Ft Lauderdale places to stay

[CTguy]

Will be going to Ft Lauderdale in January and would be interested to hear some recommendations on places to stay. Not looking for a "gay" guesthouse but rather a mainstream type hotel. Looking for something reasonably priced, good location near the gay clubs and tourist areas. Will have a car so I will not need public transportation. Would like to hear your thoughts. Also any recent updates on the clubs would be nice.

[marcanthony]

Will be going to Ft Lauderdale in January and would be interested to hear some recommendations on places to stay. Not looking for a "gay" guesthouse but rather a mainstream type hotel. Looking for something reasonably priced, good location near the gay clubs and tourist areas. Will have a car so I will not need public transportation. Would like to hear your thoughts. Also any recent updates on the clubs would be nice.

I would stay downtown. Closer to the clubs and much cheaper than the beaches... and quite frankly the hotels are actually nicer than the beachfront ones.

[stripfan]

The good news is that there are multiple locations for you to enjoy and stay in Fort Lauderale. I have found the gay bars to be spread out in Fort Lauderdale so most require a car or cab no matter where you stay. Before deciding on a hotel, I would recommend reading the reviews on tripadvisor for fort lauderdale as I find they are helpful to me.

As Mark Anthony said downtown is a good area. There is a Hampton Inn that is fairly close to Living Room (gay friday night); Voodoo (gay Sunday night); Johnny's, and Boardwalk. It is on a side street downtown and I haven't stayed there so I can't discuss the quality. I personally think the area around the hotel looks a little sketchy but not really sure. There is also the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas Blvd that is nice if you get the newer part and not the older part.

The 17th Street causeway is an area that I like because it is between the beaches and Federal Highway and relatively close to the clubs. Hotels in this area include the Renaissance; Hilton; Hyatt Pier 66; Courtyard; Embassy Suites and a Holiday Inn Express.

I like the HarborBeach Marriott but it can be expensive during the tourist season. I prefer the beach areas and there has been alot of building recently with new hotels so you might catch a deal. I know some people that stay pre and post cruise at the Courtyard at Fort Lauderdale Beach.

One thing that can add alot to your stay is the price of parking at some of the beach and downtown hotels. Some are valet only and charge in the $30.00 range so if you decide to stay on the beach at the W, Westin, Hilton, etc. Be sure to keep that in mind when you are looking at the price of the hotels.

There is a Marriott North that is a little further away but does have free parking and is an older property that is usually available on priceline for a very reasonable rate. Another site if you like to use priceline is biddingfortravel.com that is helpful in looking at the hotels you can get on priceline in Fort Lauderdale along with a message board that discusses winning bids.

Good Luck and report back after your trip.