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Ft Lauderdale question

Cathyb

Cathyb

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:hi: Still trying to gather which hotel to stay in November one night that is near the water taxi.

Do I have it right: Best Western Oceanside is near the water taxi stop and for November the rates would be around $109? The Marriott Harbor Beach is over $300 as is the Marriott Courtyard? We do have Marriott reward points so Tuggers which hotel of the three mentioned here would be the nicest and closest to the water taxi stop?:confused:

We are coming off a Princess cruise in the morning and want to take the water taxi as a tour of Ft. L. in the short time we have -- leaving next morning.

Oh, is Cocobelle Resort near a water taxi stop? It is No. 1 in TripAdvisor.

Thank you for any help you can share! ;)
 
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Take the bus?

I too take all my guests on the Water Taxi when in Ft Lauderdale - love the views. I pick places to stay for all the other reasons and get to the Water Taxi either by walking 2 or 3 blocks OR by taking a short bus ride. Most of my friends are happy to have an escape plan, to see the world famous beaches, better dining/lunch spots...available by mixing the two modes of transportation.

The Route 40 bus runs by the water taxi stop at the 17th street bridge (literally under the bridge is this stop - NOT the ocean side of the intercoastal) where the Hilton (or is it the Hyatt) might be (very near the FT Lauderdale Art Institute) and the Galleria Mall stop on Sunrise Blvd (which is at the Doubletree Hotel - walk right thru the Doubletree lobby to the intercoastal waterway). The Doubletree is real nice - ask for what the Valet fee before you book. But there must be 15 other top name hotels also very close to Water Taxi stops.

Other options are anywhere on A1A in Ft Lauderdale thru Pompano Beach as the RT 11 bus goes north/south --- easy to figure as to where you are. There is Stop 1 at 32nd street - along with Shooters (open for lunch & dinner) & Charlies Crab (dinner after 4PM), Stop 2 is the Galleria/Doubletree......Stop 11 (or the last Water Taxi stop) is on the New River at Biney's Pub - at the bottom of Los Olas...which is also on the Rt 11 bus line.

It is so easy to get around Ft Lauderdale, I am mentioning the buses only because of my experiences:
Be aware the water taxi takes 3 hours to do a LOOP, pickups at each stop for each direction seem to be more on the 45 minute "schedule", if full, it is full - wait for NEXT taxi, starts its loops around 10AM and shuts down around 9PM. The heaviest on/off taxi riders section is the Los Olas Blvd/New River ... which is served by the Rt 11 bus, which runs N/S when it gets to A1A (the ocean).

The all day water taxi ticket is $13.00/my backup bus all day/any bus ticket is $3.00.

Stay 2 or more nights - Ft Lauderdale has a lot of live music, great dining, and a scenic beach (strolling on the walkway is cheap entertainment).:banana:
 
Thanks Linda: Would love to stay another night, but already picked up a real bargain priced air ticket home the next day.
 
Bumping up -- Cocobelle Hotel -- is it near a water taxi stop?
 
The link to www.watertaxi.com has a map and all the stops. Your Cocobelle Hotel is on the south side of the Bonnet House property (marked as canal/lagoon) and has no cross traffic (not even walkers) except for A1A and the beach. Interesting place - 35 acre between you and Sunrise Blvd (stop 2). The 3rd stop is Seville Street, which, on the hotel map, is about where A1A splits ... can't judge distance. Do A MAPQUEST for the distance.

That is a older neighborhood with has either new, being built (Trump & W), or condemned (old Howard Johnson) on A1A and old/lower stuff behind ... about 3-4 blocks deep. Very residential (apts, condos,mustly multi-family units).

Do you or your party have VRI TS managed resorts(internal trades and $$ discounts to rent) or RCI points (Trades II, also)? Get a nightly stay at Ft Lauderdale Beach Resort - it is on the other side of the Bonnet House and Sunrise - more dining spots, closer to the beach, 18 story where you are either looking ocean or intercoastal. Plus, the entire bldg has been remodelled (last 5 floors this coming spring/summer). All BDR have king size beds only - studios DO NOT have a balcony - everything else does. And it is 2-3 blocks to the Doubletree (water taxi). Another block to the Galleria Mall.

Well, when you come back --- for your next cruise.:banana:
 
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Thumbs up on the Bonnet House and Garden tour. Toured twice.

Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort, the TS sharing a common property line and a frequent road trip site for the wild Bonnet House Spider Monkeys, has a standing tour time with a decent discount on the admission fee. Free to see the monkeys sitting on the resort's fence at the pool.
 
I am at the Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort right now.

We saw about 10 monkies yesterday crossing the wall between us and the Bonnet House. Really neat to see.
 
vacationhopeful: From your post I am assuming Cocobelle Hotel is too far from the Stop No. 2 (Sunrise) on the water taxi, right? What I am looking for is the best value hotel that is close to a water taxi stop so we can make use of the little time we have in Ft. L. We will not have a car.

This is all so confusing for someone that has never been to the area :eek:
 
Cathy,

I'm pretty sure you've visited the Cocobelle Resort website
http://www.thecocobellehotel.com/

As you know the resort is located at 2831 Vistamar Street, Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33304.

I'm not sure from your posts if you've ever used one of the online map sites like www.maps.google.com or www.mapquest.com

If not, go to one of those sites and put in your address of interest (in this case the Cocobelle Resort address). You can use your mouse to scroll north, south, east and west from your desired location and get a better feel for the area where you will be.

Vistamar Street is on the south side of the Bonnet House property. It is a hike to the Water Taxi stop near Sunrise Blvd but doable if you don't mind the walk. If you Zoom out on the map side and scroll it will also give you a better indication of how far apart certain locations are.


Richard
 
Thank you Richard, I decided on Doubletree Hotel to be assured the Ferry stop would be nearby and since we wouldn't have a car, to be near other items of interest (cafes, stores).
 
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