Pelican Grand Beach Resort Reviews

Both my husband and I had a great experience at the Pelican. We were taken care of and treated very well by all the staff. The Catering Manager, Janira, was professional, friendly, and communicative every step of the way. We felt valued and definitely recommend getting married here if you want an ocean-view ceremony.

Let me start by saying how much this hotel/venue means to us! Our first date was here so we wanted to get married here as well. The stunning views, happy people, beautiful spacious rooms I can go on and on. Alivia and her team were there with us every step of the way. We loved her so much we wanted her to be our day of coordinator ! Even though she’s not, she was still there making sure EVERYTHING ran smooth, even holding my mother in laws Yorki while we walked down the aisle. We love this place, our set up was stunning for both ceremony and reception. Food was FANTASTIC everything was perfect thank you guys so much for taking care of us!

The Pelican was fantastic to host our micro wedding! I feel like this hotel is a hidden gem! Alivia worked with us so easily to customize our special day toward what we wanted. The charm and beauty of the hotel is unmatched. I love that we were able to be married in a beach setting while not having the step foot on the sand. The staff was amazing throughout the event, I count not recommend them enough!!

Janira at Pelican Grand was outstanding to work with. Planning a destination wedding in another state, during spring break, with over 50 guests was challenging and stressful but Pelican Grand made all the difference. Janira was calm, warm, experienced and professional. We had a backup plan in case of rain which we had to use but it was beautiful. Their preferred vendor list was priceless.

We had our wedding here and had an amazing experience! We worked alongside Janira and from day 1 till wedding day she was there! Janira is kind, knowledgeable and extremely determined to hit the nail on every detail! Front desk staff, Angel, Mark/Damian/Gio, Ms. Dana and Ms. Fabiana were so tentative and kind on wedding day! I can’t recommend this location and team enough!! Great amenities, the lazy river is a must, breakfast on the patio is absolutely breathtaking and of course you have to grab your resort souvenirs at the emporium!

We decided on a Micro-Wedding and Pelican Grand was the perfect location to make a small wedding feel like a Grand Wedding! Alivia was amazing, she was a part of every detail, she helped us with vendors, every detail down to the chargers on the tables. The food was AMAZING! Everyone commented on the food! The Hotel is luxurious and beautiful. We loved everything about this venue!

Our daughter’s wedding took place here on March 1st, 2025, and everything was absolutely perfect! From the breathtaking ocean view during the ceremony to the stunning sunset at the end of the cocktail hour, every moment was magical. Janira, our banquet manager, and the entire staff were incredibly professional and ensured the day was nothing short of amazing. Highly recommend!

We are so happy we had our wedding here. Everything was perfect, the place is beautiful. The view was breathtaking. Janira is was really helpful. We didn't have to worry about anything.

Choosing Pelican Beach Resort for our wedding was the best decision we could have made. From start to finish, every detail exceeded our expectations. The venue itself is absolutely breathtaking—a perfect blend of elegance and charm. Our guests couldn’t stop raving about the stunning views and the warm, inviting atmosphere. Their team truly made us feel like family. From the first meeting to the final moments of our reception, they were there every step of the way, ensuring everything was perfect. They listened to our vision and brought it to life with such care and attention to detail that we were blown away.

On the big day, we didn’t have to worry about a thing. The staff worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure every moment flowed seamlessly. It allowed us to fully enjoy our day and focus on each other, our family, and our friends.

Our wedding day was everything we hoped for and more, and so much of that is thanks to Maribel and her amazing team. We’ll always remember the magic of that day and the incredible people who helped make it possible. If you’re looking for a venue that feels like home but delivers an extraordinary experience, you can’t go wrong here.

Alivia and Maribel were amazing!! They paid attention to every detail and were very attentive and accommodating! Thanks for everything!

Our wedding at the pelican grand was stunning. Gorgeous rooftop scenery and elegant ballroom with five star food and service. Maribel worked very hard to make our dream wedding possible, when bad weather threatened our rooftop ceremony, she worked around passing showers and made sure our outdoor wedding was possible ! Absolutely recommend !!

