Pre-cruise hotel: FLL

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, Yankee Couple said:

The hotel has a wonderful open air Breakfast Restaurant

But, when the wind is strongly coming off the ocean and the temperatures are cool (cold for Fort Lauderdale), one find it unpleasant to sit there as it was when I was there in January.  Even then, there were a few hardier souls than me who were braving the experience.

 

And, the food at the restaurant was very good, as was the service.

[sprockie]

We really like the Best Western on State Rd 84.  We've stayed there for the last 10 years or so.  Very handy to pick up quick items on foot - 2 minute walk from Winn Dixie, liquor store, fast food restaurants etc..  We don't want/need to spend big money to be on/near the beach for the night before.  We figure we'll be seeing it enough on the cruise.  BW was $279/night a few weeks ago when we stayed, and that's about the max I am prepared to pay for a basic hotel and breakfast the night before the cruise.  It's always been very clean and a cab is about $15 to the port.  Hampton Inn beside it is also very good.  

[iancal]

The ES remind us of an old ship that the owners are trying to squeeze every last dollar of revenue from.   It probably should have been sold or completely renewed a few years ago...or both.  When we stayed a few years ago other than the breakfast it was most certainly not up to the standard of other ES properties where we have stayed.

[maggieq]

Try the Renaissance on 17th. We have stayed there quite often and we pleased with  location/restaurants, and Walgreens across the street. 

 

I feel that the pre cruise hotel stay is part of the vacation so would rather pay a little more and stay somewhere safe and clean. 

Edited February 9, 2019 by maggieq

[harryw]

1 hour ago, maggieq said:

Try the Renaissance on 17th. We have stayed there quite often and we pleased with  location/restaurants, and Walgreens across the street. 

 

I feel that the pre cruise hotel stay is part of the vacation so would rather pay a little more and stay somewhere safe and clean. 

We were happy with the Renaissance 2 weeks ago. A minor complaint was low water pressure in the shower. I did note airline personnel staying there,

[iancal]

Agree on both the Ren and the Marina. 

[iancal]

We have stayed at the Ren when we have rented a Budget car for a pre cruise stay.  If you ask the Budget folks across the street in the S/C they will let you park in their area. Better than paying the Ren $20 a  day for parking.

Edited February 10, 2019 by iancal

[cutiepie43]

I don't think that anybody has mentioned it but we love the Courtyard in Plantation FL.  It's a little further out but they still offer a free shuttle from the airport and to Port Everglades.  What does it for us is the location.  There is a huge mall within a 3 minute walk as well as at least a dozen restaurants nearby.  Also a Total Wine and a Target less than a 10 minute walk away.  Not a big deal for some but when we are travelling quite a distance it is handy to pick up supplies there as opposed to packing everything.  Prices vary depending on the day and season but we've always paid sub $200 and the hotel is quite nice.

[Iamthesea]

We also stayed pre-cruise at The Hyatt Place on 17th, pre-cruise on the first night of December.  Excellent stay!  We booked using ValueTrips at a rate of $153.00 plus tax.  The staff were super nice, and our Delta pilots were checking in at the same time. 😉

 

The room, one of the high floor Kings, was great!  No musty smells at all.  Perhaps because we were on a higher floor???  I am also very sensitive.   

 

The hotel offered free fast shuttle pickup from the airport.  The breakfast buffet was also complimentary, or included in our rate.

 

One of our favorite places to go for dinner is the Southport Raw Bar for some clam chowder and fried seafood.  It's about 2 blocks away from many of the hotel mentioned here.  BTW- We have tried them all!  They all have good points and no so good points.   The Hyatt Place on 17th had a nicer, cleaner room than the Embassy Suites (our old standby.)  We did, however, miss the cocktail hour and breakfast buffet that the ES has.

[CruiseRQA]

Wow!  Thanks for all the ideas.  For now, I have reserved a room at the Cambria Suites.   I am able to cancel up until the night before and so will keep checking prices of the various places suggested.  

[Crew News]

FWIW I booked my flight to Fort Lauderdale on Delta and then decided to see if their "Hotel Option" was any savings at the Hilton Marina.  WOW, I canceled my $282 Senior Discount room reservation for the Delta $220 Tower Room that included a free breakfast.  This was my first experience using an airline discount for a hotel room and will continue to check that option price for all of my future cruises.

[harryw]

This is good to know. I never tried the airline discount either pre-cruise.

[CruiseRQA]

We wound up staying at the Cambria Suites.

 

Great room and nice to have a small bar and restaurant on site.   A bit of a hike to any local shopping or restaurants however. 

[fatcat04]

On 2/6/2019 at 11:19 AM, freestyling said:

We also enjoy staying at the Embassy suites but their pricing is gaining altitude for the outdated rooms. To be fair it’s been a year since we stayed there so perhaps they have updated rooms. 

