sticker shocker hotel rates!

Thanks Lulutoo

We are looking at March 4 , a Sunday ? hopefully better

but we can go farther from downtown and take the bus

what part of Fort Lauderdale is good for one day only just to walk around and see the main sites, have a dinner and breakfast and then fly home!

thanks for replies.

sticker shocker hotel rates!

Well, I%26#39;ve been to Vancouver and first must tell you that, unlike your city, Ft. Lauderdale has no real Downtown- only a small cluster of government offices in an area that dies after they close.

There are three areas that would be conducive to what you want to do and I looked up a few hotels for your dates to see what is available:

1. Las Olas Blvd: This is our major strolling street of restaurants, clubs, shops and galleries. Unfortunately ther is only one hotel there , the Riverside, a very charming place. On the hotel%26#39;s website www.riversidehotel.com they have the lowest rate of $229 for your date- which is for a room ';assigned on arrival'; which frequently will be their smallest rooms ( double bed) in their oldest section rather than their newer tower. Rates go up from there.

Also, no shuttle to/from Airport or Cruiseport, so taxi fare would need to be added. There is a Sun Trolley that runs along Las Olas up to and along the beach ( 50 cents a trip I think)

2. Seventeenth Street Causeway- This is the street where the Port Entry is located ( next to the Convention Center) and is a walkable street lined with many hotels, restaurants and not so many shops- just things like drugstores and groceries. Many hotels there are used for pre and post cruise and tend to be heavily booked. The most reasonable with availability would seem to be Holiday Inn Express Convention Center @$192 from the HI website. There is another HI Express called Airport/Seaport, but it is actually much further away and not in an area nice for walking. The next most reasonable , Extended Stay is fully booked. Another hotel , Fort Lauderdale Grande, is a bit more expensive ($239) and has mixed reviews. The Grande provides no shuttles- the HI Express does as far as I know. All these hotels have close access to the Water Taxi ( for sightseeing , not good for transportation at %11 pp for an all day pass)

3. A1A- The road that runs north and south along the beach. Couldbe walkable, but there is lots of construction in many spots No free shuttles , but many hotels on the south end are reasonably close to the Port ( but not the Airport) The hotel I would recommend there is my old Standby, The Best Western Oceanside which is $179 on Travelocity for your date- includes a continental breakfast. The Sun Trolley runs along the area in front and could take you up and across Las Olas if you wanted to enjoy that. The Water Taxi docks across the street at Bahia Mar. You would have to pay fro Cruise port transportation ( pretty close) and airport transportation ( maybe $25 shared by all occupants - maybe you could find a coiple to share it to the Airport...

I think if I were choosing I%26#39;d pick the Best Western and jump on the Trolley to Las Olas to dine and stroll.

The other places I saw on a Travelocity search are either poorly located or not in very nice condition- I didn%26#39;t see anything at a lesser rate , I thought would work.

Are you going on the Jewel for your cruise? We%26#39;re thinking of a repositioning cruise and that one is a possible choice.

Hope you find a good accomodation!

sticker shocker hotel rates!

My son just came back from an 8 night cruise on the Jewel. He had a great time. It is a wonderful ship.

I have been wanting to do a repositioning cruise too. My husband doesn%26#39;t want to go because he is prone to seasickness so i may take one of my daughters.

Thanks a lot for the help you give and hope to track down that place as soon as we get the airfare down....so were you in Vancouver BC ? hope you like our city.

cheers

Hi P954...glad your son enjoyed it and looks like we will also...

just wondering if he would know what the tipping arrangement policy is... I prefer to tip my own way ...the housekeeper, the cooks

and the waiter,etc... Can we opt out of the daily tipping charge of 10.00 per person per day?

Also if I may indulge on your son%26#39;s trips to the ports of call and other tips or suggestions on the way, thanks