I have been to a lot of weddings in my day but the Pelican Grand was by far the best decision we made to host our wedding. The ENTIRE process was seamless. Janira was a top notch Catering Mgr. She was always available, responded quickly and handled every detail accordingly. The staff at the Pelican starting with valet, front desk, wait staff, general mgr to cleaning staff was always attentive and helpful. The staff (Vernon and Dawn) are just a few of the people that went above and beyond without having to ask. They genuinely want every couple to have the best experience! I cannot thank the Pelican for the beautiful accommodations for our wedding venue and the stellar service they bestowed my husband and me and our guests. We have decided every year we will celebrate our anniversary at the Pelican as a reminder of how our adventure began.

I had my dream wedding here. The hotel is a dream and the upstairs sky terrace was perfect. We had 65 people for the sky ballroom and the cake was the best I’ve ever had. The food was yummy and all the hotel guests enjoyed their stay. The only thing is that you have to go back and fourth with them about some billing issues and the valet situation not being accurate but other than that we were very happy. It is our happy spot and it was a fairy tale dream wedding

My husband and I were married at the Pelican Grand Beach Resort on 2/5/22. This has to be the most beautiful and majestic venue in Fort Lauderdale. Our ceremony and cocktail hour were on the rooftop with breathtaking ocean views followed by our reception in the oceanview ballroom with floor to ceiling windows of the ocean. Everyone is still in awe with how beautiful the setting was. We were also extremely pleased with the food which was amazing. We had the pleasure to work with Shelley in booking the event and then Janira made it all happen. Both ladies were fantastic to work with and helped us execute the wedding day of our dreams. We were able to stay in an oceanview suite for a few days with our wedding night being complementary. Wow what a room with another amazing view. It was very hard to leave. Our guests enjoyed all the resort amenities and loved dining on the veranda. Can’t wait to return and hope to celebrate our anniversaries there moving forward!

I would do it all over again only with Janira Boehmer with me. She was the glue that kept it all together. She was pleasant from the first time I accidently spoke to her. I have heard that sometimes things do not go well, but my wedding was phenomenal w/Janira by my side. All the hotel workers were helpful and friendly, even when things were stressful right down to the valet parking assistances. The hotel was clean and our wedding was at Sunrise, so they had to wake up extra early and no one complained!! We will be back to celebrate our anniversary, honestly before that. The rooms are wonderful and their view of the beach PRICELESS!! We thank you Janira and staff for a job well done!

The Pelican Grand was the best wedding venue that I have experienced so far, not only because it was my wedding but also because Im an event planner. The customer service from the time of consultation to the actual day of check out was superb. The event coordinator Janira B. was heaven sent, she welcomed us from the first day as she had known us forever. Her attitude and demeanor of professionalism was outstanding. She immediately to action to assure that my wife and I was pleased with our wedding. She took the time to know each one of our guest and bridal party and addressed them by name. Thats truly a gift from God. I highly recommend This hotel establish to any who wants a quality of service with ease.

Amazing place for my best day !!

fabulous from beginning to end. Victor is the best and made me feel like our wedding was his only priority for that day. I would follow Victor wherever he goes!!! The pelican was gorgeous

The Pelican was very accommodating to our small group. Provided chairs and did the set up for us and had a back up space in case it rained.

Beautiful venue. Our out of town guests stayed at the hotel for the weekend and raved about how nice the hotel is. Excellent service. Melanie is an upmost professional who made us feel like royalty during our event. They were very flexible in creating the perfect menu. Many of our guests commented on the quality of the food. Compliments to the chef. The service was excellent and friendly in the restaurant and bar as well.

Like any wedding there's stress and chaos, but never in my life did I think I would have to change my wedding venue within 5 days of the big day! I truly wish I found this place wayyy before I put deposits down on our original venue. Melanie is a dream! She took us in and gave us such a beautiful wedding. Way more visually spectacular than the other venue. Melanie was so accommodating and really went above and beyond to make sure that my husband to be, myself, and our guests were completely satisfied! I highly recommend this venue to everyone! The location is gorgeous, they have so many spots to choose from all with stunning views! The food was fantastic & the drinks kept coming! I wish I could do it all over again! Thank you so much!!!

The top two things we were looking for in a venue when we started planning were bar and food. Well, the Pelican Grand delivered all of that and MUCH more. First, the hotel and rooms are BEAUTIFUL. When I went for the venue tour I almost cried it was so gorgeous. Second, you don't need a planner at all. The staff there made sure every moment was PERFECT. Third, our guests LOVED the food so much! We are complete foodies and every course was phenomenal! Cooked and seasoned perfectly. I wish we could relive the day over and over again, it was so amazing. Thank you so much Janeth and Chaz, we loved every second!

