Sleep Inn & Suites in Dania Beach / Fort Lauderdale

[wieslaw]

Hi,

Last year I wrote a report on my stay at the Fairfield Inn, and I see it got almost 4000 hits , so it might have been helpful to some.

So, I am posting this report about my stay in the Sleep Inn & Suites in Dania Beach, Florida ( location is close to the Fll International Airport and also close to Port Everglades).

 

I booked this hotel back in Sept using LMT.

What attracted me to this choice was: price, location and good reviews on cruise critic and other web sites.

 

I called the hotel few weeks after the booking ( tel. 954 -874-1800) to make sure I was in their system. They had me in their registry but in a wrong room ( smokers ) - so I had to call LMT agent to get this corrected to my satisfaction.

 

Dec. 2 , 2012 we arrived at the Fll and after getting our luggage in terminal 2, about 2pm I called the hotel to take advantage of the free / complimentary shuttle to the hotel. I was told to look for the shuttle in the designated shuttle area . About 10 / 15 minutes later the shuttle was there. We joined few other people on the shuttle and a short ride ( maybe 10 / 15 minutes) and we were in front of the hotel.

 

We walked in the lobby to the check in desk. Lobby is small and not very impressive but Ok.

Few minutes later we got the keys to our room on the second floor. We also ordered and prepaid our shuttle to the port ( 5 dol p/p).

 

The building is not very big and nothing fancy, appears to be in a good shape in a nice neighborhood. It has 69 units. According to the desk clerk it is about 10 years old and it is on its second renovation. The renovation is still in progress. He told me that they have a very good occupancy record ( over 90 % ).

 

Room was nice, clean and fresh smelling. The decor is in brown shades. Carpet showed some wear ( perhaps it will be replaced soon). Wife inspected the bed under the bed sheets for any signs of unwelcomed guests or residents - all was Ok.

 

We had one kings side bed, good size bathroom, desk, large flat screen TV, radio / alarm clock, chair, small fridge, microwave oven, safe, coffee maker with two packs of coffee, hair dryer, iron, ironing board, plenty of towels. We did not use the TV but it has a free HBO. AC unit was working well and it was quiet.

 

We left our luggage in the room and went to see rest of the hotel and the area around it.

The hotel offers free wired and wireless internet. a very small business center with a small desk and one computer , small fitness center with three machines, small but clean and nice swimming pool and a hot tub ( both outside), coin-operated laundry room. Free coffee , hot water in the lobby / dining area. The dining area also has a large TV.

 

 

Across the street is Walgreens ( tel 954-923-7490), on a side across another street is small shopping center with few stores and three restaurants : Mexican, Chinese and Italian ( Don & Sals - good food but a little pricey).

 

Right next to the shopping area is a large supermarket Publix ( tel 954-926-6226) with a good selection of wines, beer. Nice store : one can / may order sandwiches to take to the hotel if one wants to. It also has most of the items that Walgreen has. Some people were getting their supply of items that they were taken on board for their cruise.

 

We ate dinner at Don & Sals , purchased few things at Publix, couple items at Walgreens and back to the hotel.

The room at night was very quite , bed and pillows very comfy. Morning shower provided very good water pressure.

 

About 7:30 am we went to the dinning area to get the complimentary breakfast. There were not many people in there yet. There are about 10 /12 small tables there.

 

They offered : Juice - orange, apple, fruit punch, coffee, hot water for tea , hot chocolate, cold water, 2 kinds of cereal, hot oatmeal, sweet rolls, mini muffins, hot sausage patties, hot eggs patties, bagles, 2 kinds of bread, make your own waffles, syrup , yogurt, cream cheese .

 

The make your own waffles can be very slow - there are two machines and it takes about three minutes per waffle..... so if more people show up it takes some time.

 

We ate , got back to the room and started getting ready for the ride to the cruise ship. Our ride was scheduled for 9am. Out check out was very quick.

 

Driver and van were there at about 8:50 am and we were the only ones from that hotel to go to the pier at that time. Others had later shuttles.

The shuttle stopped at another hotel and picked up two more people that were also going on the same cruise as ours.

 

We got to pier 4 around 9:30 am. Lots of people departing from the just ended cruise and some fresh cruisers just arriving. There were only two ships in port so it was not that crowded.

 

Sleep In provided us with everything what we needed at a price that was reasonable.

It is a basic hotel in good location for people going on a cruise. Close to the airport, close to the port, close to some restaurants and stores.

 

I did inquiry about a parking for someone that needed to leave the car for duration of the cruise, and was told by the clerk that they charge for it . I think he said 7 dol per day - you can call them to verify that.

 

That is it.

[SportsMomof4]

Thanks for the review. For the price I paid for my family of 5, it sounds good enough for me. We are booked there next Saturday night for 1 night pre-cruise.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Thank you so much for the review.

 

We have a few rooms booked here for our cruise next April. When we booked, we were able to snag a great AAA rate for only $89 per room !!! This is a great savings for us considereing some of the other FLL airport hotels are going for at least double this. We will not have a car, so having the Airport shuttle, plus a Walgreens, Grocery and a few restaurants to walk to is a major plus. * Free breakfast was not a deal breaker but with three big-hungry boys, it is certainly a nice plus.

 

After reading your review, I feel much better about our choice.

 

 

Kudos to you.

 

:):)

 

 

.

[JohninDC]

Nice detailed review - thanks! :)

[KroozFoolz]

Thanks for posting!

[Canadian Tyler]

Great review of the hotel. I'm staying there for the second time in January.

Does anyone know when they started charging for the cruise port shuttle? I could swear when I booked the room it was free.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

I think the shuttle charge just started recently. I believe the fee is $5 pp.

 

 

BTW, if anyone is initerested, here is the menu for Pancho's Mexican & Spanish restaurant that is right across the street. If you ask the front desk, they will give you a discount coupon.

http://www.panchosbackyard.net/

 

There is also a take out casual style Chinese restaurant, and a kind of pricey Italian restaurant.

 

Also... a Publix deli that has plenty of good things and fresh made subs to go.

 

 

 

.

[OVgirl]

Great review of the hotel. I'm staying there for the second time in January.

Does anyone know when they started charging for the cruise port shuttle? I could swear when I booked the room it was free.

They started charging for the port shuttle sometime this fall. I called them about our reservation and they said if you had made your reservation when the included the shuttle was free, they would honour that.

So, when you go to the hotel, make a note of the date that you booked and mention about the free shuttle.

[aria48]

Hi,

. I think he said 7 dol per day - you can call them to verify that.

 

That is it.

 

Checked on Parkingstay and it is $7/day for parking at the Sleep inn as of Dec. 2012.

They have a package which includes the parking & shuttle but for the dates I checked, it figures out about the same as paying for 7 days & the shuttle for 2 people.

[debr]

Anyone know if you can take Sleep Inn's shuttle after a cruise back to their hotel for a post-cruise stay?

 

Debr

[Grumpy9117]

Yes, you can. My DW and I have done it twice so far. I'm not sure if they will charge you or not.

 

Greg

[debr]

Yes, you can. My DW and I have done it twice so far. I'm not sure if they will charge you or not.

 

Greg

 

Thank you:)

Debr