Ft. Lauderdale Hotel?

[doone]

Being from the north, when cruising I like to fly to Ft Lauderdale a day or two before sailing. When you fly in early, what hotel does everyone stay and why?

[innlady1]

Love the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas . Awesome, interesting neighborhood. ..lots to see.

[lukydog]

We love Bahia Mar. It is across the street from Ft. Lauderdate Beach and the beach boardwalk with tons of restaurants/bars/nightlife. It is a block away from the Water Taxi. Nice hotel in a great area!

[CruiserBruce]

There is a gazillion hotel recommendations on the Florida Departures Board.

 

We prefer the Embassy Suites.

[sail7seas]

I have stayed at Hyatt Pier 66 on 17th Street for years. Always enjoy our stays there.

[Cruiser Andi]

I have stayed at Hyatt Pier 66 on 17th Street for years. Always enjoy our stays there.

 

 

 

I'm staying there next year. It's nice to see a good recommendation.

[Scrapnana]

I stayed at the Embassy Suites in April. It is not far from the airport or the pier and is right across the street from last minute shopping opportunities.

[Sue from Canada]

Being from the north, when cruising I like to fly to Ft Lauderdale a day or two before sailing. When you fly in early, what hotel does everyone stay and why?

 

What is your budget? Do you want to stay out near the airport? Do you want free breakfast and a shuttle service?

[clogaltocruise]

Like innlady1, we love the Riverside. Very enjoyable area & nice hotel. :-)

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

We have stayed at the Embassy Suites both pre and post cruise for many years.

It is close to restaurants and the Harbor Shops is right behind it. It has Publix, Total Wine, other shops and restaurants. There are a couple of other smaller strip malls right by it.

[doone]

I am not sailing anytime soon, was just curious as to where people like to stay and why. I usually like to stay close to the water taxi so we can hop on and take a ride for some dinner.

[mollyanne]

I am not sailing anytime soon, was just curious as to where people like to stay and why. I usually like to stay close to the water taxi so we can hop on and take a ride for some dinner.

 

If you want to be close to the water taxi you should consider the Hilton Marina. There is a taxi stop right there. We have stayed there a couple of times and found everything to be just fine. But we do prefer the Embassy Suites for its proximity to stores and restaurants.:)

[Former Goalie]

You'll get myriad responses, this is very subjective, depending on price, location, whether you are a group or couple, etc.

We have stayed at what was Il Lugano in Lauderdale by the Sea, just north of Fort Lauderdale. It has been re-branded Residence in by Marriott. We LOVED it, actually liked being a ways from the action, we had a room with a great view of the Intercoastal Waterway (the hotel is right on it). The rooms are very spacious, some with kitchenettes and washer/dryers. Very good in house restaurant, a Walgreens about 1/2 block away to get sundries and drinks. 15 minute or so ride to Port Everglades.

[canadianbear]

We have only been to Ft Lauderdale once this April for two nights and stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66 in a king tower room. We were lucky to be able to see the beautiful ships in port from our balcony. The grounds of the hotel and pool are lovely and also the marina view where my husband could see all the yachts!

 

I am not sure we would stay there next time as I would like to try different locations such as perhaps near the beach, like Bahia Mar or maybe Embassy Suites which is closer to restaurants and last minute shops if anything is needed to buy.

 

There are so many options and price ranges I did spend a lot of time looking at the Florida departure boards and for our first time there the Hyatt Pier 66 more than satisfied us. (thanks again to sail7seas for her input to my questions on it before!)

[EbayCruiser]

We have a reservation for the Hyatt Pier 66 but thinking of changing. It is VERY pricey, we are paying $319 + taxes for a Tower High King room. This is the cruise & snooze rate that includes breakfast and transport to the ship.

 

We have never paid this much for a hotel before. We have stayed at Embassy Suites for around $100 and it was nice although nothing spectacular about it.

 

I guess you pay a lot to be on the waterway and have the great view of the ships.

 

Would appreciate any comments from those who have stayed there - is it worth the $$$.

[kalliekae]

We usually fly in the night before so the Crowne Plaza near the airport/port is where we stay. We don't need shops or the water taxi so this meets our needs. That said, we are coming into FLL on Thanksgiving weekend this year and the rates for all the hotels are quite high that weekend and some do not allow a one night stay. We finally booked the Hamilton Inn-Airport North Cruiseport so we'll see how it is. Trip Advisor had good reviews so I'm hopeful it will be clean and comfy.

[HokiePoq]

We usually fly in the night before so the Crowne Plaza near the airport/port is where we stay. We don't need shops or the water taxi so this meets our needs. That said, we are coming into FLL on Thanksgiving weekend this year and the rates for all the hotels are quite high that weekend and some do not allow a one night stay. We finally booked the Hamilton Inn-Airport North Cruiseport so we'll see how it is. Trip Advisor had good reviews so I'm hopeful it will be clean and comfy.

 

I am having the same problem with needing to spend Jan. 1 in a hotel precruise. We always drive to Florida so I'm considering staying to the north and parking at the port rather than spend so much in Fort Lauderdale. Normally we do a stay and park deal but the cost is at least double what we've paid in the past.

[Jim Avery]

I'm staying there next year. It's nice to see a good recommendation.

 

We second Pier 66. Try to get a tower room facing the port so you can watch your ship come in. Be sure to have a meal at Grill 66. If you get Jethro's table you will have lots of fun along with a great meal.

[PORT ROYAL]

Being from the north, when cruising I like to fly to Ft Lauderdale a day or two before sailing. When you fly in early, what hotel does everyone stay and why?

 

The choice for us is just to two great hotels.

