Hotel Review: Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel

the view from our room

In my recent blog post, Seas The Day, I wrote about the trip I recently took with my daughter to Fort Lauderdale.  Today’s post is about our digs while we were there. 

the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel; walkway to Marina Tower

We stayed at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel.  The event I was there for, our Maine tourism promotional luncheon and reception was being held at the hotel.  A Starwood member, it was easy for me to go along with the others in my group when they said they were booked at this hotel. 

ships on the horizon

When I saw its location on the map, I thought it would be great.  I booked the two days of work there and while I did look at other hotels for the two days I had to pay for myself ($250+ per night) I did end up staying there for the remainder of my trip, using our Starwood points. 

I had read some Trip Advisor reviews of the hotel.  Some had written that it was “tired” or “dated” and described the mix of confusing buildings and passageways.  After deciding that we’d go for it despite the reviews, I am very happy we did. 

cool art on the walls in the lobby

Upon arrival, I was immediately thrilled with the look and feeling of the lobby.  It was painted in such a great aquamarine color, with coral accent colors and lots of cool rattan furniture.  The aquamarine was set off by white accent walls.  The whole scheme was SO Florida!  Yep, folks down here might tire of the tropical colors, but baby that’s why I was there.  I don’t want to go to Florida and be surrounded by New England conservative décor.  No! I want it bright and crisp and Floridian. 

great wall color in the rooms; loved that!

The color palette continued in our room.  I had requested an ocean view room if it was available and indeed it was.  The ocean view rooms are not beach front rooms although they are true to their promise of viewing the ocean.  The building we were in was the Marina tower, attached to the parking garage but across the street from the main building. 

 

And our view:

sunrise view from our room

Awesome huh?  How can you not enjoy waking up to that?  Port Everglades was not far away so we saw ships cross the ocean and onward out to sea.  Wake up, there’s a cargo ship.  Come back to change for dinner and Royal Caribbean has set sail.

The hotel is sort of shaped like a ship, the main building is in a triangular configuration with one end open to the sky.  In the center, accessed from the 2nd floor, is one of two pools on the property.  Bright and sunny, the area was energized with people enjoying the day.  My daughter spent some time one afternoon alternating between texting her friend in Maine and swimming in the pool.  We both enjoyed this pool each evening after dinners out.  It was really nice from the surface.

one of the two pools

I had read somewhere that there used to me or there was a mermaid show at this hotel.  A strange concept, but okay.  As we walked through the hotel lobby and cafe one morning something from inside the darkened bar caught my eye.  It was closed but we went in for a moment and realized that from that level of the hotel, the windows of the bar looked into . . . wait for it . . THE POOL.

the view from the bar's windows into the pool.

Kind of cool.  Kind of creepy.  We imagined guys slumped over at the bar, staring at girl's legs kicking underwater, oblivious to the spectacle that they were involved in.  One day, we saw the lower half of a girl wearing light, flowing green, kind of like . . . a mermaid.  It was a little much. 

Directly across the street was the entrance to South Beach Park, a public beach area.  Each morning there were runners and walkers and bikers and folks just strolling with coffee. 

the walkway at South Beach Park

ahh . . the beach.

We had breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, Dos Caminos, a Mexican place with a patio café outside.  It was so great to be able to sit outside for breakfast.  The coffee was good and strong and the menu was varied.  The first morning I had Huevos Rancheros.  The second morning we had the continental breakfast included with our room.  Sounds kind of boring but the pastries were so good and fresh.  It came with yogurt and fruit and cereal with milk.  Our last morning before leaving, my daughter had the spinach and cheese omelet, which was so good she wouldn’t share.  I had the blueberry pancakes which were so good I hesitated giving her a bite, but I did (that’s what Moms do, right?). 

wall decor in Dos Caminos restaurant

One of our evenings ended there at Dos Caminos, too, with a bowl full of warm tortilla chips and their made to order guacamole.  I’m kind of a guac snob, having perfected my own recipe over the past year and I must say the guacamole at Dos Caminos was fabulous.  But the chips were the star of that show, thin and crisp, salty and fresh.  To round out the night that night we ordered coffee and dessert.  For me, it was ice cream.  Not much of a variety of flavors so I got the Mexican chocolate.  Now I’m not really a big fan of chocolate ice creams, much more into the vanilla based flavors and caramels, but with the hint of cinnamon in the ice cream, it had me craving it every night after that. 

looking north on Fort Lauderdale Beach

The best best best part of the whole place . . . the beach!  Soft clean sand, waves big enough to body surf but not so rough as to bowl you over if you weren’t paying attention.  The water was warm (well, warmer than it ever gets in Maine) and on our last night, we swam and surfed for hours.

nice plush towels and chairs on the beach for you.

 

The part of the beach in front of the hotel had chairs and umbrellas set up.  Guests get two chairs and as many towels as you might need.  You can get an umbrella for an extra charge but we didn’t.  After some time in the sun, we went to the beachfront pool, which was bathwater warm.  Sitting in the chaise lounge chairs with a lemonade and some cheesy fries, with palm trees waving over head, I felt as if I could stay there for life.  Between the beach and the pool and the food and just being able to read my book in the sun, it was paradise, even for a short time. 

So if you’re looking for a great beachfront place to stay in Fort Lauderdale, this is it.  If you’re in need of somewhere to stay before you depart on your cruise, the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach would be a great choice.  At the south end of the beach, it’s far enough away from the spring breakers to stay sane and close enough to the marina to be able to hop onto a water taxi for an afternoon’s tour of yachts and mansions.  If I had known how close it was to so many restaurants, I would not have rented a car.  We only took it out one time, to go get souvenirs at Walgreens (you read that right).  We were able to walk to dinner each night at a different place and afterwards go and enjoy the pool and work off our meals. 

This trip was a wonderful experience for me and my girl.  Can I go back yet?  It’s still not all that warm here in Maine.  The flowers and lush green leaves, wearing shorts and sundresses and sandals, ahhh . . . please?