Boca Beach Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort

The Beach Club at The Boca Raton feels more focused on maintaining its luxury reputation—largely through licensing well-known brands from Major Food Group—than on delivering a consistently thoughtful guest experience. The rooms are spacious, clean, and well laid out, though somewhat sterile. You can’t escape the fact that this is part of a massive resort consisting of five different buildings. From the moment you arrive, it’s clear this is a large-scale operation and a big business. We stayed during Thanksgiving week, and to their credit, the resort was fully staffed and clearly on high alert to deliver a strong customer experience. However, the sheer scale of the operation felt overwhelming for management, particularly during peak holiday periods. We chose the Beach Tower because it is the most recently renovated building. The facilities were indeed clean and spacious, but the check-in experience was lacking. We were given very little information about the layout of the resort or where to find basics like restaurants and the fitness center. More frustratingly, there was no explanation of included amenities such as breakfast, late checkout, or resort credits. I had booked one room through Chase The Edit and another through Virtuoso and was led to believe the benefits were identical. They were not—something that only became clear (and problematic) at checkout. Breakfast at Marisol was an adventure every day, and not in a good way. Service ranged from inconsistent to downright incompetent. On one morning, despite the restaurant being nearly empty, we waited over 30 minutes for food. When the weather improved, we asked to move outside and were told the request needed manager approval. The manager explained the food was already being prepared, so they couldn’t accommodate us—yet we then waited another 45 minutes anyway. This experience summed up most meals at Marisol. Several staff members were clearly new and undertrained (one server openly said, “I’m sorry, it’s my first day”). It wasn’t until the final day of our stay that we took the shuttle to the Cloisters for breakfast at Sadelle’s, where we immediately noticed a better menu, more experienced staff, and significantly faster service. Lunch at Marisol was equally disappointing, though poolside service was quick and seamless. While the weather was poor during our stay, the beach setup and service were strong. That said, it’s worth noting that standard beach loungers do not have cushions unless you pay extra for a hut. The upselling of cushioned loungers and poolside cabanas is a constant reminder that this is a large, revenue-driven resort. We traveled with our children, who were understandably a bit bored due to the weather. However, the newly renovated game room at the Cloisters was a highlight. Dinner experiences were mixed. Flamingo Grill stood out as the best in both food and service. The Japanese Bocce Club was mediocre, and service issues continued. When our children ordered salmon from the kids’ menu and were served adult-sized portions, I politely pointed it out—only to have the waitress essentially accuse me of lying. It was an awkward and unnecessary interaction. There were also operational disruptions throughout our stay. On day three, we were woken at 7:40 a.m. by a fire alarm and told to evacuate the building (it turned out to be a false alarm). On our final morning, we were awakened by furniture sanding directly below our room. These frustrating details added up over the course of the five-day stay. At checkout, things truly fell apart. I discovered that the two rooms received different breakfast credits—$60 for the Chase booking and $120 for the Virtuoso booking—despite both including “breakfast for two.” I had never been informed of this discrepancy and had been explicitly told that all breakfast at the restaurant was included. When I raised this issue, I was met with blank stares. A manager named Nataly eventually stepped in, but the response felt more dismissive than apologetic, reinforcing the sense that the resort prioritizes policy over guest experience. Overall, The Beach Club at The Boca Raton has the physical infrastructure and branding of a top-tier luxury resort, but the execution—particularly service consistency, communication, and guest empathy—falls short. For a property operating at this scale and price point, those gaps are difficult to overlook.

Dirty, expensive and look somewhere else for relaxing. How do they get away with this? Unskilled workers, high prices for nothing.

