The Fort Lauderdale center is about the area of Port Everglades Cruise Terminal and the area of Jungle Queen Riverboats.
December to May is high season in Florida, when travelers come from across the U.S. for a break from the winter weather. If you come in spring, you'll want to make yourself aware of spring break dates before you plan your trip. From mid-May until September is low season, but the area still receives traffic from international tourists, families on summer vacation, and business travelers.
Prices are lower from June through October and you'll find fewer crowds, making these months a great time to visit if you can handle the heat. June through November is also hurricane season in Florida, so watch the weather closely if you plan to be in the area.
The average temperature in Fort Lauderdale is a comfortable 76 degrees. In winter, temps drop into the high 60s, and in summer months, the average high is 82 degrees. Rain is most common in June and September, but humidity can stay high throughout the summer.
The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale offers special online pricing and periodic limited-time sales, so explore several dates if you have flexibility in your schedule. Booking early will help you find specials at the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort, which can save you 20 percent.
The Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa rewards you for early booking, too, with savings up to 15 percent. Marriott sometimes runs 48-hour sales, so if you don't find a rate you like, try again in a few days. Loyalty programs like Holiday Inn's Priority Club are a great way to be assured of free upgrades or earn free hotel nights.
Fort Lauderdale offers a bouquet of value-priced hotels that fall somewhere between the economy options and the luxe resorts. You may have to give up amenities like room service or on-site spas, but these hotels are perfect for travelers who want to enjoy some indulgent options without breaking their travel budget.
The Drift Hotel is a great boutique option, a 2 1/2-star hotel that earns good reviews from its guests. The hotel is housed in a cute, cube-shaped building that manages to be close to the action yet tucked away from the crowds at the same time. The rooms, both deluxe rooms and suites, are comfortable, and the service is warm and friendly.
A continental breakfast is included in your stay here, but it's a simple affair. If you wake up with a hearty appetite, you'll find great restaurants within easy walking distance.
If you prefer a large, modern hotel, consider the Sonesta Fort Lauderdale Beach. This four-star beach hotel features gorgeous views and stunning facilities at a great price. You can choose from a variety of rooms, including some with floor-to-ceiling windows and sweeping views of the ocean. The pool isn't large or fancy, but you may not notice the pool with a clean, expansive beach at your front door. A restaurant and on-site bar, plus a buffet breakfast is available at a surcharge.
The Coral Key Inn is another option that's popular with mid-range travelers. This older property is on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. The Coral Key offers studio rooms and suites with expanded kitchen facilities, so you can warm up leftovers, prepare your own breakfast, or cook a meal.
What some may call an "aparthotel" has a nicely manicured outdoor pool area. The neighborhood is quiet, but offers easy access on foot to the beach and to the supermarkets, restaurants, and nightlife.
The beach in Fort Lauderdale is glorious, but you'll want a little variety in your days, even on vacation. Las Olas Boulevard is the downtown strip area where you'll find three museums, art galleries, high-end designer shopping options, and plenty of restaurants.
If shopping on the strip isn't your style, maybe you'd rather tour the Florida Everglades in an airboat at the Sawgrass Recreation Park. Watch out for alligators, though. Night tours are also available if you want to see what creeps in the swamps after dark.
The Museum of Discovery and Science is a favorite for families. This hands-on museum features kid-friendly exhibits, perfect for keeping active children busy on a rainy day.
The Riverwalk is an arts and entertainment district along the river, a lovely place for an afternoon or early evening stroll.
More than 50 years have passed since Hollywood first painted Fort Lauderdale as a naughty spring break destination. But in those years, the town has grown into a multifaceted destination for sun-seekers of all ages. When you find the hotel that suits your needs, well, that's a slice of paradise for you.
The Venice of America is a picture of expansive canal systems sans the gondola and singing cruise men. Fort Lauderdale has been a famous destination for a number of reasons, with the citing of international comparison at the very least. The place is popular with anglers, snorkelers, and kayakers, but a drive down the road awaits raucous nightlife, sophisticated restaurants, and historic charms. In fact, Fort Lauderdale is a host to 120 nightclubs, and 4000 restaurants, all of which are surrounded by palm-shaded white sands. Fort Lauderdale was once America's foremost spring Break destination, and at present remains one of Florida's most visited shores, a majority of which are popular to the gay community. The city's ports are considered the busiest and most active across all the state, bringing in innumerable cruise ships and yachts yearly. Apart from its canals, restaurants, and nightlife, Fort Lauderdale also offers venues for adventure at the Boomers! Rollercoaster Park and the Cypress Airboat Ride. There may be no gondolas, but at least there're airboat rides, yachts, and cruises.
