FLL Renaissance

[BillR]

We got the Renaissance thru Priceline for our Jan. 8 pre-cruise. Any

 

comments from past guests. I noticed that there is not airport or

cruiseport shuttle (but both look like a short cab ride)

Thanks in advance!

[TheWog]

We are trying to get a FLL hotel through Priceline and not having any luck 3* downtown. Would you be willing to share what the winning bid was? I too would also like to hear comments about the Rennaisance. Thanks.

[beachlovergirl]

We stayed at the Renaissance pre-cruise on Oct 15th. Got it on Priceline for $75.00 (4* downtown). Called them a few weeks prior to give them my Marriott Rewards number (no, using Priceline you do not accumulate points, but still get other perks!), requested early checkin, higher floor, and king bed. Arrived around 11 and checkin was a breeze....we were in our room within a few minutes. Gave us a beautiful room on the 10th floor overlooking the pool. Room was decorated very nice.....duvet comforter on bed which was very comfy as was the chair and ottomon. Bathroom had a separate ceiling light in the tub and big fluffy towels. There was a desk with coffeemaker and supplies, etc., but we had our cup of Starbucks coffee at the lobby bar before leaving for the ship. Very clean, beautiful hotel in a great location with very pleasant personnel. I'm sure you could ask for a room on an upper floor so you can see the ships. There was a Walgren's across the street where we picked up our bottled water. We walked across the parking lot and had a great lunch at Bimini Boatyard overlooking the yachts. Spent the afternoon at the hotel pool sipping Pina Coladas ($7.00 each...yikes!!) Also directly across the parking lot is Bravo, a very good Italian restaurant, where we had an excellent dinner. Einstein Bagels is one block away for a good bagel!

 

We took a Lincoln towncar from the airport to the hotel ($15.00 total) and a cab to the ship the next morning for around $10.00. You could sign up for a shuttle with the concierge from the hotel to the ship at $4.00 p/p. We would stay here again! :)

[BillR]

Our bid was $74.00

[TheWog]

Thanks BillR. Sounds like a nice place.

[emmy]

Also stayed at the Renaissance Oct. 22..I liked it alot. Thumbs up to Einstein Bagels.

 

They did however have a shuttle you could sign up for at the concierge desk in the lobby. It was $4.00 per person and left at different times. We took the first one @ 10:30 am shuttle with 3 other couples.

 

I will include a link to my photos from my Caribbean Princess cruise and the first few photos are of the Renaissance and the rooms.

 

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/212442234kLdweF

 

Emmy

[sealgs2000]

The port looks so close in the pictures. Could you not just walk there if you did not have much luggage?

[usha]

Emmy, thanks for posting a link to your photos of the Renaissance FLL. We'll be staying there prior to our Century cruise in February, and it's nice to get an idea of what the hotel will be like. How cool to see ships out of your window!:D

[Lois R]

Hi Mary...the port and the hotels on 17th Street are close, but, in my opinion, not close enough to walk.

When you say "not much luggage", how much are you talking about? And honestly, the cab ride isn't much more than 5.00 or 6.00 depending on what cruiseline.

The cabfare to the Century was only about 6.00. When I sailed on Zuiderdam it was about 10.00....just depends on which pier. (how far or close away from your hotel).

[dosi]

We stayed at the Renaissance in October and loved it. It is close to the port, but even if I had no luggage at all I would not walk to the port. There are few sidewalks and the cabbies and shuttles are all over the place. Really for about $10 you and your loved ones and your luggage can get there in one piece in a nice cozy cab. I am an avid walker and hiker, but would like to stay able bodied for as long as possible!!! :)

[redrn13]

Does The Shuttle Service Run After Midnight? We Arrive At The Airport After 11:30 P.m. And Will Need To Get To The Hotel. Any Suggestions If The Shuttle Doesn't Run? Taxi?

[emmy]

The shuttle that I referred to was a shuttle from hotel to the pier. I am not aware of any hotel shuttle from the airport to hotel. We took a taxi and ran about $10.00 plus tip.

 

Emmy

[vanclan]

We stayed there in early November. I don't think they had a shuttle from the airport, but taxis are plentiful at the airport no matter what time you come in. Can't remember... probably about a $12.00 taxi fair airport-hotel. Do NOT try to walk to the port...I don't think you'd be able to walk in as there is a security point on the way in and the previous poster is correct when they say the traffic is all over. You also have to know exactly where to go in the port to get to the right pier. We had planned to take a taxi but decided to pay the $4.00 per person and book through the hotel conciege. It was the best money we spent. We took the first shuttle, and everything was wonderful. They don't overbook their shuttles like some other hotels do. any further questions I'll be glad to answer them.

