All,

Traveling with Family with small children (3 and 7). Need a beach hotel in October. Prefer fine sand and calm waters. Not sure between Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. Will be driving from Orlando. Any suggestions for location and Hotels?

--CM

The sand is pretty much the same in PB or FTL. It's just a matter of personal preference. I like PB, Jupiter area better personally. PB County is closer, depending on where you stay, you could save an hour in the car. Your best bet is to chose a hotel w/direct access to the beach. HOw much do you want to spend?

Hi, just back from 1st visit to Palm Beach. I have been to Ft. Lauderdale as well, and prefer Palm Beach. We stayed at the Marriott Ocean Pointe on Singer Island. I loved Singer Island and the Sailfish Marina nearby. We had my 2 year old with us, so I know all about travelling with children. The sand was nice and had a ton of seashells. Surprisingly, did not even bother us to walk on them. The water was warm and clear and we enjoyed jumping the waves in the ocean as well.

CM, your question is too broad. There are loads of hotels in the Ft. Lauderdale area from Ft. Lauderdale downtown near Las Olas to Lauderdale by the Sea. There are a bunch of hotels in Palm Beach County on the water but very few (the Breakers is the only one I can think of) in Palm Beach itself. As onewanderingjew says, the sand is pretty similar and is, IMO the water conditions. What really makes a difference is the ambiance of the immediate area and the prices. If you have specific hotels picked out tell us what they are and we can voice an opinion. If you don't have hotels picked, give us your budget and we can make recos.

Also, some areas are easier to manage without a car while others a car is required. I agree Singer Island is a good beach with a number of the chain hotels but you do need a car there and it's not really that close to the town of Palm Beach.

mclaurie,

Thanks for requesting clarification. If possible I would like to use Hilton or Marriott points. Secondly, I prefer calm , clear waters and fine sand but I am not sure if duirng october the waters will be calm at all. I am travelling from Orlando so no particular preference for Ft lauderdale or Palm beach as long as I am away from partying college kids but yet near to other restraunts. Plan to sepnd pretty much 4 nights.

I will be renting a car so thats fine. BTW thanks for the infop so far.

My first thought is the Marriott in Delray Beach. It sits on the ocean and at the end of Atlantic Ave. which is the "main drag" in downtown Delray with lots of restaurants and shops. It's a short car ride to either West Palm/Palm Beach or Boca Raton.

The Marriott Harbor Beach in Ft. Lauderdale is also very popular and near all the action in Fll. Then there's the one Kristin mentions on Singer Island. Singer Island is a more "removed" location than the others but not unpleasantly so. It tends to have better prices than other locations so if you're using points, unless they require less I'd pick one of the other locations with a bit more happening. There's also a Hilton on Singer Island. Look for reviews on tripadvisor. I can't remember if it's good.

BTW, you might find calmer waters on the Gulf side. Just a thought. I also think you might want to repost your question with a headline that's more specific. Best Marriott or Hilton in Florida in Oct. on the beach or something like that.