Where to stay-I'm so confused!!!

My husband and I are sailing in January on Celebrity and will be in Ft. Lauderdale for 2 nights before the cruise. I%26#39;m holding a reservation through the cruise line at the Bahia Mar. After reading so many reviews, I%26#39;m not sure we want to stay there. What is a great place on a great stretch of beach that doesn%26#39;t smell like mold that%26#39;s fun with beautiful rooms? Does a place like this exist? Any info you share would be greatly appreciated.

Where to stay-I'm so confused!!!

We were happy at the Sheraton Yankee Trader

Where to stay-I'm so confused!!!

I%26#39;d say Lago Mar or Marriott Harbor Beach are the top spots with prices to match. We locals never get to stay in the rooms so I can%26#39;t speak to the mold problems at Sheraton Clipper or Trader- I%26#39;d like to think they are not that bad. I do tend to believe the stories of problems at Bahia Mar. It either lost or gave up a Radisson affiliation and since then the word is it has gone downhill badly. The Best Western Oceanside is a lower priced accomodation right next to the Yankee Clipper and directly on the Beach as well- once again I can%26#39;t speak to room quality, but I%26#39;d chance that before the Bahia Mar based on local ';gossip.';

The Atlantic is a condo/hotel near the Yankee Trader ( both are across the street from the beach,) I think it%26#39;s pretty expensive, but I suspect it is quite clean. There are several other hotels in that area in various stages of construction that look to be quite nice but I don%26#39;t know what realistic opening dates are. I suspect everyone will try to be ready for the Superbowl, which is right after your cruise date.

Don%26#39;t know if you want to consider the Hilton, which is not open yet, but is accepting reservations for January 2007:

www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/index.jhtml鈥?/a>

Thanks for the replies! Is the Hilton going to be on the beach?

Wow! I just went to the link you sent me to and the Hilton looks fabulous! The lowest price room is almost 600 a night! It looks well worth it but...with the price of the cruise (we got a really great cabin with a veranda...), I need to watch myself! I liked your idea about the Marriott and I have a reward card with them anyway! Thanks!!!

A few more tidbits to help in your search- If by ';on the beach'; you mean directly on the sand, no- it is across the street from the beach ( which is a public beach all the way up and down.) . Most hotels are not ';on the sand'; Actually, your Bahia Mar is across from the Beach as well. The ones that are ';on the sand'; are the Marriot Harbor Beach, the Lago Mar, the Yankee Clipper and the Best Western Oceanside. The Pelican Beach is also on the sand, but much further north and recently gave up it%26#39;s Best Western affiliation and has been sold to new folks who are starting to market it as time shares. It%26#39;s a nice hotel, but I have no idea what the ramifications of that are- and as I said it is much further north than the others.

It is my observation that many of the complaints about rooms in the Yankee Clipper seem to be from rooms in the ';North Building'; which is sort of an ';annex'; across the road connected by an elevated walkway. I%26#39;m not sure if those rooms might be older than the ones on the ocean. The Pelican Beach also has an old section which they have also given some special name ( can%26#39;t remember what) Some folks assigned there also sem to feel shortchanged although the newer building is pretty spiffy.

That%26#39;s all I can think of now. It is hard to find reasonably priced rooms on the oceanfront in the ';high season'; which is when you are cruising. I%26#39;m sure the Superbowl will tie up many rooms from here down to Miami for those who have to be here in advance like NFL folks and the like. You will be wise to nail something down very early, I think.

I know your dillema. Same thing happens to me when I go out of town. It%26#39;s often hard to read between the liens o a review and see who is just hard to please and who has real issues. I usually throw out the best one and the worst one and see what%26#39;s left- sort of like judging the Olympics- good luck!

You are a wealth of information and I really appreciate it! If you ever come to Scottsdale, Arizona, I can be your guide! Now, where should we eat and what about the nightlife? My husband is a hair stylist and I run our little salon. We are not young although, we are pretty cool if I do say so myself! He%26#39;s just turning 62 and is a Sean Connery type and I%26#39;ll turn 50 (ouch!) next month. We actually look better than we ever have-isn%26#39;t that fun? We love to have a few cocktails, wish we knew how to salsa but love to watch! You are my new expert...what shall we do for 2 nights? And...what about the beach? We have both been spending some time in the gym-getting older doesn%26#39;t have to be ugly!

I think the Marriott is going to be it. Is the beach near there great or would you go elsewhere?

You are a sweetheart to take your time with me.

Thanks!

What about Marriott Beach Place Towers?

It%26#39;s a time share facility that is part of a complex of shops and restaurant/bars. The two negatives I know of is that parking is horrible there. Also, because of the several restaurant/bars it gets quite noisy , especially at night. I%26#39;m not as familiar with the timeshare rental system, but it%26#39;s my sense that you have to pay addiotional fees for maid service. The beach would be the public beach across the street , whereas Harbor Beach has it%26#39;s own much more relaxed beach and pool area.

If you were of the demographic that liked a rowdy party atmosphere( and usually a twenty something atmosphere in most of the bars) it might be ok. I think I would stick to the other Marriot. We do have a poster on the Forum, KenK, who is usually more conversant with tme shares than I am.

The reviews here on TA are pretty mixed:

tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g34227-d251856-鈥?/a>

Lulu is right on about MBP (Marriott Beach Place)

The first 6 or 7 levels are parking.....and Marriott guests stay on the top 3 levels. Recently, they instituted a parking charge to exchangers and owners using more than one week in there owned week. From the top level, it is about one mile to the exit gate....

(Marriott Beach Place is a privately owned condominium sold as interval period os one week or more...the HOA pays Marriott to manage the building. They lost control of the sales area)

There are several ways to obtain a room (a 2bed 2 bath apt or smaller). One is to own the time. The second is to exchange into a unit. The third way is to rent from another owner....or from Interval Internation as a bonus week, or at www.condodirect.com if you don%26#39;t own a T/S trading via Interval. Government employess might find a week on www.govarm.com (or if RCI www.afvclub.com )

The main way to rent, however, is via MARRIOTT. WHen you rent via Marriott as a hotel, you will get full hotel services. That includes maid service daily...room service, but most on TA reviews don%26#39;t realize the way they rented is what determines what services they get.

ie....listed on www.redweek.com ( or www.myresortnetwork.com) you may find a 2 bed 2 bath rental for the week at $799 from an owner who needs to rent out the unit as to not lose their entire maint fee for the week.%26gt; Absolutely no hotel services are included. Of course, the is a full washer %26amp; dryer in the one %26amp; 2 bedroom units, but they can%26#39;t seem to remember how to wash %26amp; dry towels. You are supposed to take your own garbage out.

Of course, renting via Marriott, they will supply daily all new towels %26amp; linens, but the rent is mich higher.

All units are lock outs. That means a 2 bed 2 bath can be converted to a one bed and studio, The studio also has a small kitchen (sink, ref, micro dishes,) and a patio, but the one %26amp; 2 bedroom units are what you should aim for....ie..full kitchen with W/D, D/W, Disposal, full 21 cu ft ref, full sized stove and full patio (lania). (There are also free W/DS next to the gym on the lobby level....where the compass kids club is). Must be 21 or 23 to check in

Pool is super small. St Regis (also part interval ownership) blocks the northen views.

For 2 days, if I could find an inexpensive one bedroom unit, it will have a W/D, and full kitchen......if thats what you want. It is across the street from the beach, same side as Yankee Trader, next to the Las Olas Beach Club (Ft Laud Beach Hotel resort), and the St Regis.