I too am confused by the hotel scene in Fort Lauderale....my husband and I are going to be there in March for the Langerado music festival in Markham Park. We%26#39;re in our mid-30%26#39;s, not kids, but we want to stay someplace that%26#39;s on (ideally) or very close to the beach, and which is walking distance from lots of bars %26amp; restaurants. Don%26#39;t want really fancy, but don%26#39;t want shabby either (like, if we have a lumpy bed that will not be ok). I have a reservation at Angela%26#39;s beach resort, but it doesn%26#39;t sound like the greatest location as far as being able to walk and go out at night. I was looking at Avalon Waterfront but have read some terrible reviews from them. I have never been to Ft Lauderdale, and this a weekend for my husband and I to have a break from our kids! Help???
Fort Lauderdale - nice hotel where the action is?If I were you I%26#39;d take a look at an older but clean property called Kira- Mar. It%26#39;s on Las Olas Boulevard, which means you would only one direction to get to the beach or a few more blocks the other way to get to te restaurants and bars of Las Olas, which is our restaurant row The Kira Mar itself is in a residential part if Las Olas- small apartment buildings and some high end homes and townhomes, but I think it would be ideal for serving both your needs.
I am not a big fan of the Avalon- it seems to me to be several older motels that were bought up and made into an ';inn'; but I think most of that property is shabby and unkempt. I have no real knowledge of Angela%26#39;s- a tidy small motel a block or so off the beach but there is a major constructon project right near it tat would discourage me from suggesting it .
I don%26#39;t know your age demographic, but I find Las Olas more pleasant than the beach strip unless you are in your early 20%26#39;s.
I am going to assume you will have a car because you will need one for Markham Park which is an outlying location. So, you could drive to the beach if you wished and try places like Beach Place for nightlife, but I prefer Las Olas. Kira Mar is not new, a small European owned property , but it gets good reviews here.
You might want to visit www.sunny.org if yoou haven%26#39;t already and request a visitor packet with guidebooks and maps.
Fort Lauderdale - nice hotel where the action is?The Yankee Shearaton Clipper is right on the beach, we have stayed there twice and would go there again if we went to back to Fort Lauderdale, nice bar and food. and you could not get nearer to the beach straight out the back door on to a lovely beach.
It%26#39;s a nice hotel, but I%26#39;m betting it may be out of what the poster is willing to pay- rates have been ranging from mid- $200- to over $300. The other places she has referred to that she looked at are probably between $100 and $200.
The Best Western Oceanside is another property on the beach that is right next door to the Yankee Clipper and is usualy about $50 less expensive. It only has a small bar and no restaurant, just a comp breakfast, but it is easy enough to walk next door to the Sheraton to use their restaurant.
I would personally prefer to be more accesssible to the restaurant end of Las Olas , especially with good clubs like O%26#39;%26#39;Haras and Samba Room , rather than the touristy Beach Place, where there is lots of casual dining , but no memorable food to speak of.
It%26#39;s certainly another possibility to explore though.
If you haven%26#39;t been to Ft. Lauderdale this year, you will be astounded at how high rates have risen at the Yankee Clipper.
sqrlgrl, relax...it%26#39;s 4:20 somewhere... :-)
But seriously, Markham Park is about as far from the beach as you can get without being eaten by gators. If you%26#39;re primarily going for the scene at Langerado, you should consider camping out at Markham. It%26#39;s quite the hippie fest -- and (my picture notwithstanding), I do know from hippie fests -- I spent 8 years in a jam band. It%26#39;s no Burning Man or anything --but the music and energy is great.
Now if you don%26#39;t want to hear djembes and digeridoos all night, you don%26#39;t want to camp at Langerado. You may dig the Tropi-Rock -- it%26#39;s inexpensive by Lauderdale standards, right next to the beach and has a cool ';Old Florida'; vibe that is becoming harder to find around here. But it%26#39;s a good 35-45 minute drive from the beach to Langerado -- Oh, and if you haven%26#39;t booked your flights, the jetBlue Long Beach to Lauderdale route is usually uncrowded, plus you get your own TV and all the inexplicably blue potato chips you can snarf!
See you at the shows!
Thanks for the replies - so Kira-Mar is one block from the beach, is that right? That sounds good, I will check them out.
NO no, not one block- it%26#39;s few blocks but s pleasant walk through a nice area and then over the Las Olas bridge. It%26#39;s on a snall ';islet'; and usually several boats parked in the canal. I think there%26#39;s a map on their website:
www.kira-mar.com
Lulu, unfortunately the kira mar is all booked up - any other suggestions?
Awfulcat, thanks for the input - I realize it%26#39;s a bit of a drive, but we are used to that where we live, also we are going to a late night show at Revolution in Fort Lauderdale, so figured we%26#39;d just stay at the beach. I%26#39;ll try Tropi Rock too, I think I read something about that place.
It seems like the only hotels right on the beach are the big chains %26amp; super expensive ones - is that right?
Oh, I forgot to ask, is Tropi Rock walking distance from bars, restaurants, any cool hang out spots?
There is a small area of shops, restaurants and bars about 1/4 mile north of Tropi-Rock. It%26#39;s not high-end (a tattoo parlor, smoke shops, kitschy beach stores and Harleys dot the area), but it%26#39;s safe an fun. Some of the places to eat there are surprisingly good, esp. Thai on the Beach and Bluefish Cafe. If you%26#39;re doing those after-party shows at Revolution, you may want to consider the Hampton Inn on N Andrews. It%26#39;s nothing other than convenient, but will put you in walking distance of downtown Lauderdale and from there it%26#39;s easy to get on 595 to head out to Markham.
Birch Patio Motel is another clean budget lodging a couple of blocks off the beach in the same general area as TropiRock. TropiRock is great too- hope you can get in one or the other!
The hotels directly on the Beach Road ( A1A) are basically all chains and pretty expensive and the few I can think of that aren%26#39;t ( Avalon and Sea Club come to mind ) get terrible reviews as far as maintenance issues and the like, so I%26#39;d avoid them. In the blocks behind the beach road , where TropiRock and Birch Patio are there are many many Mom and Pop places- the problem is someof them are really bad , so we tend to suggest the few we know and have confidence in . In some of the otehrs , folks have reported major roach infestations ( or worse), so if you look for anything else, see if you can at least find a review or too.
I am going to mention ( with some hesitation) the Days Inn Bahia Cabana with the disclaimer that it%26#39;s a place that is used by Spring Breakers and some of the rooms are pretty junky, but it is usually economical, right on the beach and an easy walk up to the bars and restaurants. There are many reviews on the site and you can see if you%26#39;re willing to try it.
I suspect that Hampton Inn is going to be expensive- mainly used by travelers with business in the Downtown area. I was surprised once to see how pricey it was...
AwfulCat is a cool dude and much more in tune with the music scene than I - sounds like an interesting experience- I am square and out of touch and have never heard of it..
No comments:
Post a Comment