Radisson Bahia Mar Resort

[michigangirl1]

Has anyone stayed here before a cruise? We fly in on Friday nite and arrive at FLL late 11:30 PM. Do they have a shuttle for the airport or the cruiseport? Is there a bar or place to eat late on Friday? Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

Dorothy

[steffie]

We stayed at the Radisson Bahia Mar a few weeks ago. We really liked it and would stay there again. They have several places to eat there. There is no shuttle but they will get you a cab. It was very easy! It has a wonderful marina there too if you like to look at the HUGE mega yachts and had a bridge over the road to get to the beach.

Hope this helps!

[cruising forever]

We stayed here about 2 weeks ago on a Priceline visit.......I had contacted them ahead of time and requested a nice view, etc. and provided my points membership number (as I usually do with Priceline stays).

 

Unfortunately, we were treated like garbage during this stay and got a view of a shrub in the Marina in an annex building.........it was an unkempt room, with terrible lighting....like out of the 60's or something.

 

I sure hope you have a better experience than we did! Out of maybe a dozen or so Priceline stays, this was the only bad experience.

[steffie]

We have never used Priceline. I always book directly with the hotel so I can get what I want. Sorry you didn't have a nice time. We had a totally different experience there. I had always heard that you can't guarantee anything when you book thru priceline and it was one other of those bidding sites as far as your room, etc that the hotel won't deal with you well.? No idea.

[cruising forever]

Steffie:

Technically, that is correct that they cannot guarantee you a specific type of room when you book through Priceline.

 

However, I had contacted the hotel directly and they had told me they could honor my request. Not only did they not honor it, we were really treated very, very poorly. I am talking about the way the personnel spoke to us, not just the room assignment we received. Certainly, one doesn't expect that sort of treatment from paying over $100 per night!

 

I'm glad you had a good experience, but I put this information up as our experience for other Priceline customers to consider when developing a bid strategy for the FLL area.

[steffie]

How have your other experiences been with Priceline? I have been curious but a little afraid to try the whole bidding thing?

There is no excuse for you to have been treated badly there. Regardless of how you book staff at a hotel should still treat you them same. Maybe we were just lucky! =)

[cruising forever]

Steffie:

 

This is, hands down, the worst we've ever been treated, Priceline or not. The day we checked out of the Rad, we checked into the Marriott Marina - also a Priceline stay (on the Causeway) in FLL. Without having made prior arrangements as to room location, they booked us into an upper floor non-smoking king size room with a balcony overlooking the Port - perfecto!!!!

 

We literally had a front row seat for the cruise ships coming and going, and a much nicer resort, IMHO. Why did we change hotels? Initially we thought we only needed 2 nights (Marriott), but ended up adding another night and got the Radisson.

 

Do your research (several sites are available for that including www.biddingfortravel.com), develop a bidding strategy and if it truly doesn't matter where you stay, give it a whirl. We've saved a ton of money on upscale hotels & resorts (have generally paid less then what 2* hotels charge with AAA rate) and, until now, have been very pleasantly surprised with the results. FYI, we only paid $75 per nite for the Marriott and that was up from $55 from a year earlier!

[michigangirl1]

We have used Priceline many times in Michigan and Florida and lastly in Norfolk VA before our cruise. We've always been treated well and never had any problems with the accommodations. Sure hope this isn't the first time!!

 

We always ask for a 3* or better and have stayed at Embassy Suites in FLL, Sheraton in Norfolk and Michigan. Thanks for your information. Only 13 days to go and I haven't started packing yet!!

 

Dorothy

[ha1024]

Good place to stay. Changing rooms avail. after checkout. No shuttle. 15 minutes to Port Everglades!

[steffie]

We stayed at the Mariott Marina on the way back from a trip to Key West last fall. We liked it. They were very nice.

I might try that bidding sometime. I do kinda mind where I stay though so I don't know how I will like it. Might try and give it a whirl.

Thanks for the information!

[judygolfing]

We stayed here about 2 weeks ago on a Priceline visit.......I had contacted them ahead of time and requested a nice view, etc. and provided my points membership number (as I usually do with Priceline stays).

 

Unfortunately, we were treated like garbage during this stay and got a view of a shrub in the Marina in an annex building.........it was an unkempt room, with terrible lighting....like out of the 60's or something.

 

I sure hope you have a better experience than we did! Out of maybe a dozen or so Priceline stays, this was the only bad experience.

 

We plan to arrive on 3/18 pre cruise. also through Priceline, did you complain to anyone else about your stay and the issues?