80's Decor - Embassy 17th St Fort Lauderdale??

I've seen a number of hotel reviews that are somewhat mixed on the 17th St Embassy Suites. Many say the hotel is way overdue for a makeover and that last one came in the 80's. I'm sure that is a bit of a stretch, but how bad is the hotel? I have an upcoming reservation, using points. I will not have a car, so location is important, but I do not want to stay in a rat hole. Just need a decent place to stay beforehand with access to laundry facilities. Thanks all!!

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We will be staying here for the 4th time this summer.

Over the years the suites have been re-done, from the bathrooms to the guest rooms.

Over - all the hotel is one of the older ones.

But the ammenities make it a worth while resting place.

Beautiful pool.

Evening cocktails, free with munchies.

Complete breakfast from cereals to fresh made hot eggs the way you like, muffins to oatmeal.

Walking distance to Publix and wine store.

$7.00 dollar per person shuttle to port.

$20 dollar cab including tip to port.

Laundry room, no problem getting to use it.

Nice sitting area.

For the price we enjoy.

Havent seen bugs here in all our stays.

Too each his own, but it meets our needs.

Enjoy, we do.

It's not a "rathole". It's a very popular hotel with one night pre cruisers. Yes it could be updated. Yes it is high priced for an off beach hotel. But close to port, stores and a handful of casual restaurants.

For the money, we wouldn't choose busy 17th St. Many do, however.

We stayed 2 years ago and wouldn't stay again, especially if it has not been updated. Things were not in great shape. Neither the food nor the service in the restaurant (they inexplicably gave us a free meal) was even "fair." Yes, it is VERY popular with cruisers. So the pre-cruise nights and mornings are really, really crazy and crowded. We're Hilton Honors silver, so we do enough business with Hilton's chains to know what to expect from them. Not this.

If you have a big party of people who can get value from sharing the "suite" and getting all the free drinks and breakfast, but don't have super high standards, then it's a good choice. As mentioned by others, the inexpensive shuttle to the port and the variety of stores across the street are a bonus.

We stayed last year before going on Oasis.

Our room definitely could have used some "refreshing". Smelled musty and the décor was just "blah".

With that being said, the location cannot be beat. Breakfast was AWESOME!!!! (included in our rate).

The Managers reception was horrible, with the exception of the free drinks.

Stale chips and salsa. Stale popcorn and I don't remember what else. NOTHING impressive.

Mixed opinions. Probably would stay again just for the location and breakfast.:')

We have stayed there several times over the years and find the ES to to be a very nice place to stay, however on cruise days the elevators can be a real hassle.

We have stayed there but would not stay again. For us, there are better options.

We find the rooms very dark, the furnishings in need of updating/replacement. Elevators very slow. We actually prefer the rooms in the Hyatt Place across the street.

The 'so callled' free breakfast is not a draw for us. Happy to stay at a less expensive place and go out for breakfast if we so wish. Don't care about the cocktails either..really how much is a glass of wine or a beer in the bar across the street?

Forget the shuttle to the port...take a cab.

There is nothing wrong with the hotel but be prepared for the rooms. The lobby renovations of a few years ago have not, to the best of my knowledge, continued through to the rooms.

I've seen a number of hotel reviews that are somewhat mixed on the 17th St Embassy Suites. Many say the hotel is way overdue for a makeover and that last one came in the 80's. I'm sure that is a bit of a stretch, but how bad is the hotel? I have an upcoming reservation, using points. I will not have a car, so location is important, but I do not want to stay in a rat hole. Just need a decent place to stay beforehand with access to laundry facilities. Thanks all!!

Like all the hotels in the 17th Street area it's overrated and overpriced, mostly because people stay there, see the water and a few yachts, so they think everything is wonderful and groovy then they rave about it on cruise critic as the only option in Ft Lauderdale. And that drives up prices.

Yes, it's close to the port and the area is nice, but so what? What difference does it really make if you are 1 mile from the port entrance or 2 or 3 miles from the port entrance? There are lots of nicer, newer hotels in nice areas, but they are a little farther away and you can't see yachts if you take a 2 mile walk to the Intracoastal and back.

