Fort Lauderdale - hotel - port....Help please

[bargainshopper]

Seeing that the Amerisuites is the cheapest, is the price shown with Valuetrips.com the actual price or do they come back with the actual price and extra booking fees? Are they reliable to book through?

Is the Amerisuites clean and well kept and in a good location:confused:

I booked a room at Amerisuites through valuetrips.com last week. There is no extra charge in my e-mail confirmation other then tax. Amerisuites website indicates free parking. Have no idea how the rooms are but it is at a decent location.

 

One more point. Unlike other hotel booking sites, valuetrips does not do the actual charge, you have to pay directly to the hotel.

 

To get Amerisuites cheaper than valuetrips, check out this thread ( http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=315215 )

[cvancruiser]

We are cruising 4/9 and i booked a room here. i was in need of a place that will have a shuttle to FLL and allow you to park your car for the week. I was so excited to find this one. The shuttle is free and the parking will cost only $15. Are there any other deals like this that I should know about?

[lucky951]

Any one know why the Extended Stay on 17th St would be sold out on Jan 20, 2007? They show availability the week before and after so I am sure they have listed their Jan inventory at this time. We stayed there last year pre cruise and it is just a perfect location and was in much better condition than the HI express was the last time we stayed there.

[liketovacation]

Hi all,

 

I've looked at a lot of threads and noticed there are a couple of resident experts around (TrentS, Bequia, Signman).

 

We are a family of 4 (W, H, S(13), D(6)) going on the Enchantment 12/28/06. Will have a 1 night pre-cruise on 12/27/06. Main interest is a good pool area. Beach would be great, but may be too much $$$.

 

Not sure if I can do Priceline, as I have to have a Non-Smoking room due to my asthma. One night in a room that's had smoke in it will give me an upper respitory infection for the next week, talk about spoiling a cruise!

 

Looking at Renaissance, Embassy Suites, Hyatt Pier 66. Can you give me pros and cons to these? I looked at threads and tripadvisor and have infomation overload at this point!

 

Of course, if I missed another choice, please let me know.

 

Thanks,

Barb

[Bequia]

Main interest is a good pool area.

 

Looking at Renaissance, Embassy Suites, Hyatt Pier 66.

 

The Hyatt Pier 66 is located on 22 lush tropical acres with the nicest pool of any hotel in the area. ;)

[Bequia]

Any one know why the Extended Stay on 17th St would be sold out on Jan 20, 2007?

 

Large trade show at the nearby convention center that week. (Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association)

[signman]

Barb, Pool area at Hyatt sounds nice. It's got a great location, and you'll have beach opportunities on the cruise I'm sure.

 

I swear by Priceline, and I'm pretty sure that the rooms purchased thru their site are supposed to be non-smoking. Pretty much a NS room is a NS room no matter how purchased. I'd be more concerned about smokers having occupied your cabin on the ship prior to your cruise. The biggest problem with reserving thru PL for the night you need is that it's right in the middle of the very busy Christmas season. So make a cancellable reservation, then play with PL. Renaissance is 4 star in Downtown zone, Hyatt 4 star in Beach zone. These are the hotels that are won most frequently, but nothing is ever guaranteed. I refer to http://www.biddingfortravel.com for help with my bids.

[bargainshopper]

I swear by Priceline, and I'm pretty sure that the rooms purchased thru their site are supposed to be non-smoking. Pretty much a NS room is a NS room no matter how purchased.

 

Not according to question 1 at http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddinghotels.showMessage?topicID=2.topic

[signman]

Thanks bargainshopper. I did say pretty sure, to insure some wiggle room.

[PrincessDreams4P&B]

I asked this on another thread but no one had the information I needed , so I am trying my luck here. We are booked at the 17th Street Amerisuites in Ft. Lauderdale 10/20, before our Carribbean Princess Cruise. I called the hotel and asked how much it would be to park our car there while we were on our cruise, and I was told it was free. I asked if she was sure that applied while we were on our cruise and she said yes, that all we needed to do was fill out a parking registration. Is this really correct? And is there a shuttle from the Amerisuites to the Pier?

 

Thanks.

[popcorngal]

Bail out of there ASAP, it is not nice, it is in an undesirable neighborhood. It's on a heavily traveled truck route thats active 24/7.Most rooms on SR84 rent by the hour not by the day. Search the boards you'll read similar comments from fellow cruisers. You can do better.

