Anyone familiar with this hotel??? It looks like it's close to the beach and close enough to the airport (7am flight). Any feedback or comments on the hotel and restaurants in the area or along the beach in FLL would be great.

We haven't stayed at this hotel, but have stayed in the area many times. The Renaissance is about 3/4 mile from the beach and 5-10 minuted from the airport.
Bravo Italiano and Bimini Boatyard are both located in the shopping plaza just up the block on 17th street from the hotel. Both serve very good food. Bimini actually has some outside dining on the canal located behind the restaurant. Check these places out and don't be fooled by the fact that they are located in a shopping plaza, you won't be disappointed. If you want something less expensive there is a Hops restaurant across the street from Bravo that has its own brewed beer and some fairly basic meals.

I don't know what HarryR is talking about, since I have stayed at the hotel, and it is nowhere hear the beach. You cannpt walk to the beach, you have to take a cab. I would say that it is more like 3 miles to the beach, and NOT walkable. I thought it was walkable too, until we tried it. Ilike in Manhattan, and we walk everywhere here in NYC. I will copy & paste a review of the hotel I wrote for another bulletin board.

The Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Hotel is a luxurious boutique-style hotel with an island colonial decor. Located in Quay Center two miles south of downtown, this full-service property is across the street from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1.5 blocks from the Broward County Convention Center and one mile west of public beaches. The Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Hotel offers deluxe accommodations including concierge level rooms, the critically acclaimed Darryl and Oliver's Bistro 17 restaurant, fitness center and outdoor swimming pool, nine thousand eight hundred square feet of meeting space and non-smoking public areas. Water taxi service along the Intracoastal Waterway is available one block away

Sorry , should have said the last was copied from a travel web site. One mile, not 3/4 from beach.

Stayed here 1 night for a pre-cruise-non Priceline stay on 1/19/02.
Hotel has free shuttle to/from airport, so after getting my bags at the airport, I called the hotel for pick-up. A van arrived about 10-15 mins. after. The hotel was about 10-15 mins away from the airport, with the Embassy Suites nearby. A new high-rise building, the rectangular tower sits back and perpendicular from the main road, with a parking lot out front. A nice portico shelters the front entrance. The main lobby is spacious ,and nicely furnished, with the front desk and elevators situated in the rear of the building.

Check-in was efficent, but not particularly friendly, and dispite being a Marriott frequent guest member, when I politely asked for a complementary up-grade, none was given.(BTW, I was staying free because of redeemed frequent stay pts.)

The room was very nicely furnished, although not particularly large. King-size bed, desk, TV Cabinet, Nintenedo. Bathroom was again very nicely appointed, but not large. Bath & Body Works amenities were present (FWIW- It was interesting to note that the size of the bathrm supplies by Bath & Body Works were noticeably SMALLER than when I had last stayed @ a Renaissance in Maui, about 4 yrs ago. At that hotel, I had remarked about the generous size of the toiletries)

The hotel has a small outdoor pool, with some room around it to sun, but being that it is located towards the front and thus near the main road, it wouldn't be all that relaxing.
There is a restaurant on premises, but we chose to walk across the st. to a local diner called Joes. It was a perfect place for a basic lunch and/or breakfast. There are other restaurants within walking distance; I think there is an Outback steakhouse nearby. There is also a strip mall with a supermarket that's within walking distance, where you can pick-up any last minute supplies.
The hotel has complementary shuttle service to nearby locations, but NOT to the cruise ship pier. Not an issue, since it is only a five min, $5 cab ride to the ship pier.

The only negative is the 'inexperienced' service from the hotel staff, which may be due to it's newness. We had taken advantage of the hotel's advertised complementary shoeshine service;our dress shoes needed a shine. There was a bag to put them in, along with a card, where we put our name and rm #. A uniformed hotel person came by to pick them up, and I told him that we would like then back tonight, although we really didn't need them until the morning. Well, we didn't get them back that evening, nor were they at the door the next morning. I called housekeeping, and asked them to bring back our shoes. When we came back from breakfast, no shoes, no message. Turns out they have no idea where they were; nobody on their staff claims to have taken the shoes, or has seen them. Speaking with the most senior person on staff, he wasn't professional, nor helpful. He didn't even have a business card to give me! He took a piece of memo paper with the hotel's address,wrote his name on it, and told us to send him the receipts when we buy new shoes.
Dispite this mishap, we were quite happy with the hotel, it was brand new, and spanking clean.

