Hotel Ideas for Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Key West

[phinsupincali]

I will be on vacation between Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Key West in July and was wondering any advice on good hotels or bad hotels in these areas.

TY

[sarah0403]

ill help with orlando..i live near there....stayed at several hotels....depends on what u like..family? friends? romance? I use priceline..never had a bad hotel yet..there is also a site called www.betterbidding.com freakin awesome....it will tell you hotwire and priceline hotel list...and how to bid. match the icons shown in hotel offered to the ones on the list..I did several times..and got that EXACT hotel..ha ha.at more than 50% off!....I also use nextag.com excellent deals on that site..they compare numerous sites at once.
dont go to: Enclave nasty and dirty
crown plaza nice room lousy pool
ANY Quality inn on Idrive...nasty
Ramada kissimme stay away
My favorite is wyndham i drive....awesome..pool open 24 hours gorgeous landscaping..get building 11 with hardwood floors very clean.. either balcony or sliding glass door..they r on hotwire and priceline once in a while
Royal Plaza near Pleasure island (walking distance or shuttle) 1st floor near the pool your door opens to a little fenced in patio..then right to pool...clean!! great breakfast buffet
Holiday Inn resort I-drive...excellent location..in the heart of everything!!! one of my very favorites as well. stay in tower room..make sure you request a room facing I drive with the 3 big windows..if not they will give u crappy small window facing highway. join their club...two free Barney's coffee in lobby per day. pool is great..but exciting atmosphere happening hotel!!
if u stay at a universal entrance hotel..doubletree, hyatt ect they r nice..but absolutely boring..u will have to drive everywhere to hang out.....trust me. ..
howl at the moon nightclub on idrive will give you free stuff and tickets to get in on your birthday dont go to wonderworks..a joke BB king blues club..is awesome food music ect..go before i think 8 and no cover charge. hey this is Orlando!!! have fun!! you can pm me...i will give you tips anytime, especially restaurants.discounts .im a chowhound! key west never been....i heard the nightly event they have near the pier is supposed to be great. i was goin to camp there a couple years ago right on the outskirks..found a cool campsite for like 40 bucks..and you can rent a scooter to take you into key west..i never went yet though.

[phinsupincali]

TY Sarah. Great info for me!!! I will be taking my 2 kids (6 and 12) for a few days at each location, so probably the family type of hotel/things to do would be best. I will look into each of those websites, since Ive started to look and compare prices for different places. We are planning to do the Disney thing, Space Center and a few others I can think of. Once I narrow it down, Ill let you know my options. Thanks again.

[sarah0403]

no sweat...one other thing...bring a tire tube..for the kids for the pool..some hotels charge you "rental' for floats..I always buy a $2 float to pack from walmart, dollar general, then blow it up to use in the hotel pool....better than paying 5-10 bucks for a rental ..if you go to disney..fast pass is free.. .you will not be standing for hours waiting in line..like the other tourists.you can actually have a few passes on you ..you can use those ANYTIME after your time slot. read up on it, you will see what i mean ...good link Disney World Magic Kingdom - Disneyworld Park Review and Tips - Space Mountain Tips - Splash Mountain - Pirates of the Caribbean - Fireworks Shows..trust me you basically go from one ride to another with barely any waiting time.many have no clue that it is free to use .if u do it right ..you will have a better time and see EVERYTHING at disneyworld. yes, I guess I really do love orlando..ha ha

[Mothernature]

One thing to consider is what time of year you will visit. The humidity in south Florida is grueling May- October. Orlando is normally ten degrees cooler than the Miami area.

I suggest you take the half hour drive past Ft Lauderdale to Hollywood, FL. It is 1/2 hour north of Miami.

The hotels are awesome and next to million dollar buildings (many Trump buildings in the area).

The Westin Diplomat is awesome. The Marriott Resort and SPA Hollywood is currently $79 a night right now. The Diplomat has two pools and one is kid friendly. Westin also has the kids club.

The Adventura mall is not too far and Sawgrass mills is about 20 minutes north. There is a large play land for kids called Wanadoo City. Games Work arcade is in this mall too.

A half a block from the Marriott and Westin is Dave n Busters who offers 1/2 price Wednesdays on all game play.

You can go down to Miami to go to the Seaquarium, zoo (where you can fed the girafes food), South Beach, shopping, restaurants, etc.

Do not forget you can also go to the Bahamas via boat. Discovery line has a boat that travels from 7:45 am to 10 pm. They provide regular cruise amenities and full breakfast and dinner buffet. You will need to apply for a passport card or book to go on boat starting 6/1/09.

I am somewhat familiar with Ft. Lauderdale. However, many of the hotels in the area are not the best. We would not stay there with five star resorts in Hollywood.

I also recommend Hollywood over Ft. Lauderdale because the location is closer to the Keys. Before you head over to the keys, stop at Biscayne Bay. Stop at Biscayne National Park. This is the furthest south point of the United States. Nice beaches, good history, and great food.

The Keys. I suggest you make a stop in Key Largo (the first key). John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is worth the stop. They have nice clean beaches and a glass bottom boat. Also stop for rare great shells at Shell World Key Largo. The staff is very friendly and the prices are great. I would stay at the Sheraton Suites Key West or the Westin Key West Resort and Marina.

Click here to see how people rate hotels in Key West. Just keep in mind the "cheaper" hotels tend to make the top of the list.

We are down there in three weeks ourselves. I can not wait to go again

HTH

[andryia]

I almost always use Priceline for vacation shopping. They have star ratings and guest reviews for all the hotels so you can have a better idea that you're getting.

Don't know if you've booked your flight/hotel yet, but here are some of Priceline's vacation packages for the Orlando area.

I have heard excellent things about the Hilton Lake Buena Vista. . .and it's located right in Disney World!