Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel and Yacht Club... Anyone?

[AJeray4TN]

Has anyone stayed at the Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel and Yacht Club? We booked here for our pre-cruise night, and we are simply curious if it is a nice property. We will actually be splitting the room with another couple, so it will end up being cheap enough, that no one is considered whether or not it is the Ritz. I mainly chose it for the pool and location to Port Everglades.

 

Thanks!

[mswmurf]

I stayed at the fort lauderdale grande in Novmeber and imho, i found the hotel just okay. Dont get me wrong, the pool area is very nice and you are very close to the pier and it was nice seeing the ships leave the port, however, i truly did not like the set up of the room. First of all, i did not like the set up of the bathroom as the bathroom had two doors side by side which you slide together and the doors meet together in the middle.(very similiar to a closet) If you didnt close the door, just right, someone could see inside from the sides as there were openings. If you are sharing a room with two other people, it may be a little embarrassing. There was only one mounted shower door in the shower. Again someone could look in if the bathroom door wasn't close properly. The shower never got hot. We had two other rooms in this hotel and all of my friends complained of the lack of hot water. Lastly, the bed was not very comfortable as well. Please take into consideration that our pre-cruise hotel was the Gallery One doubletree near the galleria mall which was absolutely beautiful. We had a two bedroom suites, with two bathrooms inside the bedrooms. The room was very clean and the bed was the most comfortable i have ever slept in. The galleria mall was right next door and there was a liquor store and a CVS store right across the street. Whenever i cruise out of flll, without a shadow of a doubt, i will only stay at the galleryone. I hope this helps you.

[maggieq]

i am staying there this friday and would be more than happy to post a report when i return. I have read alot of reports on ta on this hotel and most are very good. It is only for one night and mostly what i care about is that it's in a safe area and not a flea bag motel.

[FritzG]

Please post after your stay this weekend. We're staying at the Grande in April because Tripadvisor reports have been very favorable.

[jspirit]

We stayed there 2 nights pre-cruise and one night post cruise in December. It was a lovely property and all has been renovated. However, the set -up in the bathroom is very uncomfortable, and when sharing with another couple privacy could for sure be an issue.

Pool is really nice but in December it was shady for a long time. China Grill is not the best but aithin an easy walk are several other very good restaurants, so no car is needed . Taxi to port was $14.00 but on the way back only $ 10.00.

Have fun!

[mamatrouble]

http://picasaweb.google.com/mamatrouble/FLLGrande02#

[TxGal]

We stayed there one night pre-cruise in December. The pool is very nice but the hot tub mentioned on their website is not on-property - it's over at Hyatt Pier 66. Our room was wonderful and we loved the location - very close to Port Everglades.

 

I want to warn anyone staying here.....when you check in, MAKE SURE your room is in the tower. After we checked in, I was told the tower was full and our room was on the third floor of the East Villa. And oh, by the way, the elevators aren't working in the East Villa so we'll need to use the stairs. My arthritic knees and ankles had a very hard time with the stairs. We were going on a 12-day cruise over Christmas and New Years and had quite a few suitcases:eek: and the bell hop who loaded our luggage onto his cart was none too pleased that he had to haul all our stuff up 3 flights of stairs. When leaving the next morning, we were unable to get a bell hop willing to haul our luggage down so DH ended up taking it himself...4 large, heavy suitcases and 4 smaller carry-on bags (I don't pack light!)

 

We bought 2 cheeseburgers and 2 drinks from the outside bar for dinner and it was $41 (before the tip). Pretty pricey!

 

For anyone who is HiltonHonors, don't expect any of the normal perks you get from other Hilton properties. I'm HH Gold and was told no free breakfast because this isn't really a Hilton property. Huh???

[AJeray4TN]

We stayed there one night pre-cruise in December. The pool is very nice but the hot tub mentioned on their website is not on-property - it's over at Hyatt Pier 66. Our room was wonderful and we loved the location - very close to Port Everglades.

 

I want to warn anyone staying here.....when you check in, MAKE SURE your room is in the tower. After we checked in, I was told the tower was full and our room was on the third floor of the East Villa. And oh, by the way, the elevators aren't working in the East Villa so we'll need to use the stairs. My arthritic knees and ankles had a very hard time with the stairs. We were going on a 12-day cruise over Christmas and New Years and had quite a few suitcases:eek: and the bell hop who loaded our luggage onto his cart was none too pleased that he had to haul all our stuff up 3 flights of stairs. When leaving the next morning, we were unable to get a bell hop willing to haul our luggage down so DH ended up taking it himself...4 large, heavy suitcases and 4 smaller carry-on bags (I don't pack light!)

 

We bought 2 cheeseburgers and 2 drinks from the outside bar for dinner and it was $41 (before the tip). Pretty pricey!

 

For anyone who is HiltonHonors, don't expect any of the normal perks you get from other Hilton properties. I'm HH Gold and was told no free breakfast because this isn't really a Hilton property. Huh???

When I booked the room, I booked the more expensive Tower room. When you say to make sure that you are in the tower, did you book a tower room specifically or did you just try to get one when you arrived?

 

Also, are there restaurants, grocery stores near? We were originally booked at the Embassy Suites, so I am curious...

 

Thank you!

[TxGal]

When I booked the room, I booked the more expensive Tower room. When you say to make sure that you are in the tower, did you book a tower room specifically or did you just try to get one when you arrived?

 

Also, are there restaurants, grocery stores near? We were originally booked at the Embassy Suites, so I am curious...

 

Thank you!

 

I booked the room in either February or March of last year and the choices at that time were by "view" not location so I booked water view and requested a view of the pier. The choices were water view, marina view, or garden view. The water view was the most expensive choice. So, for $279/night, we had a great view of the pool!

 

There's a grocery store behind Embassy Suites but I'm not aware of any grocery stores within walking distance of the Grande, although I didn't spend a bunch of time looking for one this time. Hopefully, someone will come along with better knowledge to answer your grocery question.

[Bequia]

The Publix Supermarket behind the Embassy Suites is within walking distance of the Grande. :rolleyes:

 

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[royalcruz]

There is a Publix 3/4 mile west, and a Winn-Dixie about a block closer than that.

[wildescapade]

My husband and I loved this property, we stayed after our cruise on the Century last March. I wish it was still a Marriott because their Rewards program is better but we still loved it. The restaurants were not open yet, but Bimini Boatyard is within walking distance and on the same side of the road and it is great! I thought the bed was really comfortable and the renovation was refreshing and I love the location. I didn't notice the bathroom door except to say that I liked the design and I loved the shower! We are very picky...our favorite hotel in the area is Lago Mar but we would stay at the Grande again...oh and when I am on vacation I don't mind spending on food and drink or tipping well...it is all part of the ambiance of a great vacation. I won't nickel and dime things to death...as long as my food and drinks are good it doesn't matter about the price.