It's not that Apple devices have inferior wifi. It's that the wifi drivers for every device are different. Some drivers (in your case, the ones Apple uses in the iPad) have trouble with others (like the ones used in the particular wireless access point you were trying to connect to).

That said, if you suddenly find your iPad can't connect to ANY wifi networks, turning it off and on should definitely be your first step. Resetting network settings is step #2, but beware that it will delete all your saved wifi networks, VPN settings, 3/4G settings, etc.