Hotel for a May 2007 wedding

Hi - I%26#39;m looking for a reasonable priced hotel to hold my wedding next year - my entire wedding group will be staying there for a week - it needs it%26#39;s own beach and banquet facilities/outdoor and indoor.

I%26#39;ve been looking at the Ocean Manor Resort.

Any other suggestions would be fantastic

L. Whiting

Calgary, AB Canada

Hotel for a May 2007 wedding

I%26#39;d definitely not suggest Ocean Manor- it%26#39;s very poorly maintained- be sure to read the reviews posted under hotels on this Forum- It%26#39;s ranked 60th out of 130- and the ones under it are mainly Motel 6 and the like.

I live almost across the street from it here on the Galt Ocean Mile and I have to say it deserves the poor reviews. People tend to get suckered in because it is on the Ocean, but they haven%26#39;t spent a nickel on maintenance in years. The sleeping rooms are just awful.

Hotel for a May 2007 wedding

i%26#39;ve been thinking about your situation- you didn%26#39;t mention the month you are planning your wedding- that will make a big difference. I fear you may not realize how much you have to pay to get a hotel on the Ocean that is not a real dump.

I would suggest that you look at the Ramada Plaza on the Beach ( Galt Drive) which as it happens is right next door to the Ocean Manor- many of the reviews of the Ocean Manor mention that the folks fled from the Ocean Manor to the Ramada when they saw the condition of the Ocean Manor. So, while it is not a palace ( you would probably have to pay $250/ night for that) it is definitely cleaner and better maintained. They are right on the Ocean and have various banquet rooms as well as a pool deck for weddings. You also didn%26#39;t mention how many are in your party. If it were me, I might consider not looking at the hotel where you are staying for your wedding ceremony and reception. I might look at the SeaWatch Restaurant in Pompano Beach which does beautiful weddings and then have a greater choice of hotels without banquet facilities for my lodging.

I have seen weddings taking place at the Seawatch- they are beautiful and they do lots, but can%26#39;t accomodate big numbers.

Also, it%26#39;s furher north, but the Holiday Inn in Highland Beach ( North of Boca Raton, south of Delray Beach )is beautiful and has a wonderful catering staff.

Those are some better places I can think of- Ocean Manor is actually a condo hotel where units are owned by various people and the hotel rents them out. They vary greatly in quality , but I%26#39;ve seen several sleeping rooms with fixtures falling off the walls and lots of plumbing problems. Several reviewers mentioned rooms with no door locks. A distant relative of mine moved to four different rooms before finding one that was just marginally acceptable. I wouldn%26#39;t want any bride to spend her wedding week in distress or be embarrassed in front of friends, so be careful.

We just walked past a huge wedding tent affair on the beach in Hollywood.

The guests were staying at the various small apartment hotels (and in the Marriott) on the broadwalk....and the tent had a band, and a wood floor on the sand, lots of flowers, looked kind of neat. It didn%26#39;t seem like bathing suits were out of the question....so it sure wasn%26#39;t formal.

The caterer was a Dania bakery and restaurant called Grand Pa%26#39;s (next to Jaxsons Ice Cream store).

Its just an idea..I think would be a bit less expensive than some of the hotels.

I know if you walk into the Marriott, everything seems to be add ons. I really mean it seemed the banquet seller wanted to add to the bill as much as possible....very interested in the $$$ and not the party.

On the other hand, when we compalined to the restaurant manager about what happened with the banquet folks, he said we ought to have spoken with him first. A per person charge would have covered liquor, and the BBQ buffett

He would have set uo a giant BBQ on the beach with full use of the hotel, including the pools for one set price. (But not the room charges)

The Lago Mar was even fairer with the pricing and banquet info...but thay are always booked.

I%26#39;m reffering to the Marriott Harbor Beach in Ft Laud above, not the Marriott in Hollywood Beach (where the tent was).

That tent on the beach idea sounds great - would anyone know any contacts in Hollywood or how I would get started on that?

Another spot that seems to host many weddings is the Bonnet House , an old historic home in Ft. Lauderdale. If you ever watched Amazing Race on TV, that was the final Pit Stop for one race ( the one where Amber and Rob from Survivor came in second). It%26#39;s a very interesting place- not exactly luxurious, has sort of an Island, funky feel- very old Florida and they have very lush gardens. A close hotel for you all to stay in would be the Holiday Inn on the Beach at A1A and Sunrise , which is not luxurious, but might be in your price range.

It%26#39;s listed on this Forum under Attractions.

Hello there,

I am also planning to have a wedding in Ft. Lauderdale next memorial weekend 2007. I live in NYC and would love to know about that Hollywood beach with the big white tent reception/wedding that you passed by.... Do you remember exactly where it was?

Thank you!

Sheila

NYC

I believe the poster was referring to the Marriott on Hollywood Beach , which is just south of Fort Lauderdale.

Lulu is right. The big tent was just N (in the sand off the B%26#39;Walk) of the Marriott In Hoillywood. Except for some guests possibility staying in that Marriott and the other older apaerment hotels, it appeared the caterer (GrandPas%26#39; restuarant on Rt one in Dania) had arranged for the food and possibility of the tent rentals, the orchestra (band), but the good weather was just plain luck, or a lot of praying (or both)

The references to the Banquet manager, restaurant (Tom) manager, and BBQ buffett was from the Ft Laud Harbour Beach Marriott.....and the Lago Mar...which had no opening avaiulable the in the three week period in May 2005.

Don%26#39;t know if the tent idea is even possible on the beach in Ft Laud.

Hi everyone - thanks so much for your help. I have now chosen Deerfield Beach as my wedding area with the Howard Johnson Plaza for the reception venue and hotel. I do not recommend really any of the hotels in Fort Lauderdale - the ones we dealt with have all been quite rude, pushy and unprofessional. UNless you ahve money to burn, there%26#39;s always the Hilton or Hyatt. My fiance and I travelled from Calgary Alberta Canada in April to see the Ocean MAnor (you lot were spot on - what a horrible palce, the sales manager really didnt even have time for us) Beachcomber resorts was perfect ecept they%26#39;re now having construction for the next 2 years. The Ramada really doesnt seem to have their stuff together and after 6 weeks of chat, still couldnt come up with a formal quoter for us.

Deerfield beach is a great viilage like area with everything in walking distance. Great as all our guests are from out of town. Also voted Best Beach!