Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach

Prós: The hotel was great. We booked it through KAYAK at a great rate for a room with a limited ocean view. When we arrived we were upgraded to a larger room with full oceanfront views at the same rate. The hotel is beautiful and the staff were friendly and attentive.

Prós: The staff is awesome , very friendly and professional.

Prós: The hotel property is right on the beach, and the beach staff is friendly and accommodating, periodically bringing guests complimentary smoothies and frozen grapes and oranges. The pool area is lovely and well-kept, as are the dining rooms. The rooms are comfortable and luxurious. The breakfast buffet, though expensive, is delicious, ample and very fresh.

Contras: For a hotel of this caliber there was some unevenness in the staff. On certain days at the beach, the staff was available and responsive; on others they were entirely absent, and it was difficult to get anyone's attention. The outside dining areas, though lovely, were crowded, and every morning we had to wait 10-15 mins to be seated outdoors. When we first arrived, no doubt because we booked a "bargain" room through Kayak ($500/night as opposed to the $1,000 rack rate on the Four Seasons website), we were given a room with a direct view of the beach bar kitchen, together with smells and noises from the vent. We asked that the room be changed, and it was, though again we were given one of their less desirable rooms. I suppose most unfortunate was that when we asked, on our last day, for a late checkout - even offering to pay something for the privilege - we were told, icily, that the hotel could not accommodate us - not even for an hour - because of our "room category" (meaning, no doubt, the "cheapie" Kayak rate). The hotel was quite clearly not full, and as an experienced traveler, I know this would have been an easy accommodation for the hotel to make. Instead I left with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.