blmer

Hello Everyone,

I would like to get some advice on lodging in the Ft. Lauderdale area. We are flying into Ft Lauderdale in January, then heading south to the Keys and Everglades and maybe over to Naples/Ft. Myers area, to return to Ft. Lauderdale in 10 days.

We will probably stay one extra night around Ft. Lauderdale to take in some things there, and then spend the night there before we fly out.

Looking at the map, which I realize can be deceiving, it looks the the Ft. L. airport is pretty centrally located and not too far from downtown, the Waterway/river and the coast. Is it reasonable to think about staying at a hotel somewhere in the vicinity of the airport area and setting out from there to sightsee?

We're going to have a car. We're probably just thinking of some basic sightseeing. Las Olas blvd. and the riverwalk, maybe the African Queen boat trip, that sort of thing. We'd probably want to visit the beach there but don't need to stay on the beach.

If this plan will work, does anyone have any recommendations for a decent place to stay? We don't need top-of-the-line accommodations, but clean, safe, quiet are important. We definitely do not want to be in a low-quality, run-down place in a questionable area (like some of the places I've read about here).

As an alternative, would it be worthwhile to consider someplace north or south, e.g. Deerfield Beach, with the thought of driving into Ft. Lauderdale for the day?

Thank you in advance for your replies. I really appreciate all the great information from this board.

Anonymous

If you're going to check out Las Oas Blvd anyway, you should stay at the Riverside Hotel, which is a charming old place (well, the new wing isn't) right on East Las Olas.

LLindaC

Lauderdale By the Sea is a nice area. You can get an excellent bid at Priceline in FLL. My friend just got the Sheraton Yankee Clipper for 50 dollars a night. There is some info on that here. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Nov. You can bid for that as well. I didn't have a perfect xperience there, but it has a nice free breakfast and cocktils nightly. I love taking the water taxi around... if you're staying on the water or on Los Olas, you can do that for 5 bucks a day.very relaxing, and the tour guides are fun, You get to see all the houses where the $$$ live. I don't suggest staying by the airport. It's close to the beach and tourist areas of FLL, though not a great area to stay. it will only take you 15 min to get to the airport from most hotels, anyway. If you need any info on the Keys, Naples , Sanibel or Fort Myers, write me at [email protected]. My parents lived in Florida for over 20 years and I've traveled there extensively.

Anonymous

Remember that on Priceline, you're not bidding for a specific hotel, but for a zone and star level. There have been a couple of recent discussions on these boards about PL and Ft. L, and of course you can learn everything you need to know at www.biddingfortravel.com

blmer

Hello again,

Thank you for the info. Just what I'm looking for. Will welcome any more thoughts.

Oops. Now that I reread my post, I'm pretty sure the boat is the Jungle Queen, not the African Queen. Oh well. (Bogart was referenced a few times on Larry King last night, probably made the African Queen pop into my head.)

Anyway, LLindaC Thank you for the kind offer. I will do that when I get more thoughts together.

I have never used Priceline. Can you actually specify a property? I thought you could just do a general location and quality rating or something like that.

I wasn't necessarily thinking of the immediate airport area, but maybe between the airport and downtown. Would it be best to just go outside the airport/downtown area anyway?

Thank you again for the replies.

squeaky88th

I just got back from Fort Lauderdale and stayed at the Doubletree Beachfront in Ft. Laud by the sea via Priceline - $40 a night + $10 parking (which it seems most hotels charge).

I liked the hotel because it was away from the busy section of the beachfront and steps away from the beach. The rooms are clean and well maintained. Actually the building feels rather new.

I'm glad I didn't get the Holiday Inn. I'm not so sure next time if I'll take the chance of getting it and will perhaps try for a 4 star or a three star in another area.

The downtown area is a short drive from the airport - might as well stay in the more interesting part of town.

Patrick

One thing to thing about. What you can get from Priceline in the extremely quiet month of December and what you'll pay for the same place in BUSY January are like night and day.

The airport really is close to "downtown" so there's no real reason to think about the exact location for distance.

Treck

You can't go wrong with the Lago Mar right on the beach.

www.lagomar.com