I would advice you to visit Pelican Grand to see why it's on the top list of Vendors in Ft. Lauderdale. When I first walked into the doors at the Pelican Grand, I knew this was the place for us to renew our vows. After contacting Janet and discussing with her our visions it was confirmed that we will be using the Pelican Grand. We stayed at the Pelican Grand a day before our event and after and we didn't want to go home. Each morning was amazing as we awoke to the rising of the sun as the rays beamed into our room off the balcony. The day of our event was spectacular. Our guest was speechless and continued to inquire about visiting the Pelican Grand. Our dinning in the Ocean 2000 restaurant was out of this world. The food was excellent from the appetizer to the desert. The staff treated us as we were king and queens and reassured us they had everything covered. Everything was just as we wanted it to be. This is a resort you will return to for many other celebrations. Thank you Janet, Derek, and all your staffs!

We had the most amazing wedding thanks to the team at the Pelican Grand. First off, the setting is unbeatable. The oceanview ballroom on the 11th floor has the most spectacular views of the ocean probably in all of Fort Lauderdale beach. Floor to ceiling ocean view! The staff couldn't be nicer, more flexible and more professional -- and it was like that from the first communication months before the wedding and all throughout the wedding day. For every little minor detail the answer was "no problem!" with a smile and they took care of it. We couldn't have been happier with the venue, and our guests felt the same way.

Janeth & Chaz are great!! Our wedding was beautiful & elegant. Our guests can't stop talking about it. The pelican is a gorgeous resort, awesome place for pictures & peace. Thank you so much for an awesome day & thank you for our beautiful gifts!! Will definitely recommend. Love them.

the Pelican Grand is a gorgeous place for a wedding! They have many different venues you can choose from at their location. The place is very well maintained and their staff knows what they are doing. It is one of the few hotels in Fort Lauderdale that is actually on the water and not across the street which is nice. The food was delicious. Janeth was our contact at the Pelican and she was GREAT. Always on top of things, very responsive, and catered to all our unusual needs.

We had the very best wedding day at the Pelican Grand! Janeth was so great to work with throughout the whole process, very responsive and helpful from the first time we looked at the venue up until our actual wedding. The venue and views of the ocean are absolutely beautiful and the food and service can't be beat! There is not one thing I would change about the experience and highly recommend it to anyone looking to get married in the Ft. Lauderdale area!

This venue is hands down the most beautiful venue in Fort Lauderdale. It's no wonder why they do numerous weddings per year. The staff is exceptional, professional, and easy to work with. and I would recommend this venue to all.

Janeth is an all star! She made our planning very easy. She's very responsive and easy to work with. We couldn't have pictured our wedding any better and would highly recommend this venue for anyone looking for an intimate beach wedding. Excellent food, service and vibe that we couldn't find anywhere else. Chris & Kristi

Amazing venue! On ft. lauderdale beach there are not any hotels that compare with the Pelican for those that want a beautiful and intimate wedding along the beach of ft. lauderdale. We did our wedding on the South Rooftop and had our cocktail hour on the Verandah and Reception in the Atlantic Pavilion. The pictures from our wedding are BEAUTIFUL - views from the rooftop cannot be beat. Our guests loved the hotel because it feels like a secluded resort but is still close to downtown and beach place if your guests want to go into town. Janeth was an awesome wedding coordinator and the entire wedding staff was very helpful and on-point. Janeth was great with communicating and getting back to me throughout the entire wedding planning process - she was also very honest about recommendations on local vendors which was hugely helpful and saved my wedding day! thank you!

Pelican Grand is a beautiful, charming hotel right on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale. Our ceremony was held on the rooftop! Reception in a tent right next to the beach. Lovely venue. Service and food excellent. The catering manager Janeth Alvarez is excellent, easy to work with and will provide many good recommendations on other vendors.

The Pelican is a true slice of heaven in every way. I am from Pittsburgh, PA and never stepped foot at the Pelican until the week of my wedding. After researching many venues, i came across the Pelican then spoke with Janeth. Besides the beauty of the resort, Janeth pretty much sold me. She is THE BEST coordinator a bride could ever want or ask for. She is so helpful, and quick to respond to the questions i had prior to the wedding.

The Pelican itself is magical. Words cannot describe the beauty of it, and staff became our friends. They were all so friendly and just awesome. Our whole group of 30 had such a wonderful time. We will be back over and over again. It is Perfect in every single way possible.

