Hotels near the cruise port in Fort Lauderdale

[warmwinds]

By virtue of Hotwire, we're staying at the W Hotel Fort Lauderdale pre-cruise in March. Is anyone familiar with the hotel and area? Any advice?

 

I would think anything along the beach would be great.

[Fruggers]

I stayed at the W before our Thanksgiving cruise on the Harmony. It's located across from the beach, and there are quite a few restaurants within walking distance. When I stayed there last week the hotel was undergoing renovations so quite a bit of the hotel was closed but should be re-opened by the end of December.

 

I used Starwood points for 3 rooms, so our stay was free. The only complaint is that there is a clear glass wall in the shower which shares a wall with the bedroom. So when you're taking a shower everyone in the room is watching you - it's a bit like being in a fish bowl. If you look at the hotel on TripAdvisor, you can see pictures of this.

 

I would think anything along the beach would be great.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Fruggers

[gsu_paintballer]

Stayed at the Embassy Suites. Didn't go so well. Air vent leaked into our room all night, even after they "fixed" it, and then refused to even refund parking for our inconvenience (I'd prepaid through hotels.com, so parking was all I asked the hotel for as a refund).

 

After listening to the (supposed) manager snap at me for a few minutes, I gave up on them and called hotels.com, who made the phone call themselves and had the entire stay refunded.

 

Moral of the story: All I asked for was $20 refunded from parking for a leaky room. Rude manager wound up paying a much larger price since she decided to be the impolite one.

[Compass Rose Monica]

My stay at the Embassy suites was fine. No problems with the room. Paid for the shuttle service to the port.

I hosted a pre-cruise party during the happy hour at the hotel. About 20 or so showed up. We enjoyed the drinks. The snacks (as previously mentioned) were okay. A bunch of us walked across the street to Panaretto Italian Bistro (1311 SE 17th ST, panarettopizzeria.com) to have dinner. Sat outside. The food was excellent and service good.

Monica

[Northern Aurora]

Our preferred Ft. Lauderdale hotel is the Riverside Hotel. To provide some orientation, the Riverside is located about five miles from the Ft. Lauderdale airport.

 

It doesn't particularly cater to cruisers (i.e., no shuttle service from or to the cruise port) but is located on Las Olas Blvd. so many restaurants within a five minute walk. Wonderful staff (one of the waiters told us last time we were there that he has worked at the Riverside for 30 years), and a great on-premises restaurant.

[Baron Barracuda]

Have spent one pre-cruise night at a variety of FLL hotels. Decision was usually price driven. For our Feb Equinox sailing though we're flying down extra early. That way if snow hits NJ we should still be able to make the ship. Was researching nicer hotels and was happy to come across this thread. So many votes for Embassy suites that we booked it.

 

If dw enjoys the stay I'm taking all the credit. If not she knows all your screen names and will be looking for you at future connection parties. :)

[pd7277]

If dw enjoys the stay I'm taking all the credit. If not she knows all your screen names and will be looking for you at future connection parties. :)

 

Too Cute! We enjoy the Embassy also. :D

[cynbar]

We originally had a reservation at the Embassy Suites for the night before our upcoming January cruise, and we have had good stays here in the past. However, we were scared away by the pattern of poor reviews on Trip Advisor, which repeatedly mention shabby rooms, poor service, broken fixtures, etc. We are now booked for the first time at the Renaissance down the street, which gets much better reviews overall. I'll leave a report after our stay for future cruisers to consider.

[Lady Chew]

We usually stay at Marriott hotels.

 

For one night in Ft. L, we stay at the Renaissance on 17th St. Right across from the port, Walgreens right across the street, large shopping center a short walk.

 

For longer stays, we use the Courtyard. It's further north along the main road that parallels the beach. Great location!

 

We have found that taking a taxi to & from the hotel to port/airport is much easier & faster than the shuttle ...

[hcat]

We once got a great rate thanks to roll call info at a Marriot right across from the beach..nice hotel..walkable to many eateries including the Quarterdeck, swimming hall of fame; and the amazing boardwalk was right there....

 

we had two days pre booked..and that was lucky because a big snowstorm hit up north and there were very few rooms anywhere b/c no one could fly out

 

Cabs to hotel and port were more than we usually pay as it is a bit further than the 17th st area but it was a nice change of pace and fun to hang out with roll call people.

[SuiteTraveler]

By virtue of Hotwire, we're staying at the W Hotel Fort Lauderdale pre-cruise in March. Is anyone familiar with the hotel and area? Any advice?

 

It's very nice and convenient to lots of restaurants. I think you will be pleased. They are under renovation at this time, but people who have stayed there recently said it was not a problem.