Ft. Lauderdale Sheraton Yankee Trader

[Canadianguy]

Anyone stayed here? I am considering it for a 4 night pre-Cruise stay and one night after our cruise. Seems nice enough on the web but...

 

Thanks,

[mii]

Canadian: Go to the top of the page where it says "Search this Forum" and put in Sheraton Yankee Trader and all sorts of info comes up. Hope this helps.

 

Marilyn

[Canadianguy]

Canadian: Go to the top of the page where it says "Search this Forum" and put in Sheraton Yankee Trader and all sorts of info comes up. Hope this helps. Marilyn

 

OK. Thanks Marilyn. I am learning a new trick every day. Cheers!

[muffydawg]

I know friends who stayed there recently...not up to Sheraton standards...stay at the Renaissance in FLL...only a 2 min drive to the pier and much nicer

[HurricaneSally]

I spent one night there in November and it was lovely. The bed was extremely confortable and the room was very nice. It was right after Wilma and there was some damage to the palm trees but they were cleaning up nicely.

[mattthew1972]

I have stayed at this hotel three times now both pre-cruise and also for a week during the summer and you will not be dissappointed. It's in a fantastic location right in front of the beach and a short walk to the many bars and restaurants at beach place. The hotel itself is extremely well run, clean and has nice rooms.....one must remember that it is not a new property though.

 

I recently tried to get this via priceline or hotwire for our precruise for Jan 13th but it has been sold out for some time.....

[Canadianguy]

Thanks everyone. I just booked it after reading the threads here and elsewhere and a look at the reviews on tripadvisor dot com. One less thing to do with a month before we leave.

 

We will probably only end up sleeping at this hotel and save all our 'resort activities' for our cruise. I hear that the shopping and dining in Ft Lauderdale is awesome.

 

Thanks again!

[TrentS]

I hear that the shopping and dining in Ft Lauderdale is awesome.

Don't miss Las Olas Blvd... http://www.lasolasboulevard.com/

[koolcruiser43]

We stayed in FLL for 1 night precruise and that is about all its good for. We were very dissapointed in FLL. Very dirty streets with obsentities written on tee shirts as you pass the gift shops. The beach is across the street from Sheraton Yankee Trader and has no beach atmosphere at all!! Food is horible and way overpriced all over FLL. I think you will be disappointed in a four night stay here.

 

If your considering 4 nights you would be much better off in the Miami Beach area. We have stayed at the Sheraton in Bal Harbour and also the Fountainblu Hotel which are bothe like being in paradise. Huge pool surrounded by palm trees and water falls and the beach is right there and not across the street from Hotel like in FLL. We stay here everytime we are in the Miami/FLL area and it always surpasses expectations. Dining on South Beach or on the Lincoln Street Mall is also a real treat.

 

This is my opinion but I couln't wait to get out of FLL and couldn't imagine having to spend 4 whole days in this run down dirty filthy place.

[TrentS]

Usually people make comments like yours about Miami Beach and prefer Fort Lauderdale - Many say they prefer Fort Lauderdale because it's a bit less expensive, quieter, and the beaches are cleaner... I don't necessarily agree with those people either. Personally I like BOTH Miami AND Fort Lauderdale, but it sure sounds to me like you didn't do your research, and know where to go, or stay!

 

Exactly how many restaurants did you eat at in ONE night to come to the conclusion that "Food is horible and way overpriced all over FLL"??? There are hundreds of restaurants of all types, prices and quality in Fort Lauderdale, just like there are in every other large city. Miami Beach is the same way, there are good and there are bad, but in general they're a bit more expensive on South Beach than in Fort Lauderdale. If you ate somewhere overpriced and bad I'm sorry, but you can't label them ALL horrible and overpriced as that's simply NOT the case!!! Perhaps a little more research on your part would've been in order. ;)

 

I'm in Fort Lauderdale Beach as well as Miami Beach and South Beach every week, not much difference in the cleanliness of the streets. :confused:

 

Yes, the t-shirts you refer to are sold in a few shops on the beach. Those same t-shirts are ALSO sold throughout Miami Beach and South Beach in a whole lot more shops than in Fort Lauderdale! Those same shirts are sold in almost every OTHER touristy beach town I've ever been in as well... While some are rather tasteless and appeal more to the average 13 year old, they're quite harmless.

