Review: Ft. Lauderdale Holiday Inn Express State Road 84 and Caffe Europa on Las Olas

[erries]

My family sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas on May 18, and we stayed the previous night in Fort Lauderdale at the Holiday Inn Express on State Road 84. The hotel shuttle picked us up from the airport and made a few stops at nearby hotels before dropping us off at Holiday Inn Express. Our rooms were clean and neat, beds were comfortable, air conditioner and shower were satisfactory, and complementary breakfast the next morning was plentiful and good. There was a shopping plaza across the road that had a Winn Dixie, where we bought wine for the cruise. I think there was a McDonald’s and a Wendy’s there, but not much else within safe walking distance food-wise.

 

The hotel has an arrangement with a shuttle service called All Star; we used it to get to Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday night and also to take us to the port Sunday morning. There was a schedule for port shuttles when we checked in, and we got the earliest one, which was at 10:00am. Shuttle prices vary depending on number of people and destination; for six of us going to Las Olas, it was $18 one way. We had a snafu on the way back, but it was well handled. My husband called the number on the business card he’d been given and told them specifically where we were (standing on the curb outside the Cheesecake Factory), and they said a van would come get us within 20 minutes. Long story short, the van allegedly drove by and didn’t see us (not sure how!), and when we eventually called again, they sent a second one. We ended up wasting over an hour standing on the curb when we could’ve been doing other things, so I was pretty disgruntled…but then when we got back to the hotel, the shuttle driver apologized for the mishap and didn’t charge us the $18 for the return trip. I don’t remember the price of the ride to the port the next morning, but I believe it was similar to most hotel-port shuttle costs in the area.

 

Las Olas is great for strolling, shopping, eating and people-watching. We saw several restaurants that looked (and smelled!) good, and a lot of them had outdoor seating. We decided on Caffe Europa, a semi-fancy Italian place with nice décor and amazing food. Our group got everything from chicken parm to pizza to the daily special (a salmon dish), and it was all excellent. Wine, appetizers and dessert (try the gelato) were delicious too. It was a little on the expensive side, but it was a great way to start out our vacation. I would recommend both Holiday Inn Express on State Road 84 and Caffe Europa on Las Olas.

[Lois R]

Hi, thanks for the review and sounds like you had a nice pre-cruise

visit:).....good businessman for not charging you that 18.00.

 

And I love the restaurants along Las Olas Blvd:D....they are all a bit

pricey but so worth it;)......I haven't eat at that particular restaurant

but I can see it in my mind (location and everything). I will have to

try it the next time I am in that area:)