Ft. Lauderdale Lodging Help please!

[navyhmc]

At the end of January, the family is going on a Celebrity Cruise-diving St. Maarten included! We're planning to arrive Saturday and head out Sunday. Can any of our wonderful Ft. Lauderdale folk or visitors give a good suggestion on a hotel that not only has shuttles from the airport and to the cruise port but doesn't cost big bucks? We were looking for something in the $100-$150 range that is fairly nice.

I've looked on line and a number of the places have some very bad comments about them. Would like to avoid that. Can anyone give some suggestions?

Thanks.

[Diver Kat]

Congrats on the cruise. Celebrity is our favorite!

Can't help with the shuttle. The times we've stayed there we either got a deal at the Hyatt Pier 66 or got lucky and got the Renaissance through Hotwire for cheap. We always grabbed a cab or called a car service.

[jet126]

The Courtyard by Marriott at FLL offers shuttle from the airport and Port Everglades. It's nothing fancy but they do have a pool. It's located in Sportsman's Park next to the Fishing Hall of Fame, Outdoor World and Divers Direct so there's a lot to keep you occupied for a day - even if it's not right on the beach. If you google it will be the Dania Beach location.

[ScubaAl]

Before beginning a trip I like to checkout Reviews of vacations, hotels, resorts, vacation and travel packages - TripAdvisor

Al

[DMWiz]

I've stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66 before and it's nice. Specially the rotating bar/night club. I don't really know much about hotels in the area being a local I can tell you all about the area just not the hotels. The Marriott jet126 mentions is really in a cool place if you like fishing and diving =) My kids enjoy the museum very much.

[jet126]

This is from the sunny.org (visit Fort Lauderdale) website:

Fort Lauderdale Hotels - Beaches - Restaurants - Events - Florida Vacation Information

Don't know about rates but if you have a specific question about any hotel just ask. The Courtyard I mentioned above is also on this list.

Just be careful visiting South Florida in January ... you may never want to leave.

[heydn62]

In April, we stayed at the Comfort Inn Airport/Cruiseport the night before our cruise. I wouldn't specifically recommend it, but I wouldn't avoid it either. We paid $139/nt plus tax. About what you would expect from a comfort inn, nothing special, but it did include shuttle from the airport and to the cruise port and had a decent buffet breakfast included as well. I just checked for the last weekend in January and it's listing at $189/nt, so that would put you well over $200 by the time they add tax, but maybe that will come down later (?) .

I've seen some "not so great" reviews for diving St. Maarten, but I've also seen some great dive photos from there. I've been wanting to dive there just to see for myself. Have fun and let us know what you think.

[Skred]

We always stay here:

Fort Lauderdale Hotels ~ Embassy Suites Fort Lauderdale ~ Cruise Port Hotel ~ Hotel Deals

2 miles from the airport, 2 miles from the Cruise pier, breakfast made to order and daily happy hour included. What's not to love?