You could stay at the Hampton Inn-Plantation which has both a complementary airport and Port Everglades shuttle, breakfast and within walking distance of two nice malls, a Publix Grocery Store, Total Wine and dozen of restaurants. It's a few miles from the port, but so what? You're about to go on a cruise where you will see plenty of water.

You could stay at one of the four hotels located at I-95 and Griffin Road (Homestead Suites, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn and Courtyard) which are a couple miles south of the airport and Port Everglades and a short walk to two of the oldest, icon restaurants in the Ft Lauderdale area which have been open 60% of the years Ft Lauderdale has been an incorporated city.

Rustic Inn Crabhouse...

http://arkrestaurants.com/rustic-inn-fort-lauderdale/

Tropical Acres Steakhouse...

http://www.tropicalacres.com/

I would hardly call it a rat hole, but it's definitely an older Embassy Suites property.

Roz

Like all the hotels in the 17th Street area it's overrated and overpriced, mostly because people stay there, see the water and a few yachts, so they think everything is wonderful and groovy then they rave about it on cruise critic as the only option in Ft Lauderdale. And that drives up prices.

 

Yes, it's close to the port and the area is nice, but so what? What difference does it really make if you are 1 mile from the port entrance or 2 or 3 miles from the port entrance? There are lots of nicer, newer hotels in nice areas, but they are a little farther away and you can't see yachts if you take a 2 mile walk to the Intracoastal and back.

 

You could stay at the Hampton Inn-Plantation which has both a complementary airport and Port Everglades shuttle, breakfast and within walking distance of two nice malls, a Publix Grocery Store, Total Wine and dozen of restaurants. It's a few miles from the port, but so what? You're about to go on a cruise where you will see plenty of water.

 

You could stay at one of the four hotels located at I-95 and Griffin Road (Homestead Suites, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn and Courtyard) which are a couple miles south of the airport and Port Everglades and a short walk to two of the oldest, icon restaurants in the Ft Lauderdale area which have been open 60% of the years Ft Lauderdale has been an incorporated city.

 

Rustic Inn Crabhouse...

http://arkrestaurants.com/rustic-inn-fort-lauderdale/

 

Tropical Acres Steakhouse...

http://www.tropicalacres.com/

And if you want to experience what makes Fort Lauderdale different from other places stay at the Riverside on Las Olas or one of the many hotels on the intracoastal or the beach.

We prefer to stay somewhere that says ," Welcome to Florida ". So staying at the airport or on the busy 17th St. doesn't do it for us. Coming from the midwest in winter steers us to views of the ocean.;)

This is the only hotel in Fort Lauderdale that I won't stay at precruise or not. There are many better options than ES. Please do your homework. If it's any help, the ES is not cheap either. I was just pricing hotels yesterday and it's still up there in price with others.

We have stayed at Renaissance Plantation a few times when we had a rental car. Same with Westin FLL (by I95). Both very good.

On the beach we like Westin and we also had a great experience at the Courtyard.

There are so many good places to stay. 17th is certainly not the be all and end all. Most especially if you have wheels. We have stayed in Palm Beach and in Melbourne when we have done some pre cruise travel and then driven down, dropped the car, and went to the cruise port.

We have stayed at Renaissance Plantation a few times when we had a rental car. Same with Westin FLL (by I95). Both very good.

 

On the beach we like Westin and we also had a great experience at the Courtyard.

 

There are so many good places to stay. 17th is certainly not the be all and end all. Most especially if you have wheels. We have stayed in Palm Beach and in Melbourne when we have done some pre cruise travel and then driven down, dropped the car, and went to the cruise port.

For people flying into West Palm I would tell them to stay at the Fairfield Inn in Delray Beach. They have an incredible downtown with so many quaint shops, restaurants and antique stores

That is good advice. IF we are flying for a cruise we usually check airfare to FLL, MIA, PBE, and sometimes Tampa or Orlando. It is not unusual for us to fly into MIA and fly out of FLL. We usually have several days or weeks of pre cruise so we cherry pick air. Florida is one place that we have never had a drop off charge on a rental car. This has made it easy for us. Plus, it has encouraged us to visit most places in Florida over the years.