South Florida recommendation?
 

Family, 2 kids in tow, wife, looking for a great warm three days/two nights in S Florida around Thanksgiving. Quite a few choices. Ritz in FLL, Hollywood Beach, JW Marriott Miami and other properties. Any recommendations? Pool is a must, nice pool that is, shopping, food, walking paths? Anything recent?

In that stage ... I used to like the MVC on Singer Island, Pools, nice rooms, walking paths,good beach. Not so much shopping though and haven't been there in a while.

I would stay at the Stanton in SOBE. Has a good CL and not listed as a Resort so you get benefits as plat/gold. Hotel was just redone.

I certainly enjoyed Marriott's Ocean Pointe Vacation Club property on Singer Island. We had a two bedroom unit that included a living room, full kitchen, etc. It had all kinds of activities for the kids and adults as well. It has a very nice pool area and a great beach. There's very little within walking distance so a car is really required. Once you have a car, there are a ton of restaurants, shopping, etc. within a 30 minute drive.

Just got back from a week at the Marriott Resort Singer Island. Had a 1 bedroom suite with a complete kitchen (full size refrigerator, range, dishwasher, washer & dryer) that was great for saving a few $s on breakfast. There is shopping (not high end, though) and restaurants 5-10 minutes drive north. Beach was fine (a bit rough a couple of days; not the hotels fault). We did not go to the larger/kids oriented pool.

Biggest turn-off was the $30/day charge for 2 beach chairs w/ umbrella (and double that if you want 4 chairs, although I was able to negotiate a 3rd chair at a reduced price).

Overall, worked great for us.

The Harbor Beach Marriott in Ft. Lauderdale is one of the Marriott's premier beach resorts. It has a very nice pool, lots of kids activities, it is right on the beach in a more secluded beach area. It is much, much nicer, full resort than the Hollywood Beach Marriott you already mentioned.

Just did a few nights here and a few nights at Turnberry Isle, both on points stays with the wife & kids.

Turnberry Isle hands down is the better place with the family, would go back in a heartbeat.

Residence Inn Fort Lauderdale Intracoastal/Il Lugano

This hotel was built as apartments so the suites are oversized.
The beach is a short walk and the prices are much more affordable than the neighboring FLL Ritz.

It depends on what you want. If you want an Orlando experience with a Lazy river and golf goto turnberry.

If you want to be on the Beach, Get a CL for the Kids to use (that is one of the best breakfast spreads going) and be in the middle of SOBE then the stanton is your choice. They are completely different properties. Sobe has so much more vibe and so does the area. Kids musuem are just across the causeways as well. At the stanton you can walk everywhere you won't need a car daily. or Use uber.

No way would I recommend a non beach property in S. Florida during the warm season. Pools are everywhere...beaches aren't.

There are actually three Marriott resort properties on Singer Island (near West Palm Beach), and all are on the beach. Two are Marriott Vacationclub.

Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Resort (all suite resort)
MVC Oceana Palms (high rise, 2BR), near the resort above)
MVC Ocean Pointe (studio, 1BR, 2Br) larger resort with multiple buildings, more family oriented than Oceana Palms

All are very nice beachfront resorts. The MVC properties have limited availability for MR point awards because most owners don't convert to MR points any more. There are several good restaurants on PGA Blvd and in Jupiter, a 15-30 minute drive. We really like Singer Island because it is away from the congested areas, but still easily accessible to PBI or FLL airports.

I've never stayed at the Marriott resort because I own at both timeshares, but have heard good things about it and have eaten in the restaurant.

I'd prefer the Marriott Resort next door. Great beach (nicely walkable) and pool and very nice rooms (all studio/suites), plus a small public park with playground etc. right next to it. Sadly a resort, so only official benefit is free internet, however for Plats they offer 50% off parking, which is very nice given they only have valet-parking at $27 a night. No resort fee, btw.

In terms of shopping West Palm Beach Outlets are only a two-exit ride on I-95 away, and even the Sawgrass Mills Mall is in reach. Regular shopping in downtown West Palm Beach is also nice with the City Place being my favorite place there.

Can't wait to get back there in October after just checking out a few days ago...

Greetings - Dirk

Ritz South Beach! is where everything is.

I am at the Marriott Stanton SoBe right now on a 7 night Travel Package cert. Very nice hotel in a great location just 3 streets South of the main Ocean Drive area running from 5th to 13th Street.

There are 3 beachfront Marriott brands at Miami Beach. The Stanton is on Ocean Drive furthest South but nearest the main tourist and leisure area between 5th and 13th. The Ritz is very central to the city directly opposite Lincoln which is the slap bang centre of Miami Beach. The Edition is further North and its location is poor in comparison, with quite the walk to Lincoln and much further to Ocean Drive. However the seafront walk from the Edition to Lincoln and onto Ocean Drive is nice.

