Just Back--Ft. Lauderdale Pre-Cruise/Hilton Airport

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Since I've gotten so much great information on this forum, I wanted to share my experience last weekend (2/24-2/26) in Ft. Lauderdale and with the Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Airport hotel. We stayed here for two nights prior to our Navigator of the Seas cruise.

 

Pre-Cruise, Ft. Lauderdale:

 

So here we go. We flew down to Ft. Lauderdale 2 days early, on 2/24/12, from Akron-Canton Airport (We live in a suburb of Cleveland but found a better deal on a connecting flight from Akron, through Atlanta, and on to FLL). The flights were uneventful, we rented a car from Advantage (via Travelocity) right at the airport, and soon we were on our way to the Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Airport (Via US 1 South) for our pre-cruise stay. I had booked the Hilton Airport via Last Minute Travel since all the hotels we usually stay at on the beach were either sold out, or way too expensive. This worked out well for us and we really liked the Hilton. I kept reading negative reviews, but it turned out to be a really nice place and we enjoyed our stay.

 

We ate lunch that first day in the hotel restaurant, for one reason and that is that we were starving and didn't feel like driving around after just arriving at the hotel. It was average, and very expensive of course. We used Valet parking which turned out to be a good chunk of change--they told us it was $15 Per Day for regular parking, and $20 Per Day for Valet. We opted for the valet, but in the end it was almost double that, but I didn't feel like arguing so I let it go. We had room 203 (I think) in the outside/poolside section of the hotel which had a beautiful view overlooking the pool. We upgraded to this room because when we checked in, of course they were booked solid and since we had booked through a 3rd party website (LMT), they were giving us a Smoking Room. I was very unhappy about that, yet I understood why, so when he offered us the upgrade to a poolside non-smoking room with a balcony, we jumped at it. The room was nice, the balcony our favorite part, and you can see the view from it below:

 

 

 

 

Some pictures around the hotel grounds:

 

 

 

 

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

 

 

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

The Hotel grounds were beautiful, one of the nicest I've seen yet. Very lush, tropical, and green. The pool was really nice, but we didn't get a chance to enjoy it b/c we were sightseeing so much, and also b/c there was a real lack of lounge chairs. I tried twice, but could not get a seat so I gave up. The weather was gorgeous--mid to upper 80's and sunny for the most part. The room was a tad noisy, we were woken up twice, once each night, by drunk people outside our room (which was on the 2nd floor and near the parking area) being loud. It wasn't the quietest place but wasn't the noisiest either.

 

Friday night we headed to Ft. Lauderdale Beach to walk around and have a bite to eat. On our way we stopped at the Harbor Shops off of 17th Street on Cordova Road--we wanted to pick up some things for the cruise at Publix and this fit the bill. The Publix here is a really nice store and we made several visits to it during our stay for water, snacks, toiletries, etc. We ate at Gilbert's 17th Street Grill the following night, which is also at the Harbor Shops, and we really enjoyed it. Got the recommendation from someone here on CC and we thought it was great. Burgers were excellent and the Key Lime Pie was really, really good. I also saw Duffy's Sports Grille, Lauderdale Grille, Joe's Cafe, and Five Guys, to name a few. Not really any great shops or stores there that I could see.

 

After Publix we headed over to A1A and parked in an open lot next to Las Olas Blvd. right on the beach. We paid via a meter and went strolling along the beach. Stopped at Beach Place, got a quick bite at LuLu's Bait Shack, stopped at CVS there, had a drink at the Courtyard Marriott's pool deck, and headed back to the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

The following morning I wanted to take my parents to Lauderdale By the Sea, more specifically, The Village Grille (Thanks Royalcruz), for breakfast. We got an early start, enjoyed the nice drive along A1A, and parked on the beach at Anglin's Fishing Pier. Put our name in to have a table outside overlooking the beach, and waited to be seated. This place was great and we really had a good time. The food was excellent, reasonably priced, and the weather was gorgeous. After eating we went to the end of the Pier ($2 PP entrance fee), then came back and did some shopping in the shops around the pier. We had a great morning. The rest of our time in FLL was spent similar to this, just kind of driving around, seeing different areas, etc. I love this area and hope to move here one day in the near future.

We'll see!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

More Lauderdale By The Sea Pics:

 

 

 

 

 

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

So that's basically it, prior to boarding the ship at Port Everglades! Just wanted to share my experience, if anyone has any questions, please let me know.

 

 

 

[royalcruz]

Thanks for the photojournal! I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Thanks for the photojournal! I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip.

 

Thanks-The Village Grille was great--we waited and got the larger table outside closest to the beach, we loved it.

[Snorkel Dawg]

Nice pics! I hope our stay at the Hilton Marina location is as nice as yours was

[aarep]

Nice pics! I hope our stay at the Hilton Marina location is as nice as yours was

The OP said they stayed at the Hilton Airport Hotel, not the Hilton Marina.

[Snorkel Dawg]

I realize that. Note the word "location" in my post.:rolleyes:

[aarep]

I realize that. Note the word "location" in my post.:rolleyes:

I guess I didnt notice the word "location". I hope your stay is enjoyable also. We have stayed there twice previously and enjoyed it. Especially the pool area and being next to the water taxi stop.

[dmk]

After staying at the Hilton Airport last year, I would never recommend it to anyone bidding on Priceline. The rooms they give are all on the smoking floor. The smell is disgusting and none of the windows open.:mad:

 

Nice pics! I hope our stay at the Hilton Marina location is as nice as yours was

 

You will love the Hilton Marina. The pool area is one of the nicest I've seen in that location:)...better than the Renaissance.

[mizLORInj]

OP: We are staying at a FLL beach hotel; did you note any toll roads in your travels of the area? I don't think so but figured I'd ask. We'll probably go from airport to hotel to Stein Mart about 10 miles north via 1, and back to hotel, maybe dinner, next day beach then return rental car at port.

Just want to know if i need to get the cashless toll thingie from rental agency?

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

OP: We are staying at a FLL beach hotel; did you note any toll roads in your travels of the area? I don't think so but figured I'd ask. We'll probably go from airport to hotel to Stein Mart about 10 miles north via 1, and back to hotel, maybe dinner, next day beach then return rental car at port.

Just want to know if i need to get the cashless toll thingie from rental agency?

 

We took US1 North and South of Griffin Rd, and never encountered any Toll Roads.