Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Marina, quick review

[msw1023]

I know hotels are a plentiful in Lauderdale, so I thought I'd share my experience.

We stayed at The Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Marina last Friday night. Our flight arrived around 11 and we went straight to the hotel and chacked in about 11:30. I booked my stay through the hilton honors site...so I probably got ripped off, but I paid the base rate of 159 a nite and was eligible to choose and upgrade for 25 dollars. This got us into a 'King Tower room"

We ended up with a corner room on the 10th floor with a wrap around balcony! We didn't have a view of the port, but the view of the intercoastal, the pool, the marina and the distant ocean view was breathtaking!

THe service was phenominal...we hopped out of the cab and they wisked our bags onto the cart and escorted us up to the desk. We were shown to our room and the bellman turned our air conditioning on, pulled the curtain open and brought us ice. Gave us some suggestions about what to do and told us the shuttle would take us to the beach!

 

[msw1023]

The bathroom had these funky slide doors that had frosted panels in them. I know some folks get wigged out by these, but it was just the two of us, and who really stares into the bath when it's in use?

The shower was very cool...the door didn't close, so it was a little splashy, but heck, I didn't have to clean the floor!

The shower head was on the ceiling, it looked like a speaker, it was about a foot square with hundreds of little holes that let the water rain down..I should have grabbed a picture, but didn't realize what it was all about until the next morning!

And of course the contemporary bowl sink, which is pretty to look at but in my opinion, not terribly functional..maybe I'm just a slob.

[Host Faith]

Thank you so much for posting this, we're considering this hotel for our trip in March, and your review is helpful :)

[msw1023]

The other selling point for me was the great location...The Bimini boat yard was right around the corner, there was a Walgreens across the street. THe down side was that it didn't include breakfast, althought there was a Keureg coffee maker in the room and a small fridge.

The hotel menu was laughable...5 dollars for 2 slices of buttered toast! I walked to Walgreens and got 2 of the prepackaged cereal in the bowl, a pint of milk and some OJ for about 6 bucks! I figured I would be eating like a pig all week, why start with a buffet now?

There was a free shuttle that ran every hour that would take you right down to the beach. THey dropped us off in front of Bubba Gumps. All we had to do was get to the Bahia Mar and they picked us up. THe driver was great and also had some suggestions for where to have lunch etc.

The hotel also had a beautiful pool with nice padded loungers, and a little restaurant right on the water.

You can see the Marina on the left, the intercoastal in the center and the Ocean off in the distance.

And heck we were on vacation, might as well get things started with a drink!

[msw1023]

The most amazing thing was the Mega-yachts pulled right up to the hotel. The mast on one sailboat was as high as our room, and the mast had an elevator on it!

These are just some random pictures from the balcony...

This little gem is called Pegasus V and charters for 920,000$ a week. Complete with hot tub, baby grand piano, granite and stainless galley and a crew of 26.

And for those who think winning is about the most toys...well you've certainly got a good start!

[msw1023]

The other great feature (that we never used) was that the water taxi stopped right outside. All we really wanted to do was get to the beach and have lunch, so we opted for the free shuttle instead of the 40 dollars for two on the water taxi. We did see it going by all day. I'm not sure why I never got a pic!

Overall, I have to say it was a great experience. It really added and extra vacation day to our trip. I know lots of folks fly in late and just want a place to rest their heads for the night. If that's all you want, save you money. If you want to extend you stay, I highly recommend the Marina!

We didn't ask for the room with a view of the port, but we did wander out to the front the morning of the cruise...

And found this! sorry about the grainy image, it's from my phone, on zoom...but I was too excited to run up and grab my camera.

 

And these are just a few more random shots

[Keith1010]

Thanks for posting all of this. It is very helpful to those who will consider this hotel.

 

Keith

[Host Faith]

The other selling point for me was the great location...The Bimini boat yard was right around the corner, there was a Walgreens across the street. THe down side was that it didn't include breakfast, althought there was a Keureg coffee maker in the room and a small fridge.

 

The hotel menu was laughable...5 dollars for 2 slices of buttered toast! I walked to Walgreens and got 2 of the prepackaged cereal in the bowl, a pint of milk and some OJ for about 6 bucks! I figured I would be eating like a pig all week, why start with a buffet now?

There was a free shuttle that ran every hour that would take you right down to the beach. THey dropped us off in front of Bubba Gumps. All we had to do was get to the Bahia Mar and they picked us up. THe driver was great and also had some suggestions for where to have lunch etc.

The hotel also had a beautiful pool with nice padded loungers, and a little restaurant right on the water.

 

You can see the Marina on the left, the intercoastal in the center and the Ocean off in the distance.

 

And heck we were on vacation, might as well get things started with a drink!

 

Do you happen to know how late the shuttle ran? Just curious.

[msw1023]

Chrystal

I think it ran til 6, but the water taxi rates go down after 5. I read your Serenade review before my trip to keep from going nuts!

Keith

You're very welcome. I've found that a picture is worth a thousand words. Many folks here review the ships, but the hotels are a mystery!

[Isa65]

Thanks a lot for this review! My parents will stay there in 3 weeks and this puts my mind at ease. Nice pictures!

[Host Faith]

Chrystal

I think it ran til 6, but the water taxi rates go down after 5. I read your Serenade review before my trip to keep from going nuts!

Keith

You're very welcome. I've found that a picture is worth a thousand words. Many folks here review the ships, but the hotels are a mystery!

 

Awesome, thank you. LOL, I do the same thing with others' reviews- the long reviews help the time between cruises pass more quickly :D

[Sailingpeace]

Thank you very much, very useful review !

Once you get to the beach with the shuttle, are there hotel services there ( chairs, umbrellas, toilets, bar etc) ?

[Chameleon]

Good review and for me is encouraging! We are staying there for one night before our cruise in December, we will only be there for a few hours but it's good to read that there are shops easily nearby to get those last minute requirements!:D Unfortunately as we are coming from UK we'll probably just be interested in a comfortable bed!;)

[med9114u]

Awesome review and pics, thanks! Our group of 22 is staying there in 2 weeks before our Carnival Miracle Cruise. You mentioned Bimini Boatyard, did you eat there? We have a reservation there for 21 of us, was wondering if it was within walking distance? Doesn't look to be that far away on mapquest...

[msw1023]

Bimini Boatyard is literally across the marina. It's a short walk, sorry I didn't eat there!

 

There weren't any chairs on the part of the beach we stopped at. Maybe if you go further down the beach. The restaurant row is on the other side of the street from the beach, a lot had outside curbside tables where you could watch the ships go by. There was a little rental stand for parasailing and Kayaks. It was also a windy cool day, so maybe they had the chairs in. The beach was mostly deserted!

Marsha

[Sailingpeace]

Is there a public place you can go to ( top floor, terrace) to see the cruiseships sail away from Port Everglades? I understand that only some balconies face the port and may be high enough. If you are not in the tower, can you still see the cruiseships?