[redrn13]

Called Hotel Today, No They Do Not Have Shuttle Service But Taxi Run All The Time. Also Took Previous Post About Telling The Hotel Your Marriott Number And Trying To Get Higher Level Port Side Even When Booked By Priceline. Called The Desk Said They Would Make A Note. So We Will See.

[michmike]

The couple we traveled with last week on Volendam stayed at renaissance the nite before. They loved it. We spent a couple days precuise in the keys, so we drove in on Sat morning. They ate at Bravo and Einsteins and had good experiences at both. Also at a mexican restaurant with 2 guys names something akin to Carlos and Charlies,can't remember the exact name but they thought it was great as well.

[beachlovergirl]

michmike - I think the mexican restaurant you are thinking about is Carlos & Pepe's which is down the street from the Renaissance, near the Embassy Suites. Great margaritas too !! :D

[catdancers]

We just stayed at the FLL Renaissance on December 19th and were very impressed! Everyone was so friendly and the hotel was clean and nicely decorated for the holidays. We took their hired shuttle to the port the next morning for $4pp. They had tons of room for luggage because the bus pulled a luggage carrier behind it. Our only problem was that we had a 11:00 AM shuttle reservation and there was a large family who didn't get themselves downstairs on time and so we didn't leave the hotel until about 11:40 AM.

 

We were irritated by this because the bus could have just taken us over and been back several times before the rude family got themselves together. Or we could have taken a cab. Instead of arriving early, there were huge lines at the port by the time we got there, but it all worked out in the end and we had a great cruise.

 

We ate dinner at Bravo's and walked a couple doors down form the hotel in the morning for fabulous croissants and rolls from the BonJour bakery.

 

We'd definitely stay there again.

[gracecarmo]

We will be at the Rennaissance in Feb. We plan to take the shuttle to the port. I am wondering what times the masses of people usually arrive from the airport in the busses arranged by the ship? Anyone know this? We will be on the Summit.

 

Another question: how accomodating are they at the hotel re giving you two beds?

We booked through priceline and I did call the hotel. They said to wait until we check in to request the two beds, as because we did Priceline there are no requests allowed.

 

Grace

[dosi]

Whenever I get Marriott branded hotels through Priceline I email Marriott via their Marriott website. Sorry I don't know the email addy but just go to Marriott.com and there is a space that says contact us. Tell them the name and location of your hotel, the date of the stay and the name that the res is in. Make whatever type of room request you need. They usually get back to within a couple days. I have never had a problem getting the type of room I want by asking through their email. I have had TONS of problems calling the Marriott hotels directly for special requests on PL hotels. Also the staff at the Renaissance are all very very accomodating, so if you are staying more than one day, they may be able to move you if they can't get you the right type of room on the first day.

 

We took a cab rather than the shuttle b/c there were three of us and it was a little cheaper and we could go exactly when we wanted to. There was a lot of cabs going back and forth from the port to the hotel and we had no problem getting one. Have a great trip.

[Sue's Mom]

Our party of six stayed at this hotel on November 24 and 25 and were quite impressed, especially for the price of $72 per room. We were given the king rooms which I had requested. We have found that the various king rooms which we have stayed do not have a plug/stopper for the wash hand basin in the bathroom, to the considerable annoyance of my DH who likes to have a basin-ful of water when shaving. We end up by using a face cloth to make the flow of water a bit slower.

 

Anyway that's beside the point!

 

As there were six people travelling, we used two taxis from the airport. The driver of our cab was extremely unhappy, well to be honest he was quite impolite. He said that the person on the sidwalk who got us the cab should have told us that the hotel ran a shuttle bus. At the hotel, we absolutely insisted that we paid him, which rather took the wind out of his sails.

[gracecarmo]

Dosi: thank you for the excellent suggestion of e mailing customer service for requests at the Renaissance by going to their web site. I also had no luck calling the hotel direct with a request for two beds, port side of hotel. (res made by Priceline: they said at the hotel no "requests").

 

I did the e mail, and received an answer the next day, guaranteeing all my requests.

 

Grace