Fort Lauderdale hotels

[MTinGA]

We stayed at Doubletree in December. The rooms were small, but we got a room with beach view with balcony. Just cross the road and you are at the beach. Ate at Pussers which was literally right below the hotel. Very nice pool area. 7/11 across the street for last minute shopping. I will probably stay there again.

[deerby27]

I'm sorry, but I cannot rescind any of my statements. We live locally and everyone in the area wonders how they're still in business. They are absolutely filthy! I'm sorry for those who have prepaid and cannot get their money back, but they'll know better next time. As for the poster who's been there several times............I wonder about your expectations. Nobody I've ever encountered has wanted to back.

 

Arlene

Maybe your expectations are too high. I only spend time in the room to clean up and sleep. What do you do there?

[cindyscruise]

Doreen,

Thank you for your response about the Ramada. We booked for Dec. and glad to hear that it has changed as I was ready to cancel. We are also getting in late on Friday night so we won't be at the hotel long.

[cruise fairy]

Hi - an update...we stayed at the Ramada Airport last week for 1 night pre-cruise arriving very late and we left on the 11am shuttle...it was $60 online at Ramada.com, it included breakfast (though not gourmet it was decent - toast fresh, eggs warm, various juices & coffee avaialble), shuttle from airport to hotel & hotel to cruiseport. The room was nothing exciting but it was clean and the door lock worked & it had a additional chain (I personally prefer Hyatt, Hilton, Marriot but was not willing to pay alot for a few hours) and there was sufficent water pressure...having said that, if our time there was longer I don't think I would be happy staying there but the price was right and the staff was extremely friendly & efficient (the manager even thanked us for coming). It looks like the new management is trying. We even received a survey (via email) looking for our comments a few days later. Last time (in Nov) we stayed at the Marriot Marina (that was for a day plus) but it was much more pricey & nothing extra was included. So I guess we hit the ramada on a good day and our cruise was wonderful.

Wow! Glad to hear the Ramada is getting better. We hadn't been there since Jan. 2004. The staff wasn't bad when we were there, but the facility was just filthy. Glad it worked out for you.:p

[captainron]

I think you have to be a little careful with Priceline in the FLL area. It seems there's a lot of name chain hotels that are in rough shape.

 

:eek:

 

Hey BooBoo,

... and Bro County wants to focus more on the conventioneers rather than the cruise crowd!!! (See other threads on rwy expansion problems at FLL).

If they want to attract and focus on conventioneers, then maybe they'd better do inspections of what they're licensing, for from what I see on this thread, there are some absolute horror stories for large chain hotels in FLL.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[dolfinmusic]

Thanks for the info about the Ramada Airport - bad and good. I know I have read a lot of bad things but the whole group is staying here soooo......but what I read in the past few months has been better! For those that have stayed here - what can you tell me about the shuttle??? Do they have more than 1 shuttle and how many people does 1 shuttle hold - about? Thank you!!

[BettyCruiser]

I've stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66, Marriott Marina and the Renaissance, I would reccomend all of them.

 

I stayed at the Hyatt pre-cruise in March 2004 I think I book thru expedia or similar web site for between $150 and $200 a night. The building is kind of old but our room was very nice and quite large. We weren't in the tower, we had a second story room over looking the pool area. The pool area is very nice and large. We had predinner drinks at the revolving bar and met up with some of our CC friends. There is a great view of the ships leaving port from up there and they also have an observation platform that you can go out on.

 

March of 2005 we did two nights pre-cruise at the Reniassance. It is a very nice, clean and new looking hotel. It's a 3 block walk to the water taxi and a 2 or 3 block walk to a strip mall area with a grocery store and liquor store and drug store. I got this hotel for $70 a night on priceline, I was trying to get the Marriott Marina, but was upgraded to the 4* from my 3* bid. The hotel does run a shuttle to the port, but I don't recommend it, our cab fare before tip was only $4! There is a pool here but it is very small.

 

March 2005 we did a one night post-cruise stay at the Marriott Marina. This is also a very nice hotel with the best view of the port if your room faces south and is the most convenient to the water taxi. I got this for a $70 bid on priceline also. The mattresses on the beds are super cushy and the corner rooms have wrap around balconies. We were in room 1002 on the south west corner and at 5:00 sat on the balcony and watched all the ships leave port again. I took some great photos of the ships from the balcony. The pool area here was nice, not as big as the Hyatt but definately bigger than the Renaissance.

 

In February 2006 we'll be cruising out of FLL again and I'm hoping to get the Marriott Marina again!

[tom-n-jules]

What was wrong with the Comfort Suites - We have a pre cruise on Oct 29 booked there.

 

Ron

Ron, the previous poster was talking about the Comfort Inn, NOT the Comfort Suites -- two different hotels. Don't know anything about the Comfort Suites but we stayed at the Comfort Inn pre-cruise in Jan, and would not stay there again, even at the cheap price.

[Andrea Kjeldgaard]

There is another GREAT travel web-site called tripadvisor.com. I use it all the time when researching hotels and more all over the world. There are great reviews from people everywhere, all full of tips, advice etc. Check it out.

[Olwyn]

Hi All,:)

We have tentatively booked our family of 8 into a 2 bedroom suite at Lago Mar for one night pre-cruise and 2 nights post.

The suites are about $290 per night, but between 8 of us, quite reasonable. I have heard that the property is quiet and beautiful...a lovely way to start a holiday!

Standard hotel rooms are $150 per night, in October when we are going...

and the website is wonderful!~:D

Anyone have any experiences here?

