FLL Marriott help!

[Soxfancruiser]

My fiance and I will be heading down to FLL 12/15 before the Carnival Liberty cruise, and we have gift cards to stay at a Marriott. We were wondering if the hotels on the beach in FLL are too far away from the airport and cruise terminals as we will be paying cab fare to and from. We would really like to spend the day at the beach. Should we stay at the Airport and cruise terminal marriott, or are the ones closer to the beach not too far? Any help would be greatly appreciated!:)

[megr1125]

your gift cards can be used at any marriott brand..so...

 

if you want to be ON the beach, then stay at the Harbor Beach Marriott...maybe 15-20 minutes from the a/p and 10 from the pier.....

 

The Renaissance, while not ON the beach, is about 1.5 miles away. You can hop the public bus OR the suntrolley (that is thur-sun, and is 50 cents PP!) that is maybe 10-15 minutes fromthe AP and across the street from the pier...(you'd need a cab for the short ride...to far to walk.)

 

The Ren is on 17th st so there is a lot around...restaurants, grocery stores, drug stores, liquor stores.....it's a decent hotel.

 

other than that-and the BeachPlace towers (which is a time share, but they rent units by the night) everything else is farther away.

 

Cab fares should be under $25 from the a/p to any of the hotels and less than $15 to the pier (from the Ren is is probably less than $10)

 

i have stayed at the Ren...it's got a pretty nice pool area and the staff is nice. I would eat elsewhere...(you could do breakfast there if you wanted but there are other choices..there is a bagel place and a starbucks, plus a deli within a block or 2)

 

hth

[Bequia]

My fiance and I will be heading down to FLL 12/15 before the Carnival Liberty cruise, and we have gift cards to stay at a Marriott. We were wondering if the hotels on the beach in FLL are too far away from the airport and cruise terminals as we will be paying cab fare to and from. We would really like to spend the day at the beach. Should we stay at the Airport and cruise terminal marriott, or are the ones closer to the beach not too far? Any help would be greatly appreciated!:)

 

Everyone using their Marriott Rewards points chooses the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort. A short ride from the airport an even shorter ride to the port. The beach is away from the Ft Lauderdale public beaches so it never gets that crowded. The property has a nice pool. Stay away from the private cabanas, the no-see-ums can be irritating.

http://www.marriottharborbeach.com/

Another option is the new Marriott Courtyard Ft Lauderdale Beach. It's due to open in October and is located across the street from the beach in what was the former Doubletree. Probably a lot more reasonable then the Harbor Beach Marriott, still close to the beach though, and nearby shops and restaurants.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/fllco-courtyard-fort-lauderdale-beach/

[Soxfancruiser]

Thank you both so much, this advice has been really helpful. We are from Boston, so we don't know FLL at all! Thanks again so much!:o

[megr1125]

you're welcome...i forgot about the Courtyard they are opening....it will be right across the street from the beach (most of the hotels ARE across from the beach..which is gorgeous BTW)....so it depends on where you want to be...

 

the CY by the beach will only have been open about 8 weeks when you are due to go, so that might be a great option.....Bequia has either been over to see it or something and said it's looking good, which, considering what it looked like a couple months ago, means they made rapid progress...and you should be able to see at least a partial view of the ocean from more than half of the rooms....

 

let us know what you decide...the Marriott Harbor Beach is ON the beach and is being renovated (although when I took a tour, most of the place didn't look too bad before the redo!), it is gorgeous, but will not exactly be a bargain!

 

happy sails

[Prairie_Gal]

Soxfancruiser, Hi, we are on the same cruise! :) December 15th is the night of the Winterfest Boat Parade and Ft. Lauderdale is very busy. I only know this because I have been researching our cruise for months. I have never been there before either. I hope you can still get a hotel. Have you started calling the suggested hotels yet?

[megr1125]

checking marriott.com for 15 dec 07 for 1 nite...

 

the renaissance is $229 - and that rate includes breakfast! the rate w/o breakfast is MORE...weird, but that's yield management for you! i'd grab that and take the suntrolley to the beach.

 

and the courtyard on the beach is $239 with breakfast it is 259

 

Harbor Beach is sold out....

 

Beach Place Towes (the time share) is 203

 

Springhill Airport is 169 (continental bkfst included anyway-this is an advance purch rate, otherwise it is 179)--they also have a free shuttle to the pier and a/p

 

courtyard aiport is 189 204 with breakfast (they have free a/p and pier shuttle though)

 

all are plus tax

hth--i was bored so i looked....:)

[Soxfancruiser]

YIKES! I better get on this, I keep forgetting how close the date really is. Thank you so much for the heads up! Sounds like I better make the reservation next week. If we can get a room at the Ren, looks like thats where we'll go, considering our gift certificates will cover the room price. Might as well splurge! Thank you megr1125 and Prairie Gal! Thank goodness for these boards! Now lets hope for a great, sunny beach day!

[megr1125]

I liked the Ren overall....the pool area is nice......most of the staff is excellent......it's right across from Walgreens and close to everything! The breakkie deal is a deal! I would go out to eat dinner.....look at Bequa's list (it is posted on several of the threads here.....i asked host star to sticky it since it has everything..and if it isn't there, you probably don't need it.)

 

i didn't eat in the places right across the parking lot...i walked a little further...just past starbucks...i think in the same stipr center as Einsteins Bagels to this italian place....all i remember is that it started with a 'g' and had 'fuggeddahboutit' on the sign! looks like you are eating in a deli but the food was good..as was the bread! i had a pizza but it was yummy....serivce will be fine for more than 1---i was kind of ignored...

 

if you have a need to do laundry, there is a laundromat maybe 2 blocks away across from WinnDixie....(i went cross country through parking lots!)

 

plus the Publix/Total Wine shopping center is walkable or you can take the aforementioned trolley.