Fort Lauderdale - hotel - port....Help please

[BillyBoat]

Bequia, Sorry to bother you, but you know sooooo much about this area! I booked Sleep Inn 1500 5th Ave. Dania for May '07. Can you please tell me if the neighborhood is secure enough to walk to near by stores and restaurants during late p.m. and early evening? Thanks in advance for this answer and ALL the other info you've given us "out-of towners" !!

[cruzingduo]

We booked the Sleep Inn also for March 2, 2007 which is the night before our Radiance cruise using the senior rate. It was $135.99 + tax. I guess Spring break has inflated rates for March.

 

Is anyone else staying there that's going with us? I agree they have a good cancellation policy if something else becomes available.

 

FOS 10-15-06

BOS 1-22-07

ROS 3-3 and 3-11-07

[P.A.]

I didn't read through ALL the post on this thread so this may have been mentioned. However, I would stay away from Amerisuites as it has been posted many times that it is going down hill. Try the Sleep Inn in Dania, FL. There is a separate thread on here titled "SLEEP INN, FT LAUDERDALE" I believe. Read this post it has some great info on there.

 

Let me know if you have any questions as I have stayed there before and have another reservation for this Oct. (Sleep Inn, Dania, FL)

 

Good Luck! :)

[SPARKLE10]

Bequia:

 

You seem to be the resident expert here and I appreciate all of your help.

We're staying at the Embassy Suites next year, before our Jewel of the Seas cruise. Is this a good choice for a hotel?

 

Thanks for all of your help.

 

Happy Cruising.....Sparkle 10 (Anita):)

[debshomespun]

We are cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale Oct. 29,2006 on the Westerdam. I am having lots of trouble getting a hotel room, as I found out it is the International Boat show! Yuck! Nothing available downtown at all. I have found on Hotwire, 3* airport location, which I believe is the Sheraton, $75. plus expenses, icons are fitness center, restaurant, tennis nearby, pool and business center. Anyone know for sure if this is the Sheraton? There is a shuttle from the Airport. They include a free breakfast. Are there any restaurants, fast food, drug stores or grocery stores around this hotel within walking distance?

 

The other possiblity is the Ramada Inn on SR84, but prefer not to stay there, price is $109. plus 11% tax. There is nothing within walking distance there.

 

Thanks to anyone that answers!

[beej]

lindanick, did read correctly that there is a dollar store across in the Publix shopping center Yeah It gets better and better. BTW, have eaten in the Italian restaurant and it's good. Also the fried chix in Publix is good. We got that and drinks and had at the pool one day. Yum.

[redtop101]

I know the problem! I had no idea the Boat Show was on when I tried to find a hotel room months ago for October 28th. I also found a room at the Ramada Inn on SR 84 for $102 and have read many negative reports about this hotel on CC message boards. I have also found several positive reports on tripadvisor.com. Different strokes for different folks. I'll take a chance for 1 night considering the non-availability of all the hotels on SE 17th St.

[mjwelch]

I was hoping someone had tried the Italian restaurant. We have a pre-cruise party staying there in November and are all Italian food fans!

[beej]

MJwelch, or is it MJ for short. Sounds good. The Italian restaurant is good. Now don't get me wrong, it is good, but it is not the best in the world. We will be eating there again, tho at the end of August so you will have an update if needed.

 

Till we all sleep and sail Beej

[mjwelch]

Beej - LOL One of the best is on the coast of Maine (of all places). Decent works well for us - we're a very easy to get along with group. If it's still working well in August, I'm sure it will be fine for us in November :)

[beej]

MJ, where on the Maine coast, that can be far or really close.

