FL Ft Lauderdale Bahia Mar Beach

[Temujin]

Excellent location. Right next to Ft Lauderdale beach and the water taxi service. Water taxi is great value for the money ($5 all day unlimited). Hallways look a bit run down but the rooms are spotless. Bathrooms are a bit dark and dated as well. Didn't use any of the amenities (ie. pool) so can't tell you anything about them. The front desk staff don't appear very knowledgeable nor friendly but at a price of $53 using priceline, we couldn't really complain. Apparently the place used to be known as the Radisson Bahia Mar, so tell your taxi driver that if they can't find their way to 801 Seabreeze Blvd off of A1A. Hope this review helps the next bidder.

[spimby]

We were actually fairly pleased with this hotel in spite of some minor problems. This hotel appears to be comprised of a tower section and a smaller (maybe 5 story) section. We stayed in on the 4th floor of the smaller section. The room was clean and had a small balcony. Carpet probably should be replaced as it appeared dirty (beach hotels should probably stick to tile floors as a rule). Access to the beach and the pool was via a walkway which was convenient. I noticed that most of the bars were further north up A1A, and it would be a long walk to most of them. However there were a couple of restaurants and a Subway nearby. The Hotel also had a couple of gift shops/deli, but we didn't check them out. The beaches were very nice. The pool was large and about 10 ft deep. It was located top of another building in the complex There was a bar at the pool (pi

[pzoo]

Just got back from our cruise and we stayed at the Bahia Mar for 1 night pre-cruise. Overall we liked the hotel a lot. We were on the sixth floor of the tower section. I was worried at first from the mixed reviews the property received at Trip Advisor, however, once we got to our room we were pleasantly surprised. It was very clean and in good condition. There was no odor and everything worked fine. Although not a direct ocean view form this room, we overlooked the marina and part of the beach. The staff was friendly and the grounds nice. Overall a nice experience.

[LoneStar]

I stayed here for 4-nights over the X-mas holiday. I had booked 3 nights at $84/night and then used priceline's "add-a-night" feature to arrive a day earlier. When I first checked in, I was given a room in their smaller "marina" building. The building (like the main hotel tower) is old, but the rooms have been refurbished and are tasteful and comfortable (good 3 star quality, with older bathrooms). I was happy with the room I was given, but because I technically had 2 priceline reservations (1 night, and then 3 nights), I had to be checked out and checked back in. The front desk clerk called me early the next morning and told me that I had been reserved an oceanfront room in the main tower for my remaining 3 nights on my second reservation. I hid my surprise and -- not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth -- agreed to move. The oceanfront room was slightly larger, had similar furnishings (although a slightly less comfy bed), and was blessed with a terrific ocean view. For the life of me, I have no idea why I got the oceanfront room (the hotel was foolishly built with very few oceanfront rooms), but strange and unpredictable things sometimes happen to priceline customers. :)

As to the hotel in general, well, it's OK. A solid 3 star. It's blessed with an excellent location on Ft. Lauderdale beach (you take an ugly skybridge across AIA to get to the sand), and because the hotel doubles as a posh yacht harbor, it has a more upscale feel than it would otherwise deserve. However, the hotel lost its Radisson affiliation in the past year, and seems somewhat adrift. For instance, there are no "welcome to the hotel" guides in the rooms, so it was somewhat difficult to figure out what services the hotel actually offered. (The only piece of hotel literature in the rooms was a photocopied room service menu featuring outrageous prices for breakfast). From what I observed, they have a pool (OK, but nothing special), a gym (somewhat better than you might expect), one restaurant (windows damaged by the hurricane, but open) and a deli/convenience store facing the beach. The beach itself is reasonably attractive with calm, shallow waters on the days I was there (good for kids), although the sand wasn't terribly soft and seemed to be a little dirty (the result of the recent hurricanes?).

If you don't have a car ($10/day parking), that hotel deli might be useful to buy sundries and moderately priced food. I picked up some breakfast there one morning, and it wasn't particularly good, but breakfast sandwiches were in the $2 to $3 range. With a car, I'd recommend driving to Lester's on State Road 84 (7 to 10 minutes SW of the hotel) for a very good diner breakfast. Otherwise, there are a few cafes and small stores along A1A within walking distance of the hotel, and posher dining and shopping along Las Olas Blvd a 5 minute drive away (I believe you could take a water taxi from the hotel to Las Olas). I had an exceptional dinner at Mark's Place on Las Olas, but with $40 entrees, it was expensive even with an Entertainment Card coupon I had gotten online (slickdeals.net had a link, but it's now expired).

Overall, the hotel (like its neighