La Quinta Hollywood and Amerisuites 17th

[MMW37]

My husband I just returned from the Carnival Legend. We drove down from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale the evening before departure and spent that night, as well as the night after debarkation. We stayed at the La Quinta pre-cruise and the Amerisuites post. Neither hotel was 5 stars, but we weren't paying a 5 star price. Both were clean and adequately staffed, appeared to be in safe areas, and served our purposes exactly as desired.

 

We chose the La Quinta because they offered parking for the duration of our cruise for $10 on top of our room. That made the room with parking and a shuttle to the boat only $40 more than parking at the pier, and then we would to have had to leave Tampa at 8 in the morning and be tired from driving the whole way. We booked the room through parksleepfly.com. It was near a mall that included a TGIF, a Red Lobster, a Dave and Buster's and a few other things. We walked to the Friday's watched some football, and had a few cocktails. Met in the lobby at 11:45 the next morning for transport to the pier, and were having free champagne at 12:30.

 

After the cruise, we cabbed it back to the hotel and drove to the Amerisuites. Why do people dislike this hotel? We arrived before noon, and were allowed to check in early with no hassle. I had requested this when booking the room. It was cold in Ft. Laud that day (60s?) so we changed to warmer clothes. We walked to the water bus stand, but be warned that from this hotel it is a bit of a hike. We didn't mind the exercise, but if you aren't a good walker you may want to cab/drive to the canal. The guide was a little cheesy, but it was very cool to see all the famous peoples' homes. Also, the bus is now $11 pp, not 10 as reported here. Plus tip. They have a family pass for I think $35, but there were only two of us. We had lunch at Lulu's Bait Shack. We had had enough of dressing for dinner and fine dining on the ship, so we decided to go casual here. We headed back to the hotel for a nap, and still had no problems with the room. It was large, had a TV, cable, sofa, chair, desk, wireless access, refrigerator, microwave, even clean plates and silver in the cabinets. The toilet was loud, but worked fine. The bathtub was slightly chipped in places, but the great water pressure and several setting showerhead more than compensated. We walked again out to Carlos and Pepe's for some very good Mexican food for dinner, and meant to hit Waxy O'Connors for beers later. We didn't make it - the (large) pitcher of Margaritas and the food were too much, and we were worn out. We went to bed early and slept in too late to catch hotel breakfast. We went to Einstein Bros. for breakfast instead, also walking distance, and it's right next to a Starbuck's if you're an addict. Then we drove home. Both hotels were absolutely perfect for us for the price, but I guess it depends what you look for. We don't have kids, for example, so don't generally swim at our hotels. We didn't even check to see if they had pools or if they were filled. We look for price and location, and prefer not to drive in a strange city if we're only there for a day or two. Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give some info back to all the boards where I have gotten so much! Thanks Bequia for all your help here.

[galelynn]

Thanks for the review. We have booked the La Quinta, for two nights pre cruise in May 2007. We have stayed at Amerisuites, and had no problem but for May the prices are up to $149/night thru value trips in May, where La quinta are $99/night. The first night we don't arrive at the airport till 11:45 pm so hate to pay for a full night when actually it is only half of a night. Thanks again.

[MMW37]

We paid $129 at Amerisuites, but it was Dec 26 so most other hotels were twice that. Then $139 at the La Quinta, but that avoided the pier parking fees.