The Stanton is the only Marriott property in Miami Beach to offer a concierge lounge, alas it will also be the last as it's currently adding 2 new restaurants which when they open in a couple of months will herald the properties conversion to a "resort" and we all know what that means! I suspect it will be the tiniest resort in Marriott-dom, heck right now I'd say it's far more a small-boutique-hotel than a Marriott (that's a good thing). In future I foresee many complaints about resort fees and tiny restaurants once the conversion occurs. Sure it will tick all the boxes for a resort with 3 restaurants (2 very small), coffee shop (teeny), hotel shop (max capacity 2/3 persons!), Ice cream Parlour (bar actually, no seating) and 2 very small pools in an area that until these conversions began used to hold one decent-sized pool. Right now it represents a great place to redeem your points with the lounge and free brekkie in a boutique-style beachfront hotel. That value proposition may well change with resort status and the lounge closure, no free breakfast and daily resort fees that will follow.

The Stanton is a lovely hotel in the right position on SoBe, close to the action, but not right in the thick of it. The CL evening and breakfast is fine and it's wonderful to sit on one of the four balconies at the lounge watching the sun set over the city. Room sizes aren't big, but the hotel does seem to routinely upgrade, my cert was for a city view room and we're in one of the larger rooms with an excellent sea view. I've really enjoyed my stay here and I can't really see the Tier 5 Ritz being worth the extra 150,000 points for the week.

Any experiences with the Residence Inn Ft Lauderdale Pompano Beach? I'm looking at that for March 2017. Our criteria:

- right on a (nice) beach
- lot's of room (two teenage daughters)

Doesn't need to be ultra fancy and we will have car to drive to restaurants if reasonably close. Looks like the 2 BR suite fits our needs nicely. Or not?

TIA

Looking for advice on the best hotel on south beach.

It can be kind of overwhelming with all the choices but I am looking for a unique place to relax and unwind. (FWIW Plat with MR/SPG. Diamond with Hilton, Hyatt Plat)
I am looking at a one night stay post cruise from POM (the second night will be a the airport area since we have an early am flight)

I had originally booked the South Beach Royal Palms but looking at reviews and remodeling that is going on while we are there (mid November) I want to go somewhere else

Looking at the Ritz Carlton SB ($283 night + resort fee), The queen room with deck whirlpool at Winter Haven, Autograph Collection($229, no resort fee) or the W SB ($379 plus resort fee)

I haven't stayed at a RC or a W but the Winter Haven seems neat with the rooftop lounge and the outdoor private whirlpool, beach right across the street.

Any input or suggestions on a place to stay. $400 a night would need to be a superb stay but the W is rated #5 on TA so maybe it would be worth it.


The only thing we will have planed is to go to Nobu for dinner but we can grab an uber from anywhere on SB for that.

I was at the Winter Haven a month ago and hope to go back. None of that resort nonsense that supposedly will happen at the Stanton (and much more reasonable rates), and you get beach chairs, umbrella and a towel. As a platinum you can have breakfast at the restaurant. The staff was amazing and was probably the highlight of the stay. I dealt with at least 4 different front desk agents and they all made me feel welcome. I don't know if they were just going above and beyond for me as a Plat or if that's what they do for everyone, but I wasn't complaining. Also, it was close to most of the nightspots I wanted to go, so the location is pretty walkable. Don't get excited about the rooftop lounge because it's nothing to write home about. Just take a few pics of the view and move on. Also, there's no pool, but you can use the one at the Blue Moon because they're sister properties.

Thanks for the feedback, going to book it now.

I just spent 3 nights at the Blue Moon. Overall, a very nice place and I would stay there again. No upgrade, but according to the app the place was legit booked up. Rooms are claustrophobicly small, but that's SoBe for you. Rooms are very nicely apportioned and the hotel has that 1930's art deco charm that makes SoBe a special place. It has a pool, but it's only 3' deep and not very long, so you can't really swim in it. Very few pool lounge chairs but a nice outdoor area (that does allow smoking if you partake). It's in a great location and easy walking distance to bars, restaurants, and the beach. It also has several bikes you can rent for free for the day. The new $15/resort fee includes towels, bottled water, and 2 beach chairs every day. The beach chairs were great! You rent them right on the beach - much better than sitting on a towel all day.

My only criticism is the breakfast situation. As a Plat, I was offered a continental breakfast (oatmeal or cereal, plus another carb) and coffee/juice. or you can apply $10 towards the menu. When coffee alone is $4, that $10 doesn't get far. I wish a hot breakfast with some protein was an option. But I've noticed Autograph Collection hotels generally suck when it comes to the free breakfast at many locations - they give you as little as possible.

On my second night I also got a little package of 4 delicious chocolate chip cookies. No idea if this applies to everyone, was because of my Plat status, or what. But a nice touch. The hotel bar has happy hour every day (2-for-1 drinks), which is a great deal.

Overall a nice SoBe hotel to stay in, but don't expect much in terms of elite recognition. I would also strongly suggest a day trip to Key West if you can - that was a fun trip.

Thanks for the review on Blue Moon; much appreciated.

Cheers.