We didn't find them updated last month. We always stayed there in the past but won't again. The near $400 price tag, the horrible elevator situation (too few, too small), and a staff that really doesn't seem to be with it ( we arrived at 1:30, dropped off our luggage, had lunch, and waited and waited.... until 5pm for our room to be ready, check in is at 4pm btw). We are flying into Orlando the day before next year as we have other plans but I still would no longer recommend the Embassy Suites in FLL.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

We stayed at a Sheraton closer to the Sawmills Mall.  Next time we'll stay at one closer to the cruise terminal.  Typically we find Sheraton and Westin a great value in port cities.

[rkacruiser]

44 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

We stayed at a Sheraton closer to the Sawmills Mall.

 

The best prices for a pre-cruise hotel stay, if one has a car, is NOT close to the port.  Cypress Creek exit off I-95 has many hotels available at reasonable price in-season or not.  I patronize a full service Marriott in that area that is usually less than a Courtyard further West on Cypress Creek. 

[Crazy For Cats]

I just booked the Sheraton Four Points hotel.  It used to be a Comfort Suites hotel, then was a independent brand.  The location is great, short walk to a Total Wine, great BBQ place across the street and a CVS at the corner.

[mammy123]

Have stayed at the Cambria Suites a couple of times.  We usually drive and they have a park and cruise special.  The rooms were great and had no problem with the parking for 14 nights.  I'd certainly go back.  

 

Have an outstanding cruise.  

 

[peiguy48]

The Hyatt House in Dania Beach is the best of the 4 hotels we have stayed near the FLL Airport and Port Everglades.  Free shuttle to airport, excellent breakfast included, very clean , quiet and reasonable cost to take a shuttle to the cruise port.  Decent shopping near by, easy taxi or Uber to Sawgrass Mills Mall,  lots of restaurants within walking distance.

[DaveOKC]

With 3 properties (Hyatt House and Hyatt Place (2)) in the FLL area, I usually use my Hyatt Points to book one of them.  I use a Visa Reserve card to earn points.  I use this card just for travel (extra points) and normally my airfare and a 7 day cruise costs earn me more than enough for a room.  Further, the sign up bonus (50,000 points) alone earned us 6 nights in FLL!

Edited March 16, 2019 by DaveOKC

[Diver2014]

If you are sailing in a month, it's probably too late to book a room at Embassy Suites.  They sell out far in advance.  We've stayed there several times, as well as Extended Stay America down the street (towards the bridge) which was clean but no breakfast other than coffee and sweet rolls if you got there early enough.  Construction is also finished next door at the Holiday Inn. It was also an okay place for us although we probably wouldn't stay there again due to the super slow elevator and tired looking rooms but for one night, any place will do.  We also stayed at the Renaissance up on the corner of 17th Street and US 1 - it was okay but under reconstruction.  Hyatt and Hilton seem to be the most popular hotels with the CC crowd.

[Cailey53]

We tried Hotel Morrison on South Federal Highway in Dania Beach in January. It was brand new at the end of 2018.  Free shuttle from the airport, great hot breakfast included and a small bar in the lobby. It's only a couple of blocks from a Walgreens for last minute forgotten items, and close to a couple of local restaurants. We would stay here again.

[j3000]

FWIW I just booked the Riverside Hotel on Hotwire, for 1 night mid-april for $112. (you'll see it there today as a 3.5* in the Downtown-Las Olas area)

[retdon]

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 6:48 PM, Stateroom_Sailor said:

We stayed at a Sheraton closer to the Sawmills Mall.  Next time we'll stay at one closer to the cruise terminal.  Typically we find Sheraton and Westin a great value in port cities.

We booked at Sheraton Cypress Creek with a senior discount at $140 + tax for our Z cruise.  Completely redone after hurricane damage, was closed for a year. They have a full service restaurant so no need to go out. We have stayed there in past and really like it. We do drive to Ft. Lauderdale so we have our own car and park at ParkNGo for $8 a day, they shuttle us to the ship and pick us up, handy to jump on I95 and head home. 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

2 hours ago, retdon said:

We booked at Sheraton Cypress Creek with a senior discount at $140 + tax for our Z cruise.  Completely redone after hurricane damage, was closed for a year. They have a full service restaurant so no need to go out. We have stayed there in past and really like it. We do drive to Ft. Lauderdale so we have our own car and park at ParkNGo for $8 a day, they shuttle us to the ship and pick us up, handy to jump on I95 and head home. 

 

Great advice, we'll stay there next time.  We almost picked this location to begin with, thinking we were saving $20, and not realizing the distance inland (and taxi fees).