Reasonably Priced Hotel(s) Close to Swimming Hall of Fame?

Hi All,

We%26#39;re a group of masters swimmers coming to Ft. Lauderdale March 14-18 to swim at the Swimming Hall of Fame pool. Nope, we%26#39;re not famous or particularly great swimmers but it%26#39;s fun to come anyway. It%26#39;s a fantastic pool. Does anyone have suggestions for a reasonably priced hotel close to the pool? We%26#39;ve stayed at the erstwhile Doubletree before, right across the street so super convenient but too expensive now. We%26#39;re thinking a price range of $100-$125 per room per night. Is that doable? We%26#39;d need about five rooms. Nice B%26amp;B, motel, hotel, whatever is fine, as long as it%26#39;s clean. It%26#39;s the proximity to the pool that%26#39;s key; maybe 1/2 mile walk max. Thanks in advance for your help.

Reasonably Priced Hotel(s) Close to Swimming Hall of Fame?

There are really only 2 options I can think of that%26#39;d be in that price range. One is the Days Inn Bahia Cabana, which I only recommend for drinks, not for overnight stays. Too run-down and Spring-Breaky. The other is a little mom-and-pop called the Wish You Were Here Inn, which hasn%26#39;t fared too well in the reviews on this site, but has better reviews on other sites and would be my choice over Bahia Cabana any day. The Bahia Mar (which I believe was f.k.a. the Doubletree) is showing $209 for your dates. Wish Inn is about $60 less per night.

Reasonably Priced Hotel(s) Close to Swimming Hall of Fame?

You might try thr Birch Patio Motel- certainly not fancy, but should be clean - and should be pretty convenient to the Hall of Fame. Website : www.birchpatio.com and reviwed on this site:

tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g34227-d625841-鈥?/a>

Might be a little further north of Las Olas than I%26#39;m remembering- you might mapquest it to find the distance. It%26#39;s going to be pretty tough to find something in your price range- even the Bahia Cabana ( which I agree with Awful Cat is not very nice) appears to be higher for your dates.

Thank you so much for the suggestions Awfulcat and Lulutoo.

I thought the price range might be a problem. I did Mapquest as you suggested and Birch Patio motel is 1.1 miles from the pool. No problem for me but maybe for some of the others. It got such good reviews though, I may try to persuade the gang it%26#39;s worth a look.

Upping the ante to hotels in the $200 price range (ouch! I%26#39;d rather spend the money on food and fun) , are there any that are close to the pool that you can recommend? Thanks again.

There is a ';beach trolley'; tram that runs all the way down A1A and I believe cost fifty cents a ride. It is supposed to pass every 15 minutes. As a local I don%26#39;t ride them but se them often and they do appear to be pretty numerous. They might be a way to get as far south as LaS Olas and A1A- an easy walk from there.

I think I checked into the Best Western Oceanside and it was either booked solid or too pricey, but you could check to be sure. The Bahia Mar Hotel ( former Radisson) is, of course, right at the Hall of Fame- but since it either lost or gave up it%26#39;s Radisson affiliation the reviewshave been mixed , leaning toward the bad ones- but you might check it out as well.

I%26#39;m headed down the beach tomorrow- I%26#39;ll look back behind Las Olas to see if anything closer rings a bell- I just can%26#39;t vouch for the quality of many of the Mom and Pop accomodations- which are the ones that would be in your range. If I see a few likely suspects based on outward appearances ( not always accurate) I%26#39;ll give you names so you can check reviews.

It is depressingly hard to find reasonable lodging in that area. Your former Doubletree closed down , as you may know, and is supposed to be rehabbed into a Marriott Courtyard, but I can%26#39;t find a date- and even if it were soon ( not too likely) I%26#39;m betting it too would have a hefty price tag.

Alleycat- I saw two small motels just a bit south of the Swimming Hall theis am- both in the same area - right across the St. from the Beat Western Oceanside one block south of Bahia Cabana Days Inn. I don%26#39;t know anything about them .. but did locate a review of each on another site, along with a review of the Wish You Were here Inn, which I also saw and the th eother poster mentioned.

The two I saw are the Blarney Castle Motel and the Sea Beach- small older properties. All of the above are reviewed here - the reviews are about a year old. Any of them would be convenient to the Hall- just don%26#39;t know if they are clean inside:

www.insiderpages.com/member/2608060134鈥?/a>

Oops! Better cross Sea Beach off that list:

tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g34227-d624156-鈥?/a>

Oh, I wish I didn%26#39;t read tht post. I%26#39;m still itching....

And just to confuse the issue- two highly positive reviews from Orbitz ( scored 4 out of 5) for the same place also for stays in the same weeks in November:

www.orbitz.com/App/ViewSpecificHotelLP鈥?/a>

So how in the world can you decide which ones are the truth....

LuLuToo,

Thanks so much for all your help. I looked at the reviews and you%26#39;re right; they were just too iffy re. quality. So, after much, waaaay too much, research and wrangling, we%26#39;re gonna stay at the Bahia Mar Resort. Only .38 miles from the pool (i.e. 6 minute walk) and decent reviews. Travelocity was cheapest at $135/night weekday and $165/night Fri %26amp; Sat. so we booked through them. It%26#39;s more than I wanted to spend but infinitely better than the $180+/night charged by the other hotels around. Normally I%26#39;d have bid through Priceline %26#39;coz FL Beach zone hotels, including the Bahia Mar Resort, were going for $95/night but I absolutely needed this location so couldn%26#39;t take the gamble that I%26#39;d get a property further away.

Thank you again for all your help. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into helping me find the perfect place to stay. You%26#39;re awesome!