Fort Lauderdale, in that sense, has a long tradition of birthing men and women who have never feared of being different, of speaking out against injustice and most of all who have never shied away from living their life to the fullest.
The real prosperity came to Fort Lauderdale after the conclusion of the bitter civil war of the 19th century. Florida, in general, evolved as a hospitably warm state during these years and Fort Lauderdale was among the first (second only to Miami) to soak this sudden rainfall with aplomb. The rise of Fort Lauderdale as one of the premier tourist and holiday spots in the whole of America has much to do with this calmness of demeanor that Fort Lauderdale and its residents have exhibited during good and bad times.
Today, the city earns most of its revenues (over 80%) directly from tourism. Much of the rest comes indirectly from tourism related peripheral services. It's not a surprise, then, that Fort Lauderdale has streamlined itself to maximize its tourism potential, making it a very, very attractive destination for travelers and holidaymakers.
Before discussing budget accommodation, a quick look at the sheer scale of tourism industry in Fort Lauderdale is well in order.
Fort Lauderdale, on its own, is responsible for over 15% of gross revenues collected in the entire state of Florida. On an average, over 4 million tourists are estimated to visit the city each year “ a number that has hiked by over 20% from the average of the decade before that. The hotel and restaurant industry (˜hospitality industry') is the chief motivator of the economy here, contributing in excess of $40 million in service taxes (at 5%) on an average, over last ten years. There are over 500 hotel establishments in city limits of Fort Lauderdale, usually accompanied by a full time restaurant. These Fort Lauderdale hotels account for rooms in excess of 30,000, making Fort Lauderdale the city with highest number of hotel rooms per square mile of area.
Considering all these facts and figures, it wouldn't take a brilliant mind to know that finding a hotel “ even on short notice “ is not that difficult in Fort Lauderdale. The difficulty, however, does arise for tourists in finding cheap hotels. Average nightly rate for a hotel room in Fort Lauderdale hovers around $90 or more, much above the American par.
A corollary of the idea presented in the earlier point, it will be easy to conjecture for attentive readers that there is an abundance of luxury hotels in Fort Lauderdale.
In many ways, it does make sense for a city like Fort Lauderdale that is driven more or less solely by tourism to boast of some of the finest resorts and hotel establishments on the east coast of the United States. These luxury resorts pride themselves in providing enviable Atlantic views (not sans-sunrise), in-house spas and pools, and special bars and lounges for their guests. Big brands in hospitality industry like Carlton Ritz, Hilton, Marriott and Mandarin Oriental all offer various services that their respective brands have come to be known for.
In such situations where travelers are faced with the dilemma of choosing a below-par cheap hotel or an unaffordable luxury hotel, alternative options are bound to come up to address needs of the market. Holiday homes, independent homestays and boutique establishments are some of these alternative options that tourists may find well worth exploring to maintain that difficult balance between comfort and budget.
Renting a holiday home by the beach may cost you much more than cheap hotels, but it will still save you a lot of money in comparison with other Fort Lauderdale hotels that are 4-starred or higher.
Almost all tourists making a trip to Fort Lauderdale have only one agenda on their minds “ to have fun, enjoy the sun-soaked beaches of Florida and let go of the stress that routine life brings with it. It's easier to get it all wrong when one is carrying a mind-set of unpreparedness. Hence, before sightseeing or relaxing on beaches in Fort Lauderdale, these few tips should be heeded to:
The biggest factor that has turned this rather inconspicuous city on the Atlantic coast into a major tourism hub in Florida is its consistent weather.
Fort Lauderdale is blessed with an all-year round sunshine clocking over 3,000 hours every year, on an average. In other words, it's sunny in Fort Lauderdale for close to 70% of daytime, all around the year. Temperatures are usually found to be in the 60-90 F band, with a moderate degree of rainfall that is usually concentrated in summer months.
Considering these points, it can be concluded Fort Lauderdale is a good place to visit pretty much all around the year. Spring season, however, sees inflation in hotel prices, as opposed to winter.
Below are reviews of the city of Fort Lauderdale, FL from an actual visitor's perspective.
The beach!
I love Fort Lauderdale!
It's a happening place with lots to do!
Near the beach and lots of restaurants and retail stores. Right on the main strip.