I have nothing but positive things to say about this venue. Janeth, the coordinator, was ABSOLUTELY fantastic and made sure that the entire day was a total breeze. We met with Janeth many times prior to our wedding, as well as emailed a gazillion times, with a side of numerous phone calls. She was extremely pleasant every single time. She also helped with tips and ideas for some things we had no idea on. My mother and I didn’t hire a wedding coordinator and we did it all ourselves, and Janeth actually thought we were the planners at first! Janeth was there on the Sunday of the wedding, all the way until Chaz took over at the reception. Chaz was outstanding and made sure everything was smooth and perfect for the reception. He even forced me and my husband to eat! Which is a very good thing bc brides and grooms never wind up eating and oh boy were we starving! Not a single thing went wrong during the entire day at the Pelican Grand, well actually, the ENTIRE weekend was perfect! We had a total of 35 rooms at the hotel, and not one guest had an issue. The entire hotel staff was so friendly and pleasant.

This place was Great in every way!!

Beautiful venue for my intimate wedding with a guest list of under 20 people! We had the wedding and the reception in the same cozy A-frame house that overlooked the beach. The best selling point: the feeling of being at the beach, but with the luxury of air conditioning!

First, Christy who is in charge is 100% the most nicest person to work with. She helped me from start to end that people are still talking about the food, resort, everything. I was even told that people who attending my wedding will plan on having there children go there. I loved EVERYTHING!!!! Would do it all again!!!! Great person to work with. Love ya Christy!!!!

My husband and I have been married for a year and half now and we are still complimented on our wedding. It was a night of little girls' dreams come true...a perfect wedding. From the food, to the decor, to the ambiance, to the service, and the scenery, everything was magical. Simple elegance and unparallel quality describes our experience with the Pelican. And the person who made all of this happen is Christy, the event coordinator. She helped bring everything to life with ease, joy, and a sense of calming reassurance. I will forever be grateful to Christy and the entire Pelican crew for making our wedding night the greatest night of our lives.

First of all, this place is GORGEOUS! I got so many compliments about how picturesque everything was. My friends called it a "Corona Commercial" because of how stunning the views, ocean, and hotel itself was. I can't imagine how this place could have been better. As a true testament to how perfect of a venue this was for a destination wedding, our guests didn't leave the hotel ALL weekend. There was that much to do. Ah, it was perfect!

Our coordinator, Christy, was 100% with me every step of the way. She was so great about working with me all the way form Ohio. I kept changing my mind about things I wanted or didn't want, and she was always so patient with me. We customized many aspects of our wedding and reception, and they assisted with every single step. Christy kept me calm and even sent us a heartfelt congratulations letter that she left in our honeymoon suite.

The food was fantastic! I ate a little of everything but not too much of anything because I was too excited! The serving staff went above and beyond to make sure my guests were happy. Honestly, I’ve never heard so many compliments about a location before. Everything went perfect. I would wholeheartedly recommend this venue for anyone with a wedding of less than 75 people. One word to sum it up: PERFECT.

Beautiful venue. Is small but beautiful. Perfect for 40 ppl but you can accomodate more if you need to. All my pics have the sky or the ocean as a background. Is a gorgeous venue.

They give you the venue from 8am to midnight.

Incredible venue, the setting was just beautiful. I felt like a queen getting married atop her castle! Jessica coordinated the entire event from start to finish and was there on the wedding day to personally coordinate everything. Such a pleasant person to deal with on every aspect, prompt phone calls and emails. Everything was just perfect!

I needed a venue that had views but also allowed for my small guest count (only 24) to have a space that felt special. I did not want to sacrifice my small guest list because most venues I looked at all had spaces that would be overwhelmingly big. Needless to say, Pelican Grand had both. I knew it was a gorgeous hotel but I was skeptical I would find a reception space small enough but still special. As soon as I walked into the room and saw the view and natural light I was sold. The Atlantic Ballroom (which is located on the 1st floor) was the most breathtaking space. My wedding photos literally look like we on the beach because the floor to ceiling windows captured the essence of an elegant beach wedding.
Besides the views, one of the reasons I chose this venue was because of Maribel (the catering sales manager). Her efficiency and professionalism gave me confidence I was making the right choice. She was very thorough with the information and options and costs. Nothing was a surprise at the end.
Some people say that the venue dictates the cost of the wedding. Because of the wedding I envisioned I knew the extra costs would be there and every other element of the wedding would be a pretty penny too. I think you have to be willing to spend on the additions. Even though I did not use the recommended vendors and opted to use my planner’s referrals, there was no delay in communication between the two teams. They got the job done !
Maribel Vargas and her team at the Pelican Grand are a great team to work with and I highly recommend this venue.

