnel I've spoken to so far are very friendly and patient with all my questions. As far as accommodations, I was told there are 3 types: regular rooms (around $165 a night), suites in the tower at around $349, and lanai rooms in the low-rise house that's close to the beach at around $275. (These are low-season rates.) There are 4 pools, a pretty complete spa, and a very highly rated restaurant. Their web site is pretty but the photos are very limited, as you have probably found out. I asked them to send me all the printed info they could, and the brochure didn't have any new pix or info, but there was an insert with a little map of the resort that was helpful in deciding about which rooms to pick. I was also advised not to rent a car for the entire stay (unless you're planning to do a lot of day trips), and that it's easy to rent a car for a day on a moment's notice. You're going in May, which is not peak time, so you should have no trouble with that kind of thing. We're also going in a down time (Labor Day week), which is when I prefer to travel. Please please, I hope you can post a trip report when you return. There's such limited info on this resort on the internet that anything you had to say would be helpful, I'm sure. Hope you have a great time!

I have been meaning to drive by La Playa one day and check out the hopefully finished construction to answer this post and a couple of personal requests about it I have received. Unfortunately I haven't taken the time and always seem to be in a hurry when I'm near there -- I live in the "center" of Naples, so it is a good 30 to 40 minutes away, especially in the current high season traffic. I would agree with what has been said, except that I can't imagine not having a car. I'm not really a resort person and would feel stuck there having all meals and never leaving for anything -- there is virtually nothing within walking distance. On the other hand if you can truly relax on the beach and stay at the hotel 24 hours a day then I suppose you can survive without a car. But since Florida has some of the lowest priced car rentals in the country, it just seems logical that you would get a car while here. Especially with an entire week's car rental being less than a single night for the room itself.

LaPlaya has been on LuxuryLink.com lately for a good deal. Check it out.

Just got back from there!! Loved it, loved it! Was closed for 9 mos to restore, recently reopened, the new pools are beatiful, rooms are great, etc. Note, this place is not cheap. We paid about 385 for room, plus you pay 15 day for valet and 12 per day for some other fee. We stayed here before it was redone and loved it then, now we love it even more. Have stayed at The Registry before, and we like LaPlaya better. If you go, there are so many great places to eat downtown on 5th avenue (about 15 min drive). Try Vergina, italian restaurant with outdoor courtyard eating.

I recently vacationed on Vanderbilt Beach at the Ritz and walked down to LaPlaya on my last day in Naples. I had considered staying at LaPlaya before deciding on the Ritz, so I wanted to check the place out. The building certainly looks dated from the outside. However, the renovations seem to have really updated the inside! There was a really nice cafe on the deck facing the beach, one pool that could be seen from the beach, and lots of hotel employees walking around on the beach, trying to make sure guests had what they needed. One thing I noticed is that the hotel seemed a lot less crowded than the Ritz. The Ritz is a lot larger than LaPLaya and the beach was much more crowded. A few disappointments: LaPLaya does not actually use the beach chairs in the brochure and their ads on the beach. I know it was only advertising, but they looked really comfortable. I was disappointed to see regular (and cheap looking) beach chairs in use. I did see some of the nicer chairs near the pool. Also, the rooms (at least the ones facing the beach) seemed sort of small; much smaller than I expected for a luxury hotel. A few other things of note - when I had initially called to make reservations, I was told that you could request the beachfront rooms in the smaller building, but that you could just as easily end up with a beach view room in the tower; they are considered the same category of room. Also, the hotel does not have tennis courts on the property. Enjoy your vacation!

Chris - Look for Carrie's 4/22/02 query about La Playa because I just posted a response there.

LaPlaya = Southern Floridian Elegance and Charm. Just about everything written above is correct. I was just there at Easter. The rooms are smaller than one might be used to in more contemporary hotels, but they certainly refurbished the rooms with wonderful furniture, colors and textures. The nice adarondac chairs are actually on the balcony/patio area of the rooms. It is nice furniture, but I agree that the beach furniture is just the plastic stuff. The dining room serves delicious food. I took my parents there and we had a wonderful meal and an excellent time. The sunset from their dining room is a show unto itself. The past few years, they used to offer a jazz duo in the bar/lounge. La Playa is under new ownership, and they now offer just a piano player in the dining room (nice, but miss the duos also). The pools are very inviting. They have a few different pools that are ‘sort of’ connected by little waterfalls. Nice. The pools also offer cabana rentals, complete with refrigerator and phone, for about $65/day. The gift shop at the hotel had some very nice items. My mother found many clothes and jewelry that she liked. I picked up a great T-shirt! The lobby is also very warm with it’s red-tile floors (some with hand-painted designs on them), pale yellow walls, cream-colored woodwork, and a mustard yellow ceiling. Again, the furnishings and fabrics are all beautiful and exquisite in taste. The rocking chairs and a checker board on the front porch are also a nice touch and often used. I love this property. As someone mentioned in another post regarding the Ritz a few hotels down; the Ritz is often used for business conventions. Due to this the pool can close down early for the business guests only. I also have noticed (as did the other poster regarding the Ritz) that the kid noise was – at times – crazy. If had had to chose between the two resorts, I would stay at LaPalya. I love the outdoor Tiki-style restaurants at the Ritz though. Have fun. You are in for a special treat. Oh, and I agree with Patrick – you will need a car in Naples. Don’t miss 5th Ave and downtown! Happy Trails, Paul

My wife and I recently stayed at the newly renovated La Playa and loved it. It is very attractive and the rooms are fantastic. The pool and beach are also just right. Even the food was good (awesome views), although we enjoyed 5th Ave in Naples for dinners. You have to rent a car. The valet parking & resort fees are a pain, but oh well. La Playa is nicer, newer, and more upscale than the comparably priced Registry Resort. The Ritz tops it, but only if you want to spend $500+ a night to be surrounded by kids and conventioneers. Go to La Playa. Book your room on expedia or travelocity for a better deal.

Is the Ritz more kid friendly than LaPlaya?

ab, the Ritz seems to have many more families than La Playa. We just returned a few weeks ago.

decided to go with Edgewater. Newly renovated suite for less than the Registry. The Registry's pool area looks nice but the rooms are going to get renovated so I'm assuming they're pretty run down and the .6 mile of mangroves to the beach sounds dreadful. Horrible experience with their off-site reservation but wouldn't cancel my reservation, repeatedly telling me I was wrong when I told her I had until today at noon to cancel, per their employee Diane. That's not possible, can't refund, sorry, over and over....I'm keeping the reservation at their sister property Edgewater, so it's not like I'm backing out. "That's not possible, no refund, anything else I can do for you?" Finally after she insisted there was no one else working with her today I called the hotel directly and the manager cancelled my reservation. I spoke to the hotel last night and they don't have access to the off site reservation information.. Be careful about calling off site. They're totally separate and don't communicate.