Richard Cavalleri / Shutterstock
Hotels in Fort Lauderdale
The Fort Lauderdale beach has a hotel or motel on nearly every block, ranging from run-down to luxurious. Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort Hotel and Suites, 4221 N. Ocean Blvd. (tel. 800/329-7466 or 954/563-2521), has clean oceanside rooms starting at about $65. For a cushier stay, look into the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale resort , which opened in May 2007 as a St. Regis and was quickly taken over by the Ritz . Just opened in the fall of 2009 is the $220-million W Fort Lauderdale Hotel & Residences (tel. 954/525-8133), a boutique-hotel-slash-condominium with ocean views and a very hip and happening bar.
In Hollywood, where prices are generally cheaper, the Ramada Hollywood Beach Resort, 101 N. Ocean Dr. (tel. 954/921-0990; www.ramadahbr.com), operates a full-service hotel right on the ocean. With prices starting at around $79 in season and discounts for AAA members, it's a great deal. Marriott Hollywood Oceanfront, 2501 N. Ocean Dr. (I-95 to Sheridan St. E. to Fla. A1A S.; tel. 866/306-5453 or 954/924-2202), is a recently renovated beach resort with a fantastic location right on the beach.
Hollywood Beach's reasonable prices may not last much longer, though. In 2010, a developer signed a deal with singer Jimmy Buffett to bring the first ever Margaritaville resort to a city-owned site on the ocean. Plans for the resort include Tiki bars, an amphitheater with free concerts and rates 15 percent higher than area hotels. Despite the deal, Planet Hollywood is said to be fighting for that same land to open a hotel and water park. At press time, the two teams were set to battle it out in a City Hall meeting. If either or both parties win, it could dramatically change the sleepy landscape of Hollywood Beach. Stay tuned.
Extended Stay America/Crossland Economy Studios (tel. 800/398-7829; www.extendedstayhotels.com) has four super-clean properties in Fort Lauderdale and offers year-round rates as low as $45 a night and $159 per week. The studios are designed with business travelers in mind: Each includes free local calls, a dataport, a kitchenette, and a well-lit desk.
For rentals for a few weeks or months, call Florida Sunbreak (tel. 800/SUNBREAK [786-2732]) or check the annual list of small lodgings compiled by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (tel. 954/765-4466). The latter is especially helpful if you're looking for privately owned, charming, affordable lodgings.
- Hotel
Aqua
Located like the luxury Pillars in the North Beach Village neighborhood, heading in from the beach, this is a great example of a once skanky old motel transformed into a chic boutique property, one of 20 owned by a dynamic company called North Beach Village Resorts. This one has 39…$$Around Town - Hotel
Conrad Fort Lauderdale
This 24-story resort is one of the many once-empty condo buildings on the beach that were taken over by hotels. This building, however, isn’t just any building. It was designed by the late postmodern icon Michael Graves, and inspired by the area’s yachting culture. A blue and…$$$Fort Lauderdale - Hotel
Four Seasons Hotel & Residences Fort Lauderdale
★★★[em]The zenith of Fort Lauderdale’s glow up, this chic Florida-meets-Mediterranean-style retreat is another yacht themed hotel, right down to the travertine-floored lobby café named after President JFK’s yacht, the Honey Fitz. Rooms are yachty too, adorned in lots of white and…$$$Fort Lauderdale - Hotel
Foxy Brown
“Comfort food with a twist” is served at this neighborhood favorite. Its outdoor patio is breezy, the inside bar area is buzzy and both are a good place to tuck into grilled artichoke with garlic butter, Philly pretzel bread with bacon onion jam or the green fries (fried green beans…$$Fort Lauderdale - Hotel
High Noon Beach Resort
The only complaint we have ever about this place is that reservations are tough to score here. So, as one regular guest told us, “don’t wait ‘til high noon to book your stay here.” This immaculate, family-owned property has been in biz for 60 years, and they know what they’re doing.…$$Lauderdale-by-the-Sea - Hotel
Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort
One of the sleeker new breed of Hiltons, this snazzy, 25-story affair on the beachfront is a quick stroll north of the main nightlife/ dining action. Highlights include a palm-studded sixth-floor terrace with a compact but dreamy infinity pool and cabanas (one downside is that it all…$$Around Town - Hotel
Lago Mar Resort and Club
A charming lobby with a rock fireplace and saltwater aquarium sets the tone of this old school, off the beachy-path resort, a casually elegant piece of Old Florida that occupies its own, 10-acre lush little island between Lake Mayan and the Atlantic. Guests have access to the…$$$Fort Lauderdale - Hotel
Margaritaville Beach Resort Hollywood Beach
If you feel like wasting away on Hollywood Beach, this would be the best place to do it, a family-friendly, fun resort that exudes the late Jimmy Buffett’s salty, barefoot and fancy-free, ‘no worries’ vibes. The 17-story property is huge, with spacious rooms that are beachy cute, not…$$$Hollywood - Hotel
Napoli Belmar
This North Beach Village mom-and-pop complex (actually three double-decker properties, including the Birch Patio Motel and Summerland Suites) is a good-value holdout—not fancy, but clean, friendly, and well managed. Mom and pop are Angela and Tony de Santo, who treat guests like…$Around Town - Hotel
Pelican Grand Beach Resort
There’s quite a bit to like about this family-friendly but luxe hotel. Elegant public spaces, 159 bright, cheery rooms; ocean-facing suites with balconies; a huge veranda out back where you can sit in rocking chairs and gaze out to sea; a zero-entry pool and “lazy river” right…$$$Around Town - Hotel
Riverside Hotel
There’s no beach here, but this 1936-built hotel is set on the sleepy and scenic New River, capturing the essence of that ever-elusive Old Florida. Guest rooms, outfitted in Mexican tile and wicker furnishings, are spacious and well maintained. Such details as intricately tiled…$$Fort Lauderdale - Hotel
Sea Downs (and the Bougainvillea)
This bargain lodging on the quiet end of the bustling Hollywood Broadwalk is often booked months in advance by return guests (mostly Europeans) who want to be directly on the beach without paying a fortune. The hosts of this superclean 1950s motel, Claudia and Karl Herzog, live on…$Hollywood - Hotel
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
The Seminole Tribe of Florida has created a miniature Vegas in Florida, and it’s doing a booming business, especially at the massive, 130,000-square-foot casino. One caveat though: unlike in Vegas, there are no free cocktails while you gamble. The main draw here was the casino until…$$$Hollywood - Hotel
snooze
Here, you snooze you win. That’s because this adorbs little motel is directly across the street from the beach, with staff that care, and so keep the place sparklingly clean. Rooms are cute and comfy, with vintage Fort Lauderdale photos adorning the walls, white slatted headboards on…$Fort Lauderdale - Hotel
The Atlantic Hotel
Front and center on the beachfront, one of the pioneers of the local luxe lodging renaissance, the Atlantic is a class act, rearing back in 16 tiered stories. Meant to suggest an Italianate palazzo, it does have a Mediterranean flair, paired with a stylish retro-mod interior decor in…$$$Around Town - Hotel
The Atlantic Hotel & Spa
Overlooking 23 miles of white sand, the Atlantic is a 16-story study in minimal modernity with soothing colors and comfortable, stylish decor. Rooms were spruced up in the summer of 2023 and all have kitchenettes and exceptionally comfortable beds. For those looking for more room,…$$$Fort Lauderdale - Hotel
The Pillars Hotel
Hidden away several blocks off the beach, the Pillars is a more intimate luxury option, the prime pick of the enclave known as North Beach Village, between Atlantic Boulevard and the Intracoastal Waterway. A genteel, island-planation-style vision in yellow and white, it’s got just…$$$Around Town