 

OK, I dumped it and booked the Grande. DH couldn't care less where we stay as long as it's got a bed. I'm afraid I'm a little more picky and love being able to see the water and the ships. Like I said earlier, we stayed there when it was the Marina Marriott and loved the place. We enjoyed sitting down by the waterway and having our lunch, thawing out after traveling from snowy Ohio. It was fun watching the bridge being raised and lowered too. Guess we're easily entertained!;)

 

I'm satisfied now with our (my) choice and am really looking forward to it now! Thanks for the advice!

[Bequia]

popcornngal, a fine choice. A wonderful hotel to start your vacation with. Enjoy. :p

[popcorngal]

Thanks! I'm sure we will have a great time there! Although DH wasn't too happy last time when I hauled his butt out of bed about 5 AM to come watch the ships coming into the harbor...It was a neat sight to see!:D

[liketovacation]

Howard - I thought the cabins on the ships were non-smoking. I'm sure hoping so, otherwise, I will be in deep trouble. I am guaranteed to be sick if I spend a length of time in a room that has stale smoke in it. We have the new Inside Family Stateroom on the Enchantment (#8015), so I'm hoping people with children won't be smoking in it.

 

All - I've taken a look at Hyatt 66 and it is a definate front runner. But also just came across the Pelican Beach. Any thoughts on it?

 

Barb

[adw]

Just wanted to post some quick information as this hotel is rarely ever mentioned. We stayed here two weeks ago and I had read some horrible reviews but as I booked with Hotwire we had no choice. This hotel was clean the front desk were helpful and very nice, the pool and hottub were also clean and we were more the satisfied with our room. This is a little out of the way from the port but as we stayed in Fort Lauderdale for a few days before the cruise it was no big deal . I suggest renting a car but for the price being on the beach you couldnt beat it

[signman]

Barb, I have just read on these boards of instances where the stewards had to use fans and various cleaning materials to rid a cabin of previous occupants smoking smell. Hence my comments. Check with RCCL about their policy.

 

The new tower at Pelican Beach has had very favorable comments. It's right on the beach at the north end of the Fort Lauderdale beach just a little south of Oakland Park Blvd. Means a longer cab ride.

[signman]

Adw, I have commented several times on this hotel having stayed there at least 3 times in the past, most recently in 2004. The rooms are pretty much standard Ramada, but it is right on the beach with a decent pool area and a cozy lobby. With valet parking only $6 I really never had any complaints and would not hesitate to stay there again. I always had a car.

[liketovacation]

Howard - Thanks for the heads up on the smoking. I will check with RCCL and make sure they have it noted that medically, I can't deal with the smoke. I can waklk through a smoking area, but if I spend any more than 10-15 minutes around it, it makes me get a upper respitory infection the next day. Asthma, the bummer of having been raised with second hand smoke before we knew all of the issues with it.

[liketovacation]

Hey all,

 

I've done some more looking around and I'm still looking at Pier 66, but I also found it's sister properties - Lauderdale Grande and Bahia Mar.

 

Reminder, good pool area is key, so is Pier 66 still the top pick?

 

Barb

[Bequia]

Reminder, good pool area is key, so is Pier 66 still the top pick?

 

Simply put ~ Yes.

[liketovacation]

That's what I thought. I'm going to go ahead and book a room directly with the hotel for now. They are fully refundable up to 72 hours prior to check-in. So, now I need to pick a room type.

 

Does anyone know if ALL the rooms were renovated? I am leaning toward the Garden/Marina Double, which is NOT the Deluxe Lanai Double w/ the 42" Plasma TV. But I only want it if it has been renovated.

 

Otherwise, my second choice is the Tower Deluxe Double. But again, have all of them been renovated?

 

Barb

[AngieBaby161]

Can someone give me some imput on the Comfort Suites at 1800 S. Federal Hwy? It looks close to 17th street? Clean, safe, etc?

Thanks

[signman]

You'll find discussion of the Comfort Suites on Federal Highway in this very thread if you read through it, as well as in this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=263825&highlight=comfort

 

The area is fine, just a block from SE 17th and tons of dining and shopping options, and one of my favorite places is just across the street, Ernie's BBQ, but the reviews of the rooms have not been that great.

[sunlover5]

Try the Sleep Inn in Fort Lauderdale, fairly new, breakfast and shuttle. It is usually priced right!:)

[AngieBaby161]

You'll find discussion of the Comfort Suites on Federal Highway in this very thread if you read through it, as well as in this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=263825&highlight=comfort

 

The area is fine, just a block from SE 17th and tons of dining and shopping options, and one of my favorite places is just across the street, Ernie's BBQ, but the reviews of the rooms have not been that great.

 

Thanks Howard...I have read through this thread and must have missed the discussion on the Comfort, I saw all the others but I will look again.