Can anyone reccomend the best resort/hotel for our family of 5 (3 kids age 9,7,3). We are flying into Fort Lauderdale in March. We are renting a car so we could go anywhere in Sothern Florida.

Importance
#1- great pool
#2-would be nice to be close to beach
#3-Kitchenete/suite would be nice but not essential


Dont care about local/proximity to town. Would like to keep it under $500/day

My recommendation would be the "Captiva Resort" at Siesta Key. It's a very friendly resort with kitchenette, clean as you could possibly find, excellent beach and pool, very kid friendly just steps from your door. See their site at Captivabeachresort.com. I've traveled extensively and this is the one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen, lot's of perfect white soft sand & shells. We arrived at Captiva as a stop off just to get our barings, it was our first trip to the gulf coast of Fl. we ended up stying for the whole week,and plan on many more trips there.
I also might add, the Ringling Bros Museum is not too far away in Sarasota.
Good Luck

Marriott Harbor Beach has a great pool and is one of the few reosrts right on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale. We stayed there over the summer a couple of years ago and the kids had a blast. Don't confuse it with Marriott Beach Place Towers which is across the street from the beach and sits on top of a shopping mall.

Marriott Harbor Beach has an advance rate (use code ADV) for $299/night in March.

I live in South Florida. I can recommend hotels but as far as the kitchenette that is something you will want to check out with each hotel.

Starting in Palm Beach there is the famous Breakers Resort. Recently remodeled and right on the beach, it is a vacation unto itself. Very Palm Beach che che ($$$$) but also very family friendly. I will be staying there in a few months with my kids ages 5 and 8. About 20 minutes south of the Breakers and a little more down to earth, is the Delray Beach Marriott. It is right across from the beach at the end of Atlantic Avenue - a street that is full of shops and restaurants. We frequent a few of the Delray Beach restaurants. If you travel another 20 miles south to Boca Raton there is the Boca Raton Hotel and Beach Resort - a beautiful resort ($$$$) that has two separate buildings the main building (a grand pink landmark in Boca Raton) and a beach tower. My family has stayed there when they come to visit and they always enjoy it. I would also agree with UConn1990 and recommend the Marriott Harbor Beach in Fort Lauderdale. That would be the closest hotel to the Fort Lauderdale airport and it has a great family reputation. Good luck!

We love Delray Beach for the beach and the in-town activities (shops, restaurants, galleries, etc). We've stayed at a variety of condo-type places with separate bedrooms and kitchens. I understand there are some more recent properties that have opened, so a quick internet search should provide you with lots of current info.

Just rethinking: not that it's far, but Delray Beach is actually closer to West Palm Beach airport. Another suggestion for a nice family area near Ft. Lauderdale is Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Good beaches, and fun/funky little town. It's close enough to the action in Ft. Lauderdale, so you can go there when you want, and stay away from it when you want.

Don't know about the _best_ resort but make sure the kids don't drive you to a _last_ resort...