Sleep Inn- Dania/FLL

[holomuku]

Considering this for a one night precruise stay-

 

I know there is a Walgreen's close by-do they sell liquor or just wine/beer?

Is there a liquor store within walking distance of the hotel?

 

(hey- we all have our priorities!)

 

thanks in advance

[TrentS]

Some Walgreens have full liquor stores, but that one is not one of them. There's a small strip mall across the street with a Publix but they only sell beer & wine as well. There are no liquor stores in the area. In fact that's all there is in the area other than apartments and a nature preserve. If you don't have a rental car there's nowhere to eat around there except Chinese take away and pizza take away in the strip mall. There are no real restaurants, that motel is best only if you have a car.

[holomuku]

Trent-

 

thanks so much for the info....Now looking at staying at the La Quinta (Hollywood) where they say they have stores & restaurants within walking distance.

 

you are quite the ambassador for your city- thanks so much from those of us that are in the "need to know" mode!

[TrentS]

Yeah, there are some restaurants and shops within walking distance of La Quinta, not sure about liquor stores though. The nicest area to stay in along SE 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale as it's close to the airport, just outside the entrance to Port Everglades and everything you could possibly want (including liquor stores) is right there among the hotels.

[legalslave]

Holomuku, I suggest not staying at the Sleep Inn in Dania. We

stayed there and were very displeased. We waited for over an hour at the airport for the shuttle to arrive. When we got to the hotel, the staff was extremely rude. We thought it may have been that we were 2 women traveling together. After speaking with other guests at checkout, found out they were rude to everyone they spoke with. They were also rude at checkout. If you go to the Walgreens, watch carefully what they are charging you for. I was charged twice for 1 $7.00 item. Went back in the morning as soon as they opened and they did not seemed surprised about it and didn't question it at all. As we were leaving, I heard another customer speaking to another clerk saying they were charged twice for the same item the night before. Coincidence???

 

Diane

[holomuku]

Trent and Diane-

 

thanks for the input-right now we're booked at the La Quinta, (Hollywood) night of the 14th. Now that I know the King Tut Exhibit is opening the 15th- that might explain why all the 17th street area hotels are SO high. Then when you add 11% tax....well, it adds up. We've stayed in the 17th St area before (Embassy Suites) and Trent is right- it's very handy. Even managed to get a suitcase repaired before leaving town...but this will be a "crash and get up" type trip so don't need much.

 

I called the LQ and the front desk lady said that there is a BJ's (I'm guessing it's like our Costco?) close by. She said they sell liquor and you do not have to be a member to purchase liquor there-- not sure why that would be unless it's some weird state law or something (which all states have weird laws- not picking on FL!). She said it was a 10 minute walk which is quite doable for us.

 

Even at that -- the LQ is $103 before taxes on the AARP rate for the 14th. Again, as Trent says, I think tourism is up, it's a high time of year and the KT exhibit doesn't help. I had the good fortune to see that exhibit in SFO many (many) years ago- fabulous!!

 

everyone seems to have a high opinions on the LQ- so we'll find out. Believe me, we've stayed in the good, the bad and one time the VERY ugly (and I'm still hearing about it!) so we can manage no matter what. I mean- we're going on a cruise so what can be so bad? Main thing is to get there a day ahead of time.....

 

again, thanks for all your help. Really helps to have someone on site and/or experienced the hotel that can provide input.

[FunCruiser56]

Now we had a totally different experience at the Sleep Inn. We were picked up within 15 min of calling from the Airport.. Front desk was very friendly. I might mention that we were staying here FREE using our choicehotel points.

I worried that we might get a crappy room but this was not the case. A nice room with 2 Qbeds and a double sleeper sofa. Microwave/fridge. Room was clean and well maintained.

Our son swam at the very small pool- he had the whole thing to himself.

We were able to pick up soda/water snacks at the grocery store and also went to the Walgreens in search of some swim goggles. Found what we needed and no problems.

There is limited food choices, we ended up getting food at the deli at the Grocery store and the kids picked up microwave food. WE went down to the breakfast area at the hotel and asked for plates and utensels. All were given to us with a friendly smile.