Janeth was wonderful to work with. Since this was a destination wedding, and we were not able to visit the venue prior to the wedding, we had a lot of questions. Janeth always got back to us quickly and was very helpful. On the days leading up to the wedding she really brought everything together and was flexible with some last minute changes.

The entire staff at The Pelican was extremely friendly and went out of their way to make our stay enjoyable. We especially loved our bartender!

The only disappointment was the quality of the rooms. For the price, we were expecting the rooms to be nicer. They are a little outdated. However, our view was amazing!

My husband and I are so happy that we chose the Pelican Grand Beach Resort for our wedding by the beach!! We decided to have both, our ceremony and reception, at the hotel and we were not disappointed. The view from the patio, where our ceremony and cocktail hour took place, was breathtaking. We had the perfect view of the ocean without having to walk through the sand. The Atlantic ballroom on the bottom floor had a row of windows, giving us the perfect view of the ocean all afternoon. The food was absolutely amazing! Our guests are still raving about how tasty the food had been. The rooms we rented the night before our wedding were gorgeous and so clean. It gave us the opportunity to get dressed the morning of our wedding and to prepare for the big day. Thank you so much to everyone at the Pelican Grand for making our wedding so special!! -Marianne and Mike

We had an amazing, beautiful, unforgettable, dream wedding thanks to Pelican Grand Beach Resort & Mermaid Beach Weddings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Thank you!

We had an intimate wedding, small group. Coordinated a luncheon on a Friday with the Manager of Ocean 2000 for a group of 20. Food was awesome, presentation was lovely, they accommodated us in every way. We were even running late and still accommodated such a big party without a fault.

Trying to coordinate was the iffy part as everything was done via email, and Ricardo was not the most responsive, but he is a very busy man...however, at the end it all worked out.

Will go back to enjoy their breathtaking venue and beach views, delicious foods and awesome hospitality!

The moment my husband and I walked into Pelican Grand Beach resort we knew it was the perfect venue for us!! It was truly breathtaking! I was so in love with all of the spaces. We chose the Atlantic terrace for ceremony and Oceanview ballroom for our reception! The cocktail hour was on the Oceanview terrace. The views of the Atlantic Ocean was an an absolute dream!! It was breathtakingly beautiful!! Melanie, the catering manager, was such a please to work with. The service was amazing during the reception. I would highly recommend this venue.

My Husband and I choose The Pelican Grand Beach Resort to have our wedding for several reasons. We both love the ocean and wanted our Rehearsal Dinner, Ceremony, Cocktail, and Reception to all be ocean front. This is one of the only hotels in Fort Lauderdale that offers that. The views are absolutely breath taking. The hotel also offers a more down to earth old Florida feel vs. the Trendy South Beach style hotels that were more appropriate for our Bachelor/Bachelorette Weekends!.

Janeth, the Wedding coordinator took over 3 months before the actual wedding. We hit a few bumps in the road due to the previous coordinator not documenting some of our confirmed requests. Janeth accommodated all of our requests and was extremely efficient throughout the process. A lesson I learned is "Have EVERYTHING documented.. large and small". You never know when your wedding might change hands.

We dined in the restaurant for lunch and dinner several times before the wedding and we were never disappointed. Chef Jessica creates exceptional tasting food in a beautiful presentation. Our favorites are the Cuban Sandwich (We had mini ones at the Wedding.. best Cuban Sandwich in Florida.. even our Reverend Eddie Rodriguez who is Cuban agreed!) The Mash Potato Martini Bar was also a hit with our guests! Chaz the Food and Beverage manager was also a pleasure to work with throughout the process and during the Wedding. Request Paul the bartender if you can.. he is the best one there!

As for booking rooms.. we blocked the entire second floor for our Wedding party and Family. Each suite is connected by the same balcony. This was super convenient and fun for our weekend wedding. My only advice would be to ensure you can book all the rooms for 2 nights before agreeing to this block. This was our only headache and could have been avoided. If you can, deal with Ashley and Britt at the front desk, they were extremely professional and efficient.