The Pillars, for access to the intercoastal restaurants etc., as it has a dedicated water taxi stop, or the Hilton Diplomat for a beach front experience.:)

 

Either will give you a wonderful stay.

Edited July 4, 2015 by PORT ROYAL

[Cruiser Andi]

We second Pier 66. Try to get a tower room facing the port so you can watch your ship come in. Be sure to have a meal at Grill 66. If you get Jethro's table you will have lots of fun along with a great meal.

 

 

Thank you! We will definitely eat there and ask for Jethro. I love these kinds of tips [emoji2]

[POA1]

You have so many choices of hotels in Fort Lauderdale that it's not funny. Before we moved here, we stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66, the Embassy Suites, the Bahai Mar (which is a DoubleTree,) the Riverside, and what used to be a Sheraton but is now the B Ocean Hotel. They're all very nice in their own way. I don't think you'd go wrong with any of them.

 

It really depends on what you want to do while you're here, and where you want to stay - and of course, what you want to pay. You can stay anywhere from a Days Inn out near I-95 to the Ritz Carlton right on the beach.

 

A couple of recommendations that I haven't seen mentioned often: The first is the Lago Mar Resort. It's near the southernmost end of Fort Lauderdale Beach. You are on the beach and about 2 miles from any public parking, so the beach is almost always quiet and pretty private. This is where the old Fort Lauderdale money people put their guests. To get a more private beach setting, you'd have to buy one of the ocean front condos to the south.

 

My second recommendation would be The Pillars Hotel. It's an 18-room gem that sits on the intracoastal waterway at Birch Road. You're only a block from the actual beach, but you're on the water - with a Water Taxi Whistle Stop. (A Whistle Stop is not part of the scheduled route, but if you stand on the Pillars Dock, they'll pick you up. If you're on the Water Taxi, you can ask and they'll drop you off.)

 

One very, very important piece of advice for anyone staying in Fort Lauderdale, and coming in from the airport: Print out the directions from the airport to your hotel, and from your hotel to the port. You would think that the taxi drivers would know how to get places. You would be wrong. Anytime people come to visit us and we can't pick them up at the airport, I insist that they print out directions to our building. Nine times out of ten they're glad they did. You can spend a lot of money while your taxi driver wanders aimlessly around with the meter running.

[POA1]

I should also add that if you want to be on the water taxi route, there are quite a few whistle stops at hotels and restaurants. They're not on the main map, and for reasons I can't quite fathom, most of the whistle stops do not appear on the water taxi map. You have to call the water taxi people to ask them. It's kind of bizarre and very 1990s. So, if you're looking at a hotel, and the hotel is along the water taxi route, give the hotel or the water taxi people a call and ask about whistle stops.

[take us away]

We have a reservation for the Hyatt Pier 66 but thinking of changing. It is VERY pricey, we are paying $319 + taxes for a Tower High King room. This is the cruise & snooze rate that includes breakfast and transport to the ship.

 

We have never paid this much for a hotel before. We have stayed at Embassy Suites for around $100 and it was nice although nothing spectacular about it.

 

I guess you pay a lot to be on the waterway and have the great view of the ships.

 

Would appreciate any comments from those who have stayed there - is it worth the $$$.

 

We use points from our credit card so it is basically free - might be a good idea to check yours.

[Cruiser Andi]

 

One very, very important piece of advice for anyone staying in Fort Lauderdale, and coming in from the airport: Print out the directions from the airport to your hotel, and from your hotel to the port. You would think that the taxi drivers would know how to get places. You would be wrong. Anytime people come to visit us and we can't pick them up at the airport, I insist that they print out directions to our building. Nine times out of ten they're glad they did. You can spend a lot of money while your taxi driver wanders aimlessly around with the meter running.

 

 

Thank you for this advice. I hadn't considered it but will now make sure I have printed directions.

[sppunk]

You have so many choices of hotels in Fort Lauderdale that it's not funny. Before we moved here, we stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66, the Embassy Suites, the Bahai Mar (which is a DoubleTree,) the Riverside, and what used to be a Sheraton but is now the B Ocean Hotel. They're all very nice in their own way. I don't think you'd go wrong with any of them.

 

It really depends on what you want to do while you're here, and where you want to stay - and of course, what you want to pay. You can stay anywhere from a Days Inn out near I-95 to the Ritz Carlton right on the beach.

 

A couple of recommendations that I haven't seen mentioned often: The first is the Lago Mar Resort. It's near the southernmost end of Fort Lauderdale Beach. You are on the beach and about 2 miles from any public parking, so the beach is almost always quiet and pretty private. This is where the old Fort Lauderdale money people put their guests. To get a more private beach setting, you'd have to buy one of the ocean front condos to the south.

 

My second recommendation would be The Pillars Hotel. It's an 18-room gem that sits on the intracoastal waterway at Birch Road. You're only a block from the actual beach, but you're on the water - with a Water Taxi Whistle Stop. (A Whistle Stop is not part of the scheduled route, but if you stand on the Pillars Dock, they'll pick you up. If you're on the Water Taxi, you can ask and they'll drop you off.)

 

One very, very important piece of advice for anyone staying in Fort Lauderdale, and coming in from the airport: Print out the directions from the airport to your hotel, and from your hotel to the port. You would think that the taxi drivers would know how to get places. You would be wrong. Anytime people come to visit us and we can't pick them up at the airport, I insist that they print out directions to our building. Nine times out of ten they're glad they did. You can spend a lot of money while your taxi driver wanders aimlessly around with the meter running.

 

We were planning to stay at your casa prior to our Nov. 23, 2016, Koningsdam cruise.

 

(I kid!)