Florida road trip good hotels
May 3rd, 2004, 06:31 AM
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Florida road trip good hotels
Can anyone recommend good mid-priced hotels (including breakfast) in any of the following areas: Orlando airport (1 night) Palm Beach/Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Florida Keys, Naples, Sarasota, Clearwater/St.Petes, Disney area? Has anyone stayed at Marriott Village Lake Buena Vista and would recommend this? Would prefer hotels close to beach and without parking charges (St Petes/Clearwater)
Coming over from the U.K. without a clue and would be very grateful for any advice and recommendations.
Coming over from the U.K. without a clue and would be very grateful for any advice and recommendations.
May 3rd, 2004, 07:03 AM
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Valery, the total area you're talking about is quite large & some of the specific areas (like "the Keys" or Palm Beach/Ft Lauderdale) are also. Since we all tend to underestimate driving distances (Americans do it in Europe & Europeans do it here) I wonder how long your trip is to cover this distance?
Here are some places I know:
The Marriott in Del Ray Beach (south of Palm Beach & north of Boca Raton) is very nice, ON the beach & also in a downtown area where you can walk to lots of restaurants at night without having to drive. Perhaps a bit less expensive is the Colony Hotel, also in Del Ray but not on the beach. They have their own beach club though & a shuttle bus to take you there.
In the same general area as Del Ray (so pick one or the other) is Singer Island which has a number of chain hotels-Hilton, Holiday Inn etc. This is a pretty beach & tends to be a bit less expensive than other locations. A few restaurants & shops but not many within a walk.
The Sheraton Bal Harbor I think would be considered Ft Lauderdale. It's on the beach & across the street from a really upscale shopping center. I love the location but you might prefer staying in South Beach (Miami).
In Naples, the hotels ON the beach are not in town. I've stay at the Inn on Fifth which is/was great value in a terrific location for shops & restaurants but it doesn't have a nice pool & is a drive to the beach. But we did drive to the beach, found parking (you need your own chairs etc. to do this). The Escalante is also mentioned here often as a good downtown hotel also not ON the beach. If you want to stay on the beach, you have to go north fo town.
BTW, do you know about the search function here? Type in the box above (Naples hotels for example) & click find & you'll see previous threads with info. Also, under hotels above, there are write ups on places in all these areas. Happy planning!
Here are some places I know:
The Marriott in Del Ray Beach (south of Palm Beach & north of Boca Raton) is very nice, ON the beach & also in a downtown area where you can walk to lots of restaurants at night without having to drive. Perhaps a bit less expensive is the Colony Hotel, also in Del Ray but not on the beach. They have their own beach club though & a shuttle bus to take you there.
In the same general area as Del Ray (so pick one or the other) is Singer Island which has a number of chain hotels-Hilton, Holiday Inn etc. This is a pretty beach & tends to be a bit less expensive than other locations. A few restaurants & shops but not many within a walk.
The Sheraton Bal Harbor I think would be considered Ft Lauderdale. It's on the beach & across the street from a really upscale shopping center. I love the location but you might prefer staying in South Beach (Miami).
In Naples, the hotels ON the beach are not in town. I've stay at the Inn on Fifth which is/was great value in a terrific location for shops & restaurants but it doesn't have a nice pool & is a drive to the beach. But we did drive to the beach, found parking (you need your own chairs etc. to do this). The Escalante is also mentioned here often as a good downtown hotel also not ON the beach. If you want to stay on the beach, you have to go north fo town.
BTW, do you know about the search function here? Type in the box above (Naples hotels for example) & click find & you'll see previous threads with info. Also, under hotels above, there are write ups on places in all these areas. Happy planning!
May 3rd, 2004, 08:32 PM
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I don't know of any hotels in mid-price range in Clwr./st. pete that include breakfast. Not knowing what you consider mid-range, let me recommend the Alden on St. Pete Beach. Or the Bonaire. Both hotels have kitchen units. In Clearwater, the Clearwater Beach Hotel has many different room accomodations. Look them up: clearwaterbeachhotel.com.
In Naples, I stayed at what I think was called the Vanderbilt Inn near the Ritz Carlton. It was very nice, much nicer than the Hilton which was more expensive. Not very many hotels in Naples are on the beach.
In Naples, I stayed at what I think was called the Vanderbilt Inn near the Ritz Carlton. It was very nice, much nicer than the Hilton which was more expensive. Not very many hotels in Naples are on the beach.
May 13th, 2004, 11:00 AM
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Hi - Just to say "Thankyou" for taking the time and trouble to reply. Your suggestions are very helpful. We're coming over for three weeks so we're hoping we'll have enough time to drive from Orlando to Palm Beach then down through Miami to Florida Keys, through the Everglades to Naples and up to St Petes and Clearwater before driving back to Orlando for the last six days. Is that being too ambitious? Are there any places we should "drive through" as opposed to "not miss" to save some time.Thanks again for your advice.
May 13th, 2004, 02:35 PM
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One man's "must see" is another man's "drive thru." I think you should say what interests/expectations you have & describe the kind of trip you envision. How much driving vs how much relaxing? Are you looking for beach or pool or both?To my mind this is overly ambitious. You don't really have 3 weeks if you're staying 6 days in Orlando at the end. It's really only 2 weeks. Unfortunately, the way to make the trip more manageable is to skip what I think might be the most interesting for you, the Keys. Key West, the furthest Key is the most unusual & generally liked. I don't have a good sense of your budget, when you're going or the make up of your party. Unless you have kids, 6 days in Orlando is not necessary. When you're going will also make a big differnece in prices. The summer in Florida is low season.
So tell us what you like (nature, fishing, shopping, art etc.) & who's going. Are you already comitted to the 6 days in Orlando?
So tell us what you like (nature, fishing, shopping, art etc.) & who's going. Are you already comitted to the 6 days in Orlando?