I was at the Boca Beach Club in August of 2023 and was beyond amazed. It was truly one of the best vacations I have ever had. Service, food, location, and property exceeded all of my expectations. Fast forward two years and I was deciding where to celebrate a milestone birthday. I decided on the Boca again. How utterly disappointing! We stayed at the Cloister this time, and from the moment we checked in there were issues. They offered to check us in early, which I originally thought was a nice thing. However, the room they tried to give us was on the main floor at the front of the building directly up against valet. The window was less than 3 feet from the valet podium. Unacceptable! We immediately went back to check in and they told us they would get us into a different room. The fact that they would even entertain putting guests in this room is unbelievable. The room we were finally put in was fine. Service at the pools was mediocre. Beach service was not what it was two years ago. At that time, the respect and class of the attendants was impeccable. Not at all what it is now. While the staff was nice enough, they were unpolished and inconsistent with the standard of service the property aims to uphold. Food was a mixed bag. The Fourth of July buffet was tremendous! So many options and absolutely delicious food. Sadelle's continues to impress with their outstanding service and food. Marisol was fine. Principessa was the restaurant I was most looking forward to since my meals there in the past were outstanding. This time the meal was unedible. I absolutely never send back my food, but my meal was utterly disgusting. When the server saw that I wasn't eating it, they offered to bring me something else. The new meal was just as terrible. The server could not have been nicer and was extremely apologetic. She also seemed to imply that this is not the first time this has happened. The manager took my meal off the bill. Front desk staff was so-so. Some were the caliber of staff in the past, and some were obviously new and not at all concerned with customer service or professionalism. Shuttle service was dependable and drivers were friendly. All in all, I wanted to love my second visit to the Boca, but it fell very short. I would love to say I would give it another shot, but I don't know if I can justify paying a luxury price for a subpar experience. I would definitely NOT return to the Cloister, but would possibly be willing to revisit the Beach Club. Maybe if they run an off-season rate special I will try once more.

Extremely Disappointing Stay – Broken AC, Poor Service, and No Resolution I wouldn’t recommend staying here unless you're okay with poor customer service and malfunctioning amenities. I booked a vacation at The Beach Club at The Boca Raton expecting a relaxing and enjoyable stay, but unfortunately, it turned into a stressful and unpleasant experience. Upon arrival, we were given a room with a broken air conditioning system. As shown in the thermostat photo, the unit was set at 80 degrees, but the room was freezing cold and could not be warmed up despite multiple attempts by staff to fix it. Instead of a comfortable vacation, we became sick from the freezing temperature in the room and ultimately had to leave early. The hotel staff promised solutions, but in the end, they refused to provide a refund. Instead, they offered only a partial future credit, which is completely unacceptable given the circumstances. We paid for a functioning room and did not receive that. What’s worse is that their customer service was dismissive and unhelpful throughout the process. This is not the level of service one would expect from a resort of this caliber. They violated their own policies by placing us in a room with a malfunctioning AC and then failing to properly resolve the issue. All we were asking for was a full refund for a stay we could not use due to their fault, along with compensation for the illness and inconvenience caused. Instead of a relaxing getaway, we left disappointed, frustrated, and unwell. Until The Beach Club at The Boca Raton takes responsibility and issues proper refunds to guests placed in broken rooms, I cannot recommend staying here.

My mom and I just got back from the most incredible birthday weekend here! Seriously, every single person we met was so genuinely nice and went out of their way to help. That oceanfront room upgrade? Total game changer. Even with the rain, we made the most of it hanging out by the sandbar and finding cozy seating areas inside. Pro tip: Try to snag a balcony room if you can. I did not and regret it! The whole time we felt like we’d stepped into an episode of White Lotus (in the best way possible). We literally didn’t want to leave the property. The Beach Club renovation looks incredible, by the way. We used the free water taxi and shuttle to check out the spa side and that lazy river area. Harbor House was our favorite lunch spot. My mom loved the BLAT. I loved the pizza! We went almost every day. Sadelle’s was a preferred breakfast and lunch spot. Daryl was absolutely wonderful ! He truly made us feel like family from day one. He remembered our name and remembers it was my mom’s birthday and kept making her feel special. We ended up going back two days straight just because he was so fantastic and his recommendations were spot on. Look, I’ll be real with you - this definitely isn’t a cheap getaway but it Worth every single penny. We’re already planning our next trip and really hoping that adorable pink Fiat is back up and running by then!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​