Fort Lauderdale Travel Forum

We have stayed in either Lauderdale By The Sea (at Paradise By The Sea -- not good) or at Ocean Manor (private condos vary, but they need work) the last few years with our family. We have to go at Christmastime because of family members' schedules. We used to go on spring break to Panama City Florida, where they had clean and comfortable condos right on the beach with lovely balconies. They were much more reasonably priced than the places we've stayed in Fort Lauderdale. What's the deal? We love the Fort Lauderdale area and want to return, however, after spending hours online looking for a place to stay, I've not found much in our price range. High Noon looks nice, but they're already booked for Christmas 2009. Any ideas would be appreciated.

My family stayed at the High Noon last Christmas and loved it. Keep trying there might be cancellations. They have two sister properties right next door, the Sea Foam and Nautilus that we had checked out for my family prior to their booking, they were clean and right on the beach.

Re: price, what can you say, that's the trend here in Fort Lauderdale. It's a supply and demand thing. If you find better prices and the amenities you want elsewhere, run it.

If you looking for a small, nice clean Hotel, I can recommend you the Sea Beach Plaza. 1 Block from the Beach, 2 Miles from Shopping and Port Evergaldes and only few minutes to drive to Las Olas. Right on A1A. Hotel has rooms with Kitchen, nice Pool, free Wireless Internet, Cable and complimentary coffee.
For Christmas the price are everywhere high, but a nice room with a Queen bed and kitchen is there about $79 - $89 USD. If you get lucky, maybe for $69 USD.

I have also stayed at Paradise by the Sea few years ago and was not that great. Last year I stayed with my parents in a 1 bedroom at Blue Seas Courtyard in Lauderdale by the Sea and loved it! Check out their web site: http://www.blueseascourtyard.com/
The apartment was a decent size, with a fully equipped kitchen and 2 bathrooms (one full bathroom and one with a shower). The 2nd bathroom was small, but if you are a big person, you could easily take a bath in the other bathroom. There is also a laundry room on the premises and you could use it w/o a problem if needed. We even used the BBQ once since my dad went fishing and caught a nice size king fish that we cooked on the grill.
Since my parents are old (over 70) and my mom has trouble walking, I wanted to stay at a place close to the beach and also close to the fishing pier, where my dad could go fishing. The location could not have been better, you could see the beach from the patio (the beach is just across the street) and the fishing pier was 3 blocks south from here. The resort is very clean and the owners are very nice and friendly. It is not a 5 stars place, but it is very clean and it has a certain charm to it. The place just grows on you the more you stay here! The resort was almost full (just 2 rooms avail), but still very quiet. Everybody respected other's people privacy and the desire to rest while here. To me, this place is great for adults or for people who enjoy staying in a quiet place. There were 2 couples with kids while we were there, but you could never hear the kids. The parents would take them to the beach every day and all the times they were at the pool, the parents were watching them and making sure they do behave and do not scream from the top of their lungs while swimming.
The place turns into something special at night, when the owners turn on the lights that are seen all over the place and around the fence.
It is for sure a place that we will return to if we will go back to Ft Lauderdale. I still feel sorry I did not know about this place on my other trips to Ft Lauderdale. I would have gladly stayed in Lauderdale By The Sea at this resort if I would have known about it.
Have fun in Florida!
Monica