 

Breakfast the next morning was quite good, and included all the regular breakfast foods, but also freshmade waffles, boiled eggs and biscuts and gravy. No one went hungry :) :)

Our cruise was leaving from Miami so we booked a limo to surprise our kids, but the people leaving from FLL had a large shuttle bus (not van) with a seperate trailer for all the luggage. Seemed like a good set up- you signed up for it when you checked in at the hotel. Front desk asked us if we needed transport to the port.

All in all we would stay here again even if we had to pay for it and were not using free points.

 

Bev

[helenkpa]

We stayed at the Sleep Inn this year before our cruise in April. It was fine, not a lot of things in the area, but that was okay with us as we did not arrive until after 6:00 pm. When we called for the shuttle they told us we would have to wait about a 1/2 of an hour, but it actually arrived within 15 minutes.

There is a small Italian restaurant over in the strip mall, the food was excellent, but I can not recall it's name.

There was only one person at the front desk and he was very very busy, there were alot of phone calls coming in. He was very nice though and we were checked in right away.

The breakfast offerings were fair, it was okay for us, we knew we'd be getting fed once we were on board the ship.

[cruiseseeker]

Any other hotels right in the same vicinity as the Renaissance and Embassy? Looking for a hotel that has shopping/food/liquor within walking distance. Also, a view of the ships would be great too. Thanks for your help.

[TrentS]

Here's the list of SE 17th Street hotels:

 

Renaissance... http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/FLLBR

 

Embassy Suites... http://www.embassysuites.com/en/es/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=FLLSOES

 

Marina Marriott (great port view from the south side of the tower)... http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/FLLFL

 

Holiday Inn Express... http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ex/1/en/hd/fllcc

 

Extended Stay America... http://www.extendedstayamerica.com/hotels/fort-lauderdale-convention-center-marina.html

 

AmeriSuites... http://amerisuites.com/reservations/locationdetail.asp?facid=3929

AmeriSuites is less expensive through Priceline or Valuetrips... http://www.valuetrips.com/AMS/FL/F17.htm

 

If you want a nice port view Hyatt Pier 66's tower has great views, but it's across the bridge and a quite long walk to shopping... http://pier66.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml

[berbet]

You guys are making me nerveous as we have booked Sleep Inn for an upcoming cruise after reading great reviews here on the boards.

[cruiseseeker]

Booked the Renaissance on 17th and hope it's a close to everything. I also hope the hurricane hasn't damaged too much in the area.

[TrentS]

Booked the Renaissance on 17th and hope it's a close to everything. I also hope the hurricane hasn't damaged too much in the area.

The Renaissance on SE 17th Street is a great hotel within easy walking distance to everything you could possibly want! No, there's no real damage in Fort Lauderdale. There were some trees down and sand blown onto A1A, but everything's pretty much back to normal now. :)

[cruiseseeker]

TrentS, I knew you would be the one to reply and quick too. (That is a good thing). Thanks for all your help on these boards and it's nice to hear that things are getting back to norm there.

Thanks

[TrentS]

No problem... We just had a slight breeze compared to what the poor people on the Gulf coast had. :eek:

[imacruizer]

Berbet,

If you are just looking for a clean, comfortable place to stay precruise, I think you will be pleased with the Sleep Inn. There is not a lot to do in the area, but if you are just flying in late afternoon or evening and going to the ship the next morning, it has everything you need. We ate at the Italian Restaurant someone else mentioned. It was good. The complementary shuttle was great for transportation from the airport and to the port. We would not hesitate to book the Sleep Inn again.

[maritimer]

Is this a good choice for one night pre-cruise? Have stayed at Amerisuites and Embassy Suites before but this looked like a less expensive option. Anyone stayed there?

Thanks for any advice!

(sorry just noticed the same question posed by "brightside" in a separate post so ignore this - I will look there for answers)

[TrentS]

I'll answer here anyway in case anyone else is interested... Extended Stay America on SE 17th Street is a nice place, and the location is GREAT! It's less than 10 minutes from FLL, just outside the entrance to Port Everglades, and right in the middle of everything, easy walking distance to everything you could possibly want. It's a no frills, budget hotel with no pool or restaurant, but there are plenty of restaurants within a block or two.