I don't care what the own hotel site puts down, I do not consider The Renaisaance walkable to the beach! What they fail to mention is that you have to walk over the intracoastal bridge to get to the beach. The Hyatt Pier 66 hotel is just on the other side of the bridge. You do get a beautiful view of some of the cruise ships that are docked from the bridge; however, you have to WALK UP AND OVER the bridge! For any average person, the walk from the Renaisaance to the Hyatt would itself take 30 mins - I would say it would take another 40 to 55 mins to walk to the main part of the the beach. So, if your idea of fun is to walk in the hot Florida sun for over 1 hr, half of it up hill over a large concrete & steel bridge, then after a day in the sun you have to WALK BACK up an over that bridge, then be my guest!
Oh, did I mention that the bridge opens - when we tried that walk, it was when the bridge was opening. It was exciting to see a huge draw bridge open & close - never seen open do that up close - but it does take about 15 mins for the total process, during which you cannot cross it, for obvious reason!

Great! Thanks for the info. Most of our time will be spent in Delray Beach, so we'll only be in FLL for late afternoon/evening because our flight leaves at 7am. Plugged in $80 on priceline and this hotel is what it came back with, so I just wanted to make sure I didn't get a "four star" dump for my money. I was hoping I'd get the Westin because I loooovveee the Heavenly bed, but from what I've learned, the Renaissance will do. Thanks again for your help!

I also knnow the location of this hotel and that is correct it is not in my opinion close to the beach. Walking over a draw bridge would not be fun. If you are staying there for one night it is fine, but if your concern is to be close to the beach you need a hotel on A1A.

Hi There,
Back from Florida and the Renaissance was very nice. Definitely not within walking distance to the beach and kinda away from the action, but if you have a car while in town it's a good bet. Had dinner at Dewey's Catfish and it was delicious! We were a little skeptical at first but the parking lot was packed and a gentleman walking out told the food was great, so we went in and were surprised. All you can eat crab legs for about $22. The menu was full of choices and my sister and I left stuffed!!! That was the highlight of our one day stay in Fort Lauderdale (strolled down Las Olas-not impressed). We kinda wished we had stayed in Delray Beach at the absoutely beautiful new Residence Inn that is a couple doors down from the Marriott. But staying the last night in FLL at the Renaissance allowed us to sleep in a little before the early morning flight.

The 17th street drawbridge you are talking about actually goes up far less frequently than it used to before they made it much larger awhile back. I woudn't compare it to a huge hill---though in the Florida sun if you are planning on walking to the beack it is quite far away. I can't believe Joe's diner is still around--I haven't thought about that place in years. We used to go to it frequently when I was in 5th grade but then the quality of the food went way downhill. I can't believe ChiTricia--that not one thing on Las Olas impressed you. What were you going there for? There is amazing food at all price ranges and some interesting stores to check out.

a321sesame...I went to celebrate my birthday. It was a nice area and some of the restaurants looked as though they'd be great dining experiences, however the boutiques/stores offered products that seemed fitting for someone more mature in age than my sister and I. I was prepared for something a little more comparable to the Mag Mile here in Chicago, the Village in Houston or even Atlantic Blvd in Delray Beach....But in all fairness we were only there a short while.

Catfish Dewey's is a great place to eat. It's about 1/2 hr drive for us, but we go there 2-3 times a year. Usually get the catfish, but have had lots of different things there. The parking is terrible, and usually there is a wait, but well worth the effort, don't you think??

The Renaissance you stayed at is only about a year old, so it's quite new, too. I'm glad to hear what have to say about it, because loads of people want a place close to the port/airport. Did it have an airport shuttle? That's always a plus at ANY hotel. Las Olas Blvd is always changing, and there are loads of new upscale condos being built in the area, so I guess only the "mature" people can afford them... LOL. Hope you had a nice trip overall.