The cruise ship.
Fort Lauderdale is fun in the sun!
The surrounding area of stores and restaurants.
The weather, nice people and lots of shopping malls close by and yes Filipino restaurants around the hotel is always a plus!!!
Nice pool area.
Nice place!
Nice place!
Las Olas!
Close to good shopping!
Located near the cruse ships.
Clean and safe
I like the restaurants and watching the yachts!
Very close to the airport and ship port. Lots of restaurants around.
So comfortable!
It's a very clean city, no trash on the roadside or on the property that I stayed on.
The front desk was helpful.
Taxi boats to different restaurants. Beautiful flower arrangements around the city.
The New River and the yachts. The restaurants were excellent also.
Visited the downtown shopping district.
We enjoyed the strip, restaurants, the port and the airport.
The beautiful people and great shopping!
The beautiful people and great shopping!!!
Hotel is convenient to airport.
The organization of the beach is excellent in every way.
Lots of options for dining out!
Very clean city, easy to get around.
Very clean and easy to get around.
Hotel is off the beaten path.
Our cruise is out of here.
Step out the left for some great food. EvenKeel Tapas was a wonderful experience. Loved the proximity to the beach, less than a mile walk to the pier and the best little bar by the beach. Out the door to the right, you've got coffee shops, liquor store, Winn Dixie, Silent Moment Massage place was awesome, etc... All around great location convenient to everything.
Good continental breakfast.
Availability of anything needed.
Very nice airport and rental car service.
City has so much to offer for all ages. Kids had a blast and there is so much to do for adults.
Canal boat trip!
Location on the Atlantic!
Great location near cruise port.
Great location by cruise port.
Spent two days; great location for cruise port.
Everything is convenient and easy to walk to.
Good environment!
Beaches were inviting. Many great restaurants. Loved the water taxi tour.
Nar the port to go on my cruise!
A beautiful area with water taxis!
Everyone was extremely friendly and courteous.
Took a tour of the Everglades on airboat! Beaches and shopping are nearby!
Beach!
Loved the cleanliness and of course the landscaping!
Everything I need is in close proximity.
A great place!
Proximity to shopping areas!
Proximity to the airport.
Casino Isle
Many things to do and places to eat!
Room was very good and clean!
Beach was great for families and Yacht Club located close by was convenient.
City was clean and shopping was convenient!
Restaurants were close by the hotel.
Casinos
Beautiful weather and beaches!
Cleanliness! Staff are patient.
The Commercial Pointe Cafe is excellent!
Convenient restaurants in walking distance to hotel.
Convenient restaurants within walking distance to this hotel.
Enjoyed Fort Lauderdale beach during the Air & Sea Show!
Downtown was fun!
Beach!
I visited the beaches and 100% all the stores around the hotel! The hotel is in an amazing location with all the places to walk.
Hotel is close to restaurants, airline service, cruise port!
Good location and price.
Fort Lauderdale was a fun visit. The WEA was nice and we enjoyed the excursions we took to Sawgrass Park and the Jungle Queen Cruise.
Staff Friendly, room clean, room comfortable. The weather was beautiful.
Casino
The water taxi was great!
The beach is awesome!
The dog park was great!
The dog park was great
The beach is awesome!
Safe area, close to stores and restaurants.
The view!
Great
Spacious rooms, alot of places to eat close by, large refrigerator, and kitchen area
We at at Nicks on the ocean, Anthony's Pizza and Flanigans. They were all good. I had to visit the MD urgent care and the care there was exceptional.
Attractive place to visit!
Great restaurants in the surrounding area!
Very clean room comfy friendly staff. Great farmers market on weekends. Clean beaches with high tourist traffic on boardwalk but not crowded. Police patrolled, kept clean and plenty of restaurants
It is always a very peaceful place for me and the traffic isn't too bad.
Nice restaurants and bars in area. Had good time on water taxi. And enjoyed beach. Large room, clean and comfortable.
It was close to the Hard Rock and the room was clean.
Very clean and easy to navigate. The people were very polite and helpful
Visited Hollywood Beach.
I really enjoy Fort Lauderdale. The weather is always pleasant. People are friendly and I enjoy spending time at the beach. Shopping centers.
I really enjoy Fort Lauderdale. The weather is always pleasant. People are friendly and I enjoy spending time at the beach. Shopping centers.
The food was awesome, and the area was very clean! Beautiful!
It's a great city!