Olwyn

[samtesla]

I had a chance to try three hotels in the area (good planning :-)). The Holiday Inn at 17th? was OK (tho the $10 per person to get to the cruiseport was a shock given what a cab costs). An economy on the southern side of Miami was a disaster and the Holiday Inn in Miami Beach was OK, but sorely needed maintenance.

[claud925]

Opinions out there on Sheraton Yankee Clipper would be appreciated. Thanks.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

As Andrea stated earlier, try http://www.tripadvisor.com. It is a great source. I use it religiously. :)

Yankee Clipper reviews from TripAdvisor.com

 

Bill

[cruise fairy]

Thanks for the info about the Ramada Airport - bad and good. I know I have read a lot of bad things but the whole group is staying here soooo......but what I read in the past few months has been better! For those that have stayed here - what can you tell me about the shuttle??? Do they have more than 1 shuttle and how many people does 1 shuttle hold - about? Thank you!!

 

The shuttle ran about every 30-40 minutes starting at 8:30am. Just the two shuttles at that time. And believe me, they were in no hurry to get you there. But my understanding is that things have changed.

We did arrive at the port about 2 hours early......early on the ship....early to start vacation. Getting there early allowed us to meet so many nice people before we even boarded the ship.

[johnmik1]

You say that is an online rate! Could you please tell me where you got this rate as the rates I am getting for that hotel are much higher. I have a large party travelling for a wedding and need some rooms.

Thanks

Just saw that rate on Tripadvisor.com but I got the Renaissance,this morning, for $82 on Priceline for 9/30/05

[dolfinmusic]

Thank you Cruise Fairy! ;)

[Perky1]

When did you bid to get the Mariott Marina for $70 on Priceline. We are going to try and get the Mariott for March 2006 on Priceline. So far no luck. Approx what time of the year did you start bidding to get it????

[S.S.Oceanlover]

When did you bid to get the Mariott Marina for $70 on Priceline. We are going to try and get the Mariott for March 2006 on Priceline. So far no luck. Approx what time of the year did you start bidding to get it????

 

There hasn't been any successful bids for 3* downtown hotels in Fort Lauderdale since the 1st of the year. We recently bid 3* downtown and got upgraded to 4* Renaissance hotel for $55 a night which I have heard is the next hotel over from the Marriott Marina. We are going this July.

 

Bill

[carbon]

What zone do you bid to get the Mariott, Hyatt or Renaissance? Looking to bid for March 24 2006.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Carbon,

before you get to bidding you should definitely check out http://www.biddingfortravel.com. The Marriott Marina and the Renaisance are in 3 and 4 star dowtown respectively while the Hyatt is in the beach zone 4 star.

Check out this link to find out what hotels are where when bidding on Priceline.

biddingfortravel hotel list in FLL

 

Bill

[kskov1]

Stayed two nights at the Holiday Inn Land/Sea Port

 

Booked through Holiday Inn's on-line system which guaranteed best price- it was

 

What a nice NEW travelers hotel; Especially loved the Mayan colour themes on the exterior and interiors (reminded me of our last vacation at the Bahia Principe Mayan Riviera)

 

Nice, quaint heated pool and with small fountains and inviting loungers

 

Breakfast included was cereals, breads etc but THE BEST danishes I've ever tasted

 

Rooms nice, spacious and what a great shower- the shower head nicelhy adjustable and the curved shower curtain rod means you won't be getting friendly with the curtain

 

All in all- great choice including shuttle to and from airport and seaport!!

 

Kevin

[DeltaOne]

When did you bid to get the Mariott Marina for $70 on Priceline. We are going to try and get the Mariott for March 2006 on Priceline. So far no luck. Approx what time of the year did you start bidding to get it????

 

Be patient and keep trying every few weeks, it's probably too early to get a good price on March 2006. I think the best prices are seen 3 to 5 months out.

[Perky1]

Thank you Paul, I will do that. In June 2003 I got the Mariott Marina for $60 for March 2004. From what I have read those days are few and far between as Priceline gets more popular less hotels are using them and the rooms they do have are more expensive.

[legalslave]

Carbon & Perky, I have been unsuccessful in Priceline bidding for 1/21/06. I've been told it's their premium time. I will continue trying though. Good luck!

 

Diane

[Wileyd577]

Hi guys,

 

I have stayed at most of the locations on 17th Street pre cruise. Of all of them Embassy Suites was the best.

 

Embassy Suites- free full breakfast, free cocktail hour, free transport from the airport- free transport to the cruise terminal. Location is right in front of the new Publix that has everything you may have forgot and quite an extensive wine reserve. The liquor store is across the street if you choose to "carry on" . Outback and other restaurants are within walking distance.

 

Pier 66- very nice location if you are in the tower. The Lanai rooms are way overpriced. There is a liquor store across the street. The pool area is great. The top of the tower bar rotates and gives you a splendid view. The 17th St bridge is just a short walk up if you like to get a good view of your ship before you sail. The water taxi is very close. The price can get rather steep if you don't get a deal. If you do get a deal you will probably not be in a tower room.

 

Renaissance is in a very good location and so-so for the price. The room I had gave you the choice of cold air or a high pitched screaming noise. They sold me a tranport to the pier for Sunday morning that did not exist. I had a very hard time getting a taxi and wound up pooling together with other "screwed over" cruisers to get a van to take us over. Taxi's are impossible to get on a Sunday morning with lots of trips from the ship to the airport.

 

There are lots of other locations but these are my usual stops depending on price. Best of luck on your voyage.