I'd like to start out by thanking you once again for staying with us and for taking the time to write your review. I offer the following responses to clarify some details in your review.

Mary's Resort is a small, boutique property, which prides itself in personalized guest services. We provide laundry machines, gas barbeque grills, beach chairs, umbrellas, coolers, etc. for guest use. Each guest is also given our managers phone number, for any special requests.

The reviewer is correct in his statement that guests under 16 must fist be "cleared" prior to making a reservation. The reason is that we do not have a "kiddie" fence around the pool and we don't offer a playground, etc. The Historic nature of the property would not allow it. It would be both illegal and discriminatory for us to "ban" children. In reality, very few children stay with us. We are pet-friendly and the resort is named after my dog, Mary.

We heat our pool 24-hours a day with a heat-pump. If the outside temperature dips in the 50-degree range, it will take some time for the heater to catch up. The Jacuzzi is heated to 102 degrees from 6:00 PM until 12:00 Midnight, 7 nights a week. We also ask guests to let us know if they have a specific request for the Jacuzzi hours. We heat it between those hours, because 90% of our guests prefer to use it in the evenings. Not once did this guest mention an issue while he was with us. He wouldn't "see it running" because it is all run by electronic timers. I'm not sure when this guest was in the pool area, but others were using the pool while he was here.

The Royal Palm room is not an "efficiency apartment" as the guest reported. It is a room with a King bed and other amenities as stated on our website. The guest stayed in the Jasmine Suite and the kitchenette is exactly as pictured and described on our website. The same configuration is in all of our Suites. The refrigerator works fine, but the guest did complain that it wasn't cold enough. Rather than argue with him, the manager let him use his personal refrigerator, which he got from his own home. The refrigerator is small and isn't meant to hold a weeks worth of grocery's. Again, it is as pictured on our website.

Regarding the noise complaint: I am sorry to hear that the other guests made noise. We did receive your complaint and immediately spoke with the guests above you. They were very apologetic and made every effort to reduce any loud noise. Both the Royal Palm Room and the Jasmine Suite have the Bamboo Loft above them. All of our other accommodations are single-story, with no one above them. Again, I am sorry that you were bothered by other guests.

Regarding the location: We are located 6 blocks West of Downtown Fort Lauderdale, one mile East of I-95 and in a very central area. Fort Lauderdale Beach is 3.5 miles to the East. I really don't understand why you consider this to be a remote location. Fort Lauderdale is spread out and we always recommend a car to our guests. We provide gated parking for one car per accommodation.

Thank you,

Keith Blackburn

Thank you for taking the time to write a review. I appreciate your candid input, which helped me to make a change to our policy.

As background; about 15-months ago, I sent a survey to past guests. I asked if they would rather save money, with a reduction in rates in exchange for not having daily maid service. We promised to stock the accommodations with extra linens, toilet tissue, etc.

Nearly 100% of those who responded said they would rather have reduced rates then daily maid services. So, that's what we did. We also advertised this and made sure arriving guests knew what to expect.

Over the past month or so, we have had several guests who felt that they wanted daily maid service. Unless specific arrangements are made in advance, all accommodations will now have daily maid service. We will also make every attempt to maintain the rates as they are now. Our goal is to make everyone happy and comfortable while at Mary's Resort.

In response to the resort being in a "transitional" area: We recognize that we are located in the shadows of Downtown Fort Lauderdale and because of this, we are in am urban setting. The neighborhood is known as "Sailboat Bend" and is the only Historic neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale. In the 5 years we have been open, we have not had any reported incidents involving a guest. The entire resort is gated (for privacy and security) and guests use a code to open the parking and pedestrian gates. I urge everyone to use care, regardless of where they stay or go. There is no place that is 100% safe and free of crime.