Irishtmac

I am getting married at a hotel in December the night before we leave for a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale...I have honed in on Marriott Harbour Beach Hotel....comments and/or advice from anyone greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!

andy

irishtmac--

You might also want to look into the Pier House-- it is a hyatt..and has a terrific garden with waterfall area ....

Irishtmac

I'll look into that, Andy. Hey-do you know anything about a small hotel called the Towers?

Irishtmac

I'm sorry---I meant to say the Pillars at New River Sound....have you heard of it or know anything about it???

andy

irismac-- I have no knowledge of Pillars---sorry....

LilMsFoodie

Pier House is in Key West. Pier 66 is the Hyatt. While a nice hotel I think the Marriott might be more the ticket. I had a fabulous dinner at 3030 there in the hotel, one of the best I've had recently and I am a somewhat hard to please foodie. The rooms are a Marriott standard however. If this is of paramount importance I'd call the hotel direct to inquire on the better rooms. We always get an Ocean front room. The word Front is paramount here as the Ocean View can be sort of nothing and the others may have water views, but is of a distant Intracoastal waterway. My husband and I love this hotel and use it often for weekend getaways. Excellent spa. LMF

andy

sorry- I did screw up -Pier 66 Hyatt is the one I meant--

having a brain mess up-- I stay there everytime I cruise out of ft lauderdale

Irishtmac

Thanks Lilmisfoodie! I was looking at 30/30 for the dinner reception so that sounds great! Problem with Pier 66 is it isn't on a beach. Lilmisfoodie, can you think of anywhere else which would be better? What about Lago Mar or that Yankee clipper? Lago mar looks nice but that Yankee Clipper seems to get good review in terms of beach but isn't it kind of dated?

HarryR

While we didn't stay at the Pillars, we did tour it on our last visit to Fort Lauderdale. Can't compare it to Harbor Beach, it is small and intimate. Fairly upscale with nice rooms located right on the intracoastal waterway. It is 1 block from the beach and there is dining within walking disatnce. Pool located in a central area behind the hotel overlooking the intracoastal. The Water Taxi will make a stop at this hotel as well. While I may hesitate to spend a week here, I would love it for a night or two, especially if you are able to get one of the rooms overlooking the intracoastal.
Lago Mar is also a very nice place, especially if you get one of their executive suites. The two Shreatons located on the beach are very over-rated in my opinion. Pier 66 nice if you can get a tower room, thier cabana rooms are very dated.

Heartburn3

Tripadvisor might help you decide on the Pillars. The reviews are varied. Some people loved it and some didn't. I've lived in Ft. Lauderdale all my life and had never heard of it before.

You can't go wrong if you select the Marriott Harbor Beach. Right on the beach and very nice. I've never stayed there, but have been inside and it's lovely. The water taxi is available just a couple blocks away from the hotel. It's on the south end of the beach and that's a very nice area to be on. I've stayed at the Radisson Bahia Mar and the view looking to the north on the upper levels (partial ocean view) is fantastic. You see the marinas and intracoastal waterway on one side, the Fort Lauderdale Strip in the middle and the ocean on the other side. Get at least 7-8 floor for a good view.

Either hotel (Marriott or Radisson) are great choices, and beautiful.

clairelong

returned in June from a great stat at Mariott Harbor Beach...excellent location....definitely a great location. Right on the beach...in the evening we sat out on the lounge chairs watching the cruise ships go out and the planes ever so often coming and going with a great breeze...there wasn't a nicer moment...wasn't crowded ....have a great time!

Postal

Marriott Harbor Beach is the greatest hotel I've stayed in on the water - you can't go wrong there!

LilMsFoodie

Yankee Clipper is dumpish. The bar is a hoot however. Has been featured in movies as it has the water tank and girls diving. Think of "Analyze This" with DiNiro and Billy Crystal. It is a short walk up the beach from Harbour Beach.

By the way, the spa at Harbour Beach is awesome. If there is any time for you to schedule perhaps a massage or something to allay those pre wedding jitters, I'd do it.

Stephie

We debated between Lago Mar and Marriott last summer and ended up at the Lago Mar. After walking the beach and going by Marriott Harbor Beach, I was so glad we chose Lago Mar. They have the most awesome lagoon pool, it's really beautiful. I realize we go to Florida and the Caribbean for the beaches, but this pool was so nice, I could have stayed there and not set foot on the beach. We swam and relaxed there for hours. I really liked the smallish, quaint atmosphere of Lago Mar better than a highrise.

It just seemed dead at the beach and pool near the Marriott, and the beach was quite sloped downhill from the Marriott, much flatter in front of Lago Mar. May not matter to you, but my ankles were a little sore after walking the sloped beach for a while, and I'm a long distance runner. It really became more sloped and annoying the further N. I walked from Lago Mar toward Marriott.

That's my two cents. Don't know if those things matter to you, but we really loved and highly recommend Lago Mar!

Good Luck!