My husband and I will definitely be returning to the Pelican Grand in the future to Relax, Dine and reminisce about the Happiest Day of our lives!!

I held my ceremony and reception at the Pelican Grand. The ceremony was on the Atlantic Deck and the reception directly below in the Atlantic Ballroom. Overall, I was very happy with my wedding, but there some drawbacks.

Pros:
The setting is absolutely beautiful. We were lucky and got fantastic weather so were able to have the ceremony outdoors. I would have been upset about the amount spent if we had to have our ceremony indoors.

The food and drinks were excellent. We did passed appetizers for cocktail hour was more than enough food. We had mahi and flatiron steak for entrees. The mahi, in particular, was a real crowd pleaser.

Melanie was flexible on our minimum dollar amount spent. We had a small wedding (about 45 guests) and she worked with us on budget.

Cons:
I got the sense that the Pelican Grand was used to working with much higher budgets than ours and they weren't shy about letting us know. Melanie referred to our wedding as "DIY". We had the budget for one big splurge and chose the venue/food/drink. I didn't use a wedding planner because both my matron of honor and I had event management experience. If, as a venue, you are not comfortable working with weddings that don't have a planner, then don't book them.

Communication was "okay" and mostly initiated by me. Specific questions prior to the event were responded to timely, but with the bare minimum of information. We did a walk through the day before which should have addressed all important items, but were fielding questions the afternoon of the wedding about floor plan for the reception room (*never* mentioned previously), set up and take down specifics. All of this could have been easily handled in an email or conversation at an earlier time. I did not have a pleasant experience with Chaz.

There was a general sense that mine was just another event they had to get through.

While the setting is a 5+ and the hotel itself is gorgeous, the level of service and professionalism was seriously lacking!

Not impressed with the service at all. My tables were not set up the way I wanted, and I was very specific. Water glasses were never refilled at all during the whole meal. Coffee was cold. Nobody at the entrance to direct guests to the Atlantic ballroom, like I had been promised. Don’t think they deserve the 24% gratuity they automatically charge. Catering manager never called me back after the event to tally up or anything. Therefore, a two star service.

A HORROR story, A bride’s total NIGHTMARE. These are the best words to use to describe my experience at the Pelican Grand hotel. This hotel completely failed in their duties and obligations to provide at the very minimal some standard of services. A complete disappointment.

It was the middle of August, in South Florida, in a beautiful hot sunny day. My wedding day came, and NO AIR CONDITIONER inside their banquet hall. I still have nightmares of my dress suffocating me. The manager assured me that engineering was working on it and that it would eventually cool down. Lies lies lies. It never cooled down. They didn’t even try to place fans, nothing. It was a sauna, scorching hot and uncomfortable all day up until night time. It was boiling. Everyone was miserable. My family and I were completely disregarded and mislead to believe you will have a wonderful experience. They didn’t take care of us. They didn’t even try. This post is for all the future brides interested in getting married in this place. Don’t do it.
I’m an Admissions Hospice RN and part of my job is to help patients and families relieve their pain and sufferings with the tools and support I am given, as well as emotional support. If a patient is imminent I have to stay with the patient to assure that their medical equipment, medications and continuous care nurse arrives so that the patient is properly taken care of. My husband is a doctor and provides quality standard of care to all of his patients. This hotel was completely neglectful and they should be ashamed of themselves.

The manager passed by right before the wedding, promised that everything was going to be taken care of and disappeared. She never bothered to come back. The worst part was that they knew there was a problem from the night before due to some electrical issues that effected a few buildings in the area. All that meant to me was that they had plenty of time to get their affairs in order or move us to another banquet hall room. None of which were done. This place is full of broken promises.

But if you want to know more, it started on the night we checked in to our hotel room and I noticed that there was a window with no blinds. Our room had a beautiful ocean view facing east but I was fearful that sunrise would have me up real early with no curtains on the window. I was planning to be well rested before my wedding. Regrettably the hotel said that it was part of the design and the best they could do was to install some transparent curtains but no black out curtains because the architecture of the room would not allow for such heavy curtains. We tried their transparent temporary curtains for the night. Lo and behold the next morning sunrise woke us up real early. We complained and they upgraded us to another suite that did have black out curtains. Then the day of my wedding came, my hair dresser and make up artist were in my room by 10:30 am to get us ready and there was problems with the air conditioner in my room. It was awfully hot getting ready in my room. The engineer came to fix the problem but it took a few hours for the room to finally cool down. And they didn’t even think about checking the air conditioner in the banquet hall where the wedding was going to be at. It was an absolute disaster.
Don’t waste your time and money here.

