BlueZebra

Embassy Suites.

hhoope01

I do believe the Diplomat in Hollywood (just a little south of the FLL airport) is now a Hilton hotel. I haven't stayed there since it has moved over from Starwood, but many SPG members considered it to be one of the best Starwood beach resorts in the US (if not the best one.) So I would guess it would still be very nice and enjoyable now that it is in the Hilton family.

orr333

Bahia Mar (Doubletree) is bit outdated but has a pedestrian bridge over A1A to the beach. Nice pool area. High parking fees and I do not think they have shuttles for cruises as the Embassy Suites does.

The Hilton Marina is nice and right on the intercoastal...might not be the best place for kids though as it tends to get a younger, hip drinking crowd at the poolside bars.

While I am here 2 weeks a month, I have never stayed at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. It is right in the thick of the action and beach area. Free nights would be a good thing there as they run high!

There is a homewood suites away from the beach area but if you have free certs, probably don't want to stay there.

KENNECTED

the Diplomat is a good 25/30 minutes south of FLL airport. It was an SPG favorite, but I haven't not been since the switch, so that may be a moot point.

On Ft. Lauderdale Beach there is the Hilton Beach Resort and the Bahia Mar. The Embassy Suites & Hilton Marina are further away from the beach, but no more than a 10 min. drive, not including locating parking.

hhoope01

Is it really that far down? I admit its been a few years since I last was there, but I didn't remember it being that far out. And I just checked the Hilton thread on it and it looks like they are shutting down the executive lounge and replacing it with a restaurant.

writerguyfl

The Diplomat is 14.5 miles (26 minutes) if you take I-95. Going via local roads US1 to A-1-A is shorter at 8.4 miles but longer at 28 minutes according to Bing.

HansGruber

No it's not that far. If you map it, you get some crazy loop in the directions. If you go A1A it's 15 mins and less than 10 miles. I've been there a few times. There is some construction going on right by the airport...it's possible there is some goofy road closures right now causing you to go North a hair on highway 1. When I was there in the summer you had to do a U-turn on 1 when coming to the airport from the south. Around New Years that was not the case.

writerguyfl

I live here. It takes longer than 15 minutes to get from FLL to the Diplomat via US-1/A-1-A. As I wrote, Bing maps says it's 8.4 miles taking 28 minutes.

As part of the new runway construction, someone thought it would be smart to permanently remove the southbound exit from FLL to US-1. So, the U-turn or some other backward way will be the only way to go south.

This article is about a year old. But, unless I missed it, no changes have been made to the road.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/201...rport-new-ramp

hhoope01

Interesting. Google Maps says it is 6.8 miles taking 17 minutes via US-1.

But I will admit it has been a few years since I stayed down there and if there is or has been airport and local road construction, it may well take longer. I'll leave that to your expertise (as it looks like you have much more recent experience, given you live in the area.)

In any case, I don't think there are any complimentary shuttles to/from the airport, the hotel, and the cruise ships. So the OP would either need to take a taxi or rent a car.

But again, The Diplomat is a top-notch resort with quite a few amenities. And while it was a Starwood hotel, was noted for its exceptional elite status recognition. So it might be worth it to the OP.

hhoope01

Oops.

I stand corrected. I noticed (after I posted the above) that Google was getting me to "The Diplomat Golf, Tennis and Yacht Club", not the hotel. When I fixed that, it showed the looping you mentioned just to get out of the airport. (Not sure why it didn't show that even for the Yacht club though.) And now it is 12.3 miles, taking 28 minutes (but it looks like most of the extra "time" is trying to get out of the airport going south.)

writerguyfl

Thanks for taking the time to post. It's not about anyone being right or wrong; it's just helpful for anyone who may stumble upon this thread in the future.

Back to the topic: For a post-cruise stay, you may want to opt for the Embassy Suites. Unless you're splurging for a suite on the ship, the size of room at the ES will be a welcome change from a compact cabin. Also, after 4-7 nights at sea, the need to be on the beach may not be great.

diver858

Wife and I will be arriving in MIA on a redeye from the West Coast midweek in early July 2015, plan to rent a car, would like to use Hhonors points to book a quiet, relaxing property to chill on the beach before some high energy weekend partying elsewhere in the greater Miami area. We are not looking to be pampered, or a luxury stay (will be back in October for our first stay at the Bentley).

Based on locations, review, redemption values and parking fees, we have whittled the options down to 3, would appreciate some specific guidance, based on our criteria, in no particular order:
Hilton Cabana - 50k points, valet only $35
DT Ocean Point - 50k points, valet only $27
DT Bahia Mar - 30k points, $21 self / $25 valet

Based on the above criteria, will is there sufficient benefit at the Cabana or Ocean Point to justify the extra 20k points over the Bahia Mar?

arlflyer

I have not personally stayed at any of the properties, but I would say that unless you have some specific reason to go to Fort Lauderdale, I would not go that far out of the way from MIA. Location-wise the DT Ocean Point does look intriguing in that it is between the two metro areas, thus likely to be the least crazy. Though at that time of year, at any property, you're likely to encounter a lot of families traveling with kids. So unless you go for a big-$, super exclusive property, I'm not sure how much relaxing chilling you can reasonably count on.

If you value being right on the beach rather than across a major highway from a public beachfront park with a huge parking lot, then I would say either of the more expensive properties are worth the extra. There is no such thing, legally, as a private beach in Florida, but a hotel beach will generally be less crowded because not as many people can drive from far away and park at it.

Also, just an FYI to your latter point - I wouldn't expect to receive much resembling "pampering" or "luxury" from the Bentley. It's a perfectly decent property, but at the end of the day it's an old apartment building whose value is mostly in its location. People speak of it in the tier of "elite" Hilton properties (mainly because it is expensive), but from a hard/soft product perspective it is not in line with anything like a WA Chicago or an international WA/Conrad, etc. Or any high-end brand like FS, RC, for that matter.

orr333

Bahia Mar is an OLD property converted to DT. Worn, not much in the way of amenities. I stay 2-3 weeks in the area every month and stay close to the sand if I can. Have not done the other 2 you mention as frankly, I try to stay as far from Dade County (MIA) as I can. It has 100x the traffic and just a pain in the you know what.

Have stayed at the Bentley - if you expect to be pampered there, don't get your expectations TOO high. I did get a nice upgrade there but other than that, it is expensive and personally SB is very overrated. I very much prefer the Lauderdale beaches and hotels.

Parking everywhere on the water properties is very expensive.

diver858

Thank you for the response. So for a one day, early arrival, midweek in July, what would be your recommendation(s)? Wife was a bit scared off by the DT Trip Advisor reviews, is leaning toward the Cabana.