 

Did you go to Las Olas Blvd., just east of downtown Fort Lauderdale??? The shops and restaurants there rival anything on Lincoln Road, in fact IMO they're a lot NICER. It's a beautiful tree lined street with high end shops, galleries, and some wonderful restaurants and sidewalk cafes... http://www.lasolasboulevard.com/

 

Sheraton Bal Harbour and Fontainebleau are RESORTS, Sheraton Yankee Trader and Yankee Clipper are NOT. Again it sounds like you didn't do your research before booking a hotel!

 

If you wanted something similar in quality to the Sheraton Bal Harbour you should have booked the Harbor Beach Marriott. It IS a resort, and a very nice one at that. It's on the nicest part of Fort Lauderdale Beach, with the type of pool and beach activities it sounds like you wanted... http://www.marriottharborbeach.com/

[koolcruiser43]

I lived in Miami over 20 years ago while attending the University of Miami and have visited annually ever since. Ft. Lauderdale was the spring break party capital of the east coast back then. Hotels and streets were ransacked by out of controll drunken teens back then. I remeber being on the strip in my 20's and being appauled by the obsenities and open drunkeness on the streets. The rowdy crowds may be gone and construction to turn the place around has obviously begun but until the work is completed FLL seems to be worn and used up. I think FLL will be a beautiful town with all the upscale hotels replacing the old rundown ones. But right now its in a building stage which is not very appealing to the eye when on vacation.

 

I know there are resort hotels tucked away here and there and we even considered staying at the new Atlantis except for the beach and pool area which was small. But driving around during the day and night Fll just seems old and worn compared to Miami Beach which seems vibrant and enerized. We do stay in the Bal Harbour area when in Miami which is more north of SB and and a bit cleaner but the 15 minute drive down Collins Ave is a sight to behold.

 

We have tried many restaurants over the years in FLL many of them being chain resturants on the water. We ate at place on the beach during our last visit and tried some stone crabs, paid pleny for them and they were tasteless! While walking around the Beach Place area we broused in some resturants which were dark, dingy bar hangouts and the restaurants on the streets were all selling lunch entrees for over $15- $25 for lunch.

 

In comparison many of the resturants in Miami we have tried have creative menus and outstanding food. The restaurnts that are often recommended in FLL such as 15th Street Fisheries, Charleys's crab, etc. are o-k but not very creative. You can head over to Hollywood and find the same food on the beach for half the price.

 

We have checked out Las Olas Blvd which is a great area for business people who work in fLL or are visiting on business to take a lunch break or have some dinner. I do think Lincoln Street Mall has more interesting window shopping and great outdoor dinning w/o the street traffic. I may not buy anything here but it's fun to look at shops that you wouln't find at your neighborhood mall.

 

I am really not putting down FLL as a great place to visit. If I had to move to Florida I would probably consider living in the vicinity of FLL more so than Miami but I'm just pointing out that while on a 4 day vacation Miami would be a more fun colorful energetic place to visit.

[TrentS]

The days of Fort Lauderdale being the Spring Break capitol for drunken college students has been over for many many years. They seem to prefer Cancun now. Yes, there is a great deal of construction at the moment, as there also is in Miami. Much of Florida is in the midst of a major building boom!

 

Yes, Bal Harbour is gorgeous, it's one of the most expensive places in South Florida too! I'm afraid you'll have to find another place to stay though as the Sheraton Bal Harbour will be closing on June 1st. It will be torn down and replaced with a much MUCH more expensive St. Regis Resort. Oh, and you may also want to avoid the Fontainebleau as well as they've just started construction on yet another new tower and they're completely remodeling the original tower. Sorry, but it's pretty hard to avoid construction in South Florida at the moment!

 

Well why would you eat at a chain restaurant??? YUCK! :( There are perhaps 2 or 3 chain restaurants that are even edible, most are just crap no matter where you eat at one. That has nothing to do with Fort Lauderdale, they're bad everywhere! There are many many small independant restaurants that are wonderful and reasonably priced.

 

You can't compare South Beach with Fort Lauderdale though, they're very different places catering to a very different crowd. Obviously Miami Beach/South Beach is more for you and that's fine. I love South Beach myself, but that doesn't make one place a dump and the other great. They both have their advantages and disadvantages!