We booked this vendor years in advance for our wedding in 2020. From the beginning, there was a significant lack of communication with the staff at the hotel. However, the hotel is a beautiful venue, and we were hopeful (since we booked so far in advance- over a year- that we could discuss any issues). The hotel staff has a very high turnover. We worked with 4 managers in about a year. It took a significant effort on our part to get each staff member up to speed on our wedding info. We were always assured that we had plenty of time to discuss the specifics but were never given the next steps and constantly asked for additional information. As our wedding got closer, we became more nervous as yet another manager was brought in and given the information about our wedding & contract. Of course, 2020 did not make it easier on our wedding planning, but we had to consistently remind the manager of items in our agreement that were previously discussed with other staff. Luckily, most of the agreed items were placed in the contract, but the hotel still argued them. During the COVID season, we were proactive and constantly checked in with the hotel catering manager who handled our contract to ensure our wedding could still happen. We had to always double-check every detail in the contract with the manager as every email would have incorrect information (wrong date, wrong time, wrong # of guests, wrong room rates, wrong # of hors d'oeuvres, etc.) We tried to be as detailed as possible because it appeared that the hotel was not very detail-oriented. Finally, about a month from our wedding date, we met with the hotel staff to go over, AGAIN, the details & have the tasting (the food was delicious). The manager again referenced incorrect items per our contract. As we walked through our ceremony site & backup area (the backup area is why we booked this hotel as it frequently rains in FL) the manager informed us that they had double booked our space! She argued that we were incorrect, and I had to show her the contract that stated our space was reserved & protected. There was nothing we could do, and we had to cancel with the hotel (we did receive a full refund because THEY breached our contract), but they did threaten us with having to pay because of the cancellation. I'm sure this could have been caught sooner if the hotel staff was more detail-oriented and possibly better trained. It was a huge upset to have to replan our wedding due to their lack of attention. As I said, the venue is beautiful, but be cautious of what lies underneath the surface!

WARNING: DO NOT BOOK YOUR WEDDING HERE!!!!

It is three weeks before my wedding and I just got off the phone with the wedding coordinator, Angie, who was not only a half hour late in calling me per our scheduled time, but also informed me that there is going to be a second wedding at 5:45PM on the beach as I am supposed to be taking my photos from my 5PM wedding. She wanted me to change my cocktail hour on the veranda to another space so that it didn't interrupt the other couple's wedding. At the original walk through sales pitch, I was told specifically that what made this venue so great was that since it was a boutique hotel, I would be the only bride there during the time when my guests where there. The original coordinator, Janeth, had told me that while the may book a second wedding for the morning of my wedding, they would not book one for the evening. Angie tried to gaslight me by saying that a veranda cocktail hour was not something they do, however, it is specifically in my contract. Now, I am stuck, three weeks out from my wedding, all invitations have been sent and all RSVPs returned with people who flip the script and can't keep a calendar. If Angie had informed me of this conflict at any point prior to posting my invitations, I could have changed the time of my ceremony. Annoying, but only for a second.

I'd like to start by saying the Pelican Grand is a gorgeous venue, probably the best in Fort Lauderdale. I'm happy with the look and feel of the hotel, as well as the food. The service however, was horrible. To start, they charged us twice for our wedding. We submitted final payment for the venue 10 days before our wedding, and the morning after our wedding we woke up to see a second, five-figure charge on our credit card. They chalked it up to be an "administrative mistake," however this mistake took days to rectify, affected our credit score, and made it difficult for us to use our credit card on our honeymoon. It was a giant headache and we are not pleased with the way this was handled.

Secondly, almost all of our guests who stayed at the hotel were overcharged as well. Some were charged for extra nights, and others had miscellaneous charges applied to their account for no reason. This resulted in many of our guests getting comped nights, which worked out in the end, but created such a hassle to start the weekend. This is all on top of the regular wedding stress, and it put a damper on our wedding as a whole. I was embarrassed to have chosen the Pelican Grand as it caused my family and close friends so many problems. I was so thankful for them to come to the wedding, and I was apologizing all weekend.

Overall, really, really poor service.