Trip Report, June 9-11, Fort Lauderdale (long)

Just got back today from a wonderful three day, two night visit to Fort Lauderdale. I was looking for a romantic place to take my wife for a surprise getaway. Fort Lauderdale is BEAUTIFUL! We love to do and see things as we travel like the locals do. So the way we took our trip may not be every person%26#39;s dream way of taking a vacation, but it definitely was fun and we did things we like to do!

I booked our hotel using Priceline. I bid the Fort Lauderdale beach area and received the Hyatt Pier 66. We had a wonderful stay at this lovely hotel. I called in advance and asked if there was any way I could get a non-smoking king room. The front desk folks were so gracious. She put us down for a tower room (which is what I was hoping for). When we arrived (around 2:00), our room wasn%26#39;t ready. No problem. The front desk person said, ';How about a room on the 15th floor?'; (Which is one level from the top floor)! We said that would be great. What a gorgeous room with a beautiful view of the city skyline, inter-coastal waterway, and even of the ocean in the distance! (BTW, I posted a review of the hotel in the hotel section). I cannot say enough great things about his fabulous property and the excellent treatment at the Hyatt. They were always ready and willing to help!

We bought daily bus passes for $3 each. There is a bus stop right outside the Hyatt. It runs every half hour and was very reliable. We used the bus to get wherever we needed to go. It took about 15-20 minutes to get to and from the airport, 5 minutes to the beach, and about 15 minutes to the Riverfront/Las Olas area. Route 40 takes you to and from the downtown area to the Gallaria mall area, the beach, and right to the Hyatt. We spent all of $18 for all of our transportation needs for the three days. We just had one small bag each, and it was no problem getting to and from the airport. (One change of bus at Hwy 1 and 17th street causeway).

I arranged a spa treatment for my wife on the first day. The folks at Diamante Day spa were wonderful. It%26#39;s on 17th ave, about a mile from the hotel. After my wife got her nails done, we ate at a lovely outdoor restaurant, Giorgio%26#39;s, that was recommended by the spa folks. (Next door). The restaurant was small, but nearly every table was filled with locals, so we knew we were at a good spot. The lasagna was great, as were the rolls! After dinner, we took the bus down to the beach and walked along the shore. The beaches were so pretty. It was a great first day!

The second day we got up early and went to the beach. We found beach umbrella%26#39;s and chairs for rent by the Yankee Clipper for $10 each for the entire day. We had a blast playing on the beach and swimming. Around noon we left because we knew we were getting more sun than we were used to. Back to the hotel to get cleaned up, and then we decided to go downtown. We took the bus to the Riverwalk area. We had contacted the Fort Lauderdale tourism office ahead of time and they sent us a brochure with many 2 for 1 offers. One was for the Riverfront Cruise. For $20, we enjoyed a lovely tour of the waterways, looking at the beautiful mansions, huge yachts (including Johnny Depp%26#39;s yacht). By the way, drinks are included on this trip. (The Carrie B was not running on Tuesday or Wednesday, so that wasn%26#39;t an option.) But the 1.5 hour cruise was really enjoyable. I highly recommend it! Afterwards, we walked down Los Olas to all the shops. It was sprinkling some, but most of the shops have awnings, so it was really nice. We got some fudge at the fudge shop, and my wife enjoyed looking at the shops. (I believe they price things for the yacht/mansion owners, so we mainly window-shopped on this street!) For dinner, we decided to go back to 17th street as we had seen an Outback Steakhouse. That%26#39;s one of our favorites.

Our last day was today. Since we were sun-burned from the beach, we decided to go to the Art museum downtown. We were there when it opened at 11:00. (It%26#39;s also one of the 2-for-1 attractions from the Fort Lauderdale tourism bureau). There was a nice antique auto display, as well as a decorating display on the first floor. The second floor is a Cuban art display. It only took us about an hour to see the museum. (I don%26#39;t really recommend this museum, but if you have an hour to kill downtown, it%26#39;s okay). We decided to go back to the Riverwalk area because I had seen a pizza place there the day before. Wow...it was wonderful! The place was full of locals, and the food was delicious, especially the pepperoni rolls!

Sadly, our getaway had to come to an end! We caught the bus back to the hotel for our bags, and then back to the airport. We had a GREAT time in Fort Lauderdale and would definitely recommend the city to others! It%26#39;s a beautiful, clean city, and we had a great time. Thanks to everyone on this board for tips for our getaway!

Trip Report, June 9-11, Fort Lauderdale (long)

Thank you for posting such an informative trip report. I always wonder how people enjoyed their visit and I appreciate that you took the time to let us know that you did.

Hurry back!

Trip Report, June 9-11, Fort Lauderdale (long)

Thanks for posting. I love trip reports. Glad you had a good time.

Thanks for posting about your trip! It%26#39;s also really nice to hear the wonderful things you said about the Hyatt and the destination in general. Hope you%26#39;ll be back!!

Thank you very much for your report. I have always been scared to book a hotel through Priceline (actually TA advised me against it), you give me a different perspective.

I booked a car through Priceline, I had a great surprise: it was Hertz, I booked a basic, they upgrated to a much higher category.

Alwynna, over the past ten years, I%26#39;ve probably booked through Priceline 100 or more times. I use betterbidding.com to research what hotels I *might* get and what price I should bid. I usually make a refundable standard reservation at a hotel I like, then try to beat that price on priceline. If I%26#39;m successful, then I cancel the standard reservation.

I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ve saved thousands of dollars over the years by booking with Priceline. A couple of warnings: you cannot cancel and you cannot change after you bid. Don%26#39;t do it if your plans are not absolutely certain. Or wait until just a few days out before you bid. Second, you can%26#39;t pick your hotel. I usually only bid for 3 or 4 star hotels, that way I%26#39;m certain to get a pretty nice hotel. I can%26#39;t think of a time in all my years where I was not very happy with my Priceline hotel arrangements. If you are traveling with more than 2 in your party, you may want to try Hotwire as then you can pick a room which will accommodate up to four people. Priceline only guarantees a room for two.

Thanks for all the useful info TravelFan....it%26#39;s great to know that priceline works for you and I%26#39;m glad you have been able to get hotels you%26#39;re satisfied with. I used priceline a long time ago, but have hesitated to try it again thinking that I couldn%26#39;t luck out a second time. Maybe I%26#39;ll look into it again.

Travel Fan:

Thanks for your report! I love our downtown area, and our beaches, and it is nice to hear others love it also!

Come Back Soon!

Lisa

Hello TravelFan,

Your info about Priceline is very useful, but the best one is about Betterbidding, that I didn%26#39;t know at all.

They give tons of info, how to bid and what to avoid. And about Hotwire, they even give the name of the hotel offered. They are so nice! Go there all if you want a good price, mostly for hotels but also for cars etc... From now on, it will be the first site I will visit when I plan a trip.

Thank you so much for that info.

Betterbidding is a great site, but when using it, take note of the date of the posts. There is a lot of really old content (4+ years), so you may not get the hotel you think you will.

Great informative report travlefan. Am due to spend 9 days there with my g/f in September. If the place is anything like you said then i%26#39;m sure we%26#39;ll have an awesome time!

Just a quick question... You mentioned the bus service. We are staying at a small hotel about 15 mins. north of the main beach area, not far from the mall. Do you know if there are bus stops close to this point and that the bus service goes down the coast towards the main beach area and Las Olas Blvd?

I know we are only about 1 mile away from the main spot and although I will probably enjoy that walk, it would be nice to have the option of the bus service as well!

Thanks,

Rich.