[mjwelch]

beej - Not too far if my bearing on Wilmington is right. It's in York Beach, ME and it's called Mimmo's. The executive chef - if you will - is from Italy and travels back and forth a lot. His wife and daughter worked there last I knew. The family cat roams the restaurant, when he hasn't climbed in the open window of somebody's car and decided to take a nap in the back window. It's across the street from the Atlantic Ocean and requires reservations from mid-spring to mid fall. We've eaten there every season, winter is a beautiful time to go! Very much family run and authentic recipes, and you can spend hours there. (They make you feel like family!) We've had 3+ hour dinners and loved every moment of it! It's a BYOB establishment (only one I've really frequented) so you know what you're drinking is to your liking! The garlic bread is drenched in butter and garlic - you get a full loaf! And you must try their tiramisu - reserve it in advance if it's busy and you get there late, they sell out of it! I don't know that they have a site but I found a review with address and number: http://portland.maine.diningguide.com/data/d100897.htm

 

(Everybody else - sorry for the ad, but if you're ever in southern Maine...!)

 

Mike

[beej]

MJ, York is about 45 minutes from our house. Sounds like a great place to go, especially off season when it is crisp and cool and not so crowded. Not a great fan of Tiramisu, but a true cannoli lover. I'll check in with a report on the Italian restaurant in the little shopping plaza across the street when i get back We leave in 26 days. Beej

[lsrusso]

We are taking a red eye flight from CA to FLL which arrives at 9:00am on Sat 10/21/06. Our cruise leaves Sun 10/22. So my question is where do 2 tired Californians stay and do on Sat? Most hotel check in times are 3-4 pm, so our thoughts were rent a car for the day and/or find a hotel that will let us sit by the pool/beach until our room is ready. Any suggestions on a good place for us?

 

Linda

[SailAways]

We are taking a red eye flight from CA to FLL which arrives at 9:00am on Sat 10/21/06. Our cruise leaves Sun 10/22. So my question is where do 2 tired Californians stay and do on Sat? Most hotel check in times are 3-4 pm, so our thoughts were rent a car for the day and/or find a hotel that will let us sit by the pool/beach until our room is ready. Any suggestions on a good place for us?

Linda

 

Some of the hotels have "Day Rooms". I have no idea if this would work for you, but just a thought.

Seems Renaissance and AmericaSuites both have day rooms listed, plus a few others. A telephone call to any hotel could answer the question for you.

 

Good Luck - Seems a few hours rest after the red-eye flight would be a good thing.

 

Have a Great Cruise.:)

[Bequia]

Bequia:

 

You seem to be the resident expert here and I appreciate all of your help.

We're staying at the Embassy Suites next year, before our Jewel of the Seas cruise. Is this a good choice for a hotel?

 

Thanks for all of your help.

 

Happy Cruising.....Sparkle 10 (Anita):)

 

Excellent hotel, excellent location. I love the hotel beautiful atrium, nice managers cocktail party every evening, decent breakfast included as well. Plenty of shops and restaurants nearby.

 

Bequia, Sorry to bother you, but you know sooooo much about this area! I booked Sleep Inn 1500 5th Ave. Dania for May '07. Can you please tell me if the neighborhood is secure enough to walk to near by stores and restaurants during late p.m. and early evening? Thanks in advance for this answer and ALL the other info you've given us "out-of towners" !!

 

BillyBoat, the area is perfectly safe. It's surrounded by residential neighborhoods. As with anywhere you travel always be aware of your surroundings. ;)

[emdia43]

Cruzingduo- I booked the Amerisuites through Valutrips also and just stayed there on 7/28. After I booked I saw a couple of critical reviews and wondered if I'd made a mistake- but I thought it was terrific value for money. For $69 they met us at the airport five minutes after I called them,took us to the hotel and then again the next morning to the ship in a small bus. Our room was large -had two beds,a kitchenette area with microwave/fridge, bathroom with a tub, and a seating area with sofa and two armchairs. Everything in it was clean and in good condition. The bathtub had some flaked off patches but since I only shower that didn't concern me.

The breakfast buffet consisted of waffles which you make yourself,bagels,sweet rolls,cereals and coffee etc. Perfectly adequate but no cooked foods as such.

The pool was small but every time we went down there were only a handful of people in it.

There were two buses shuttling people to the ship in the am,no waiting,no problems,staff friendly and helpful.

The location of the hotel is away from the beach. It would be a VERY long walk,even for those who like to walk. You can catch the sun trolley- a free ride into the beach area,just across from the hotel,it stops at the UPS box,and they take you on a nice tour free. We went down to the beach on it,strolled around and got right back on the next one.

