Reasonable place to stay outside Ft. Lauderdale?

[Koshlong]

We'll be driving down to Ft. L. to cruise in mid-March. Since hotels there are crazy expensive and we're suffering with the Canadian dollar, we thought we could maybe save some money by stopping 1/2 to one hour outside the city.

 

Can you suggest some good places - and maybe some good restaurants - where we could stay?

[RocketMan275]

We'll be driving down to Ft. L. to cruise in mid-March. Since hotels there are crazy expensive and we're suffering with the Canadian dollar, we thought we could maybe save some money by stopping 1/2 to one hour outside the city.

 

Can you suggest some good places - and maybe some good restaurants - where we could stay?

 

We're driving from north Alabama, fourteen hours. We've decided to spend the night near Ocala which is about four hours from the port. Think about this. You don't necessarily have to be that close to the port. You can't board until around 11:30. You could board as late as 15:30. Perhaps you might want to open your window for places to stay. We figure we will be on the road around 7AM and should be at the port around 1130

Edited February 22, 2016 by RocketMan275

[jh2360]

Ali's Comfort Cafe is pretty darn good. We eat there about once a week. They have a location in Davie as well as Sunrise. Very reasonably priced. No dinner though. Yelp cna be your friend when it comes to searching for good, cost effective options.

 

As far as hotels, check out Trivago or any of the other comparison sites. Or, if you aren't afraid of something new, take a peak at Airbnb. A lot of times can be cheaper than a hotel and a more fun experience.

Edited February 22, 2016 by jh2360

[Langley Cruisers]

Beachcomber Resort in Pompano Beach is wonderful. Have stayed there twice - fabulous.

 

http://www.beachcomberresort.com/

[Koshlong]

Beachcomber looks nice but is still over $200, and Ocala is really too far away...not a morning person. Does anyone have another suggestion?

[Langley Cruisers]

Beachcomber looks nice but is still over $200, and Ocala is really too far away...not a morning person. Does anyone have another suggestion?

 

Yes well, mid-March is expensive.

[EatonDoolittle]

Going north on I 95, try Port St Lucie, Ft Pierce, Vero Beach. All have a concentration of lodging at the Interstate exit, and all are well under 2 hrs to Port Everglades, an easy straight drive.

 

Very little in south Florida in inexpensive, especially in Feb and March.

 

Trip Advisor is a good resource for lodging information.

[RocketMan275]

Going north on I 95, try Port St Lucie, Ft Pierce, Vero Beach. All have a concentration of lodging at the Interstate exit, and all are well under 2 hrs to Port Everglades, an easy straight drive.

 

Very little in south Florida in inexpensive, especially in Feb and March.

 

Trip Advisor is a good resource for lodging information.

 

Any of those would work. We choose something near Ocala since that broke our trip into two segments. We would have preferred something closer to the port but for every hour closer we got, we added an hour to the first segment. We just didn't want to drive much more than 10 hours on the first part.

 

BTW, this is the first time we've driven this concept. If it doesn't work, we'll change.

[paulh84]

Without knowing your price point it's tough to say. To get into substantially cheaper areas you're going to have to focus north of the Jupiter area which is about 2 hours from port. If you're looking at map of results, definitely focus on areas away from the beach. Unfortunately South Florida is expensive, and really expensive during winter and spring break.

 

Just a quick Orbitz search looks like there are a lot of options in the Coral Springs area for around the $200 mark which is about 30 minutes from port. Without getting into some seedy areas, that would be about the bare minimum I would suggest.

[RealDeal]

We usually stay in Sunrise/Plantation. 15 minutes to port & less expensive than Ft Laud. You could also try Deerfield Beach or North Ft Laud. I always use Priceline, Priceline Express or Hotwire & usually pay around $100 for a 3-star or better. You can use Better Bidding to try to figure out which property it is.

[Bocadude85]

I did a quick search online for hotels on a friday night in mid March and came up with quite a few rooms under $200 in the Boca Raton area.

[capriccio]

I always use Priceline, Priceline Express or Hotwire & usually pay around $100 for a 3-star or better.

 

In mid-March? That sounds like a low season (i.e., summer/hurricane season) rate. If you've found $100 rate for the height of the high season (mid-March), can you share with us the hotel(s)? Thanks.

[RealDeal]

I never travel in mid-March, but just cruised on 2/7 & stayed at the Doubletree in Sunrise, which I got for $99 total on Hotwire. Last Minute Travel is another site to check. Not sure if they still have it, but you used to be able to sign up for LMT Club for free...With LMT Club it shows you the hotel names right off the bat & they may be cheaper. With Last Minute Travel, usually if you "add an activity" to the booking the hotel name is revealed.

[RealDeal]

HW has a 4-star in Boca with a 95% approval rating on 3/12 for $83 + taxes, as an example. PL Express has a few in Plantation/Weston for just over $100.

[loubetti]

There's nothing wrong with Boca! :D

 

Oops, "they" want us to say "Boca Raton". ;)

[capriccio]

I never travel in mid-March, but just cruised on 2/7 & stayed at the Doubletree in Sunrise, which I got for $99 total on Hotwire. Last Minute Travel is another site to check. Not sure if they still have it, but you used to be able to sign up for LMT Club for free...With LMT Club it shows you the hotel names right off the bat & they may be cheaper. With Last Minute Travel, usually if you "add an activity" to the booking the hotel name is revealed.

 

HW has a 4-star in Boca with a 95% approval rating on 3/12 for $83 + taxes, as an example. PL Express has a few in Plantation/Weston for just over $100.

 

Thanks for providing examples! I'm sure lots of posters will find them useful.

[RealDeal]

Thanks for providing examples! I'm sure lots of posters will find them useful.

 

I always use those sites and almost always get the hotel I think I will by researching. Unless you're very picky about a specific property and aren't confident you'll get it, I think it's pretty safe to use these sites. As long as the star level/ratings are decent, it's hard to really go wrong. I will say that if one has a car, it's important to make sure the hotel has free parking b/c especially in Ft Laud you can get pretty burned w/high parking fees.

[Koshlong]

Thanks! That gives us a lot to work on. I know it's a pricey time of year, but this year seems to be worse.

[RealDeal]

Better Bidding has lists of hotels in various areas that are won on HW and PL (although it's not always 100% accurate) and also on Better Bidding people report what they won at what price (see the HW and PL forums for Florida, for example). For Priceline Express deals, you can try to match up the "going price" with the amenities the property offers to try to figure out what hotel they're trying to sell you. For example, if it has free parking, breakfast, Internet, and restaurant, 4 stars, in the Plantation area, go to the regular PL hotel list (where they show you the hotel names) and try to cross-reference, also matching up the customer satisfaction rating (e.g., 7 or 8 or whatever). Usually you can either pinpoint it exactly or narrow the field to 2 or 3.

[BlueHerons]

Once you get south of Boca, don't stay in any hotel close to I95.

Edited February 25, 2016 by BlueHerons