For last minute shopping you can go out the back of the hotel and across a parking lot to the Publix grocery or 4 shops away from Publix to the Liquor store -prices were much better than here in our area.

We ate at the Outback steakhouse which is 2 doors away from the hotel. Usual good standard.

If I wanted to be near the beach I would get somewhere closer but for a pre cruise night this was excellent value for money and I was impressed.

Funnily enough,no one I asked knew where the water taxi was....... we never found it.

Hope this reassures you.

[lsrusso]

Some of the hotels have "Day Rooms". I have no idea if this would work for you, but just a thought.

Seems Renaissance and AmericaSuites both have day rooms listed, plus a few others. A telephone call to any hotel could answer the question for you.

 

Good Luck - Seems a few hours rest after the red-eye flight would be a good thing.

 

Have a Great Cruise.:)

SailAways,

 

Thanks for the info on day rooms. We decided to book the FL Grande after speaking with their rooms manager. She noted in our reservation our early arrival time and said that if our room is ready we will be able to check in early. If our room is not ready, they have a place to store our luggage and we are welcome to use their pool (which includes changing rooms) and their shuttle to the beach. She also mentioned they are on the water taxi line which we are looking forward to utilizing.

[DMorris]

Thanks to this great thread we booked the Sleep Inn FLL for our stay in November 2006. Thanks everyone.

[camperhawk]

Thanks to this great thread we booked the Sleep Inn FLL for our stay in November 2006. Thanks everyone.

 

You are welcome and thanks again for all the useful info. from previous posters. I'll let you know when we get back after our Oct. Cruise!

[Kreuser]

Just wanted to report on our stay at Quality Inn in Mammoth Lakes, CA last week. We booked it through Smarter Travel and got the "Significant Organization Savings Rate". All was fine until we went to check out. They had us down for AAA rate and he claimed that was the lowest rate they offerred ($10 per night higher). Good thing I had my confirmation printed out and in my hand. I stuck to my guns and he finally deducted the $10 per night. He mumbled something about it being a Super Senior Rate.

 

Just a heads up. ;)

 

Vada

[P.A.]

Here's a link to a site for those of you that aren't eligible for any discounts....and others may want to check and see if their rate is cheaper. It's for all Choice hotels - Sleep Inn, Comfort Inn, etc. It's through smartertravel dot com. We've used this several times and have never had to show any ID at all.

 

http://www.smartertravel.com/discounts/Save-Quality-Comfort-Clarion.html?id=16348

 

Kathi~I know that in past post you have mentioned that they don't check ID, but does anyone really know excatly what the "Significant Org rate" really is? I googled it and it says something about 250 in a group for the discount rate. Are we going to be asked what group it is, and then they will have to have that group name on file? Now I'm worried! :(

[Kreuser]

PA asked

does anyone really know excatly what the "Significant Org rate" really is?

I think I do. If it's for a large group, that group would be SmarterTravel.com readers. That website is for senior citizens. When I had to wrangle with the guy at the desk over our room rate last month (see the posting before yours), he muttered something about a "super senior rate".

 

We are well into our seniorhood, so no problem for us. If we were younger, I think I would say what the heck and give it a try anyway! My other suggestion is to go to SmarterTravel.com and ask them.

 

Vada

[just4kixx]

PA askedI think I do. If it's for a large group, that group would be SmarterTravel.com readers. That website is for senior citizens. When I had to wrangle with the guy at the desk over our room rate last month (see the posting before yours), he muttered something about a "super senior rate".

 

...

 

Or (no offense) Maybe he was being sarcastic :rolleyes:

 

Hope it is not a senior thing... although others have mentioned they though it was literally a large organization thing... like Costco, for example, could be a part of it, and if you are a Costco member you could get the benefit. But I don't know... this is only what i have read here. ANyways, if I have to prove I am a senior, I may have a bit of trouble :o

 

A~

[Kreuser]

Well I just sent off an email to the PR Dept. @ Smarter Travel asking who qualifies to use the "Significant Organization Rate". Hope to get a reply. We all have been wondering about this, so I do hope they will explain. :confused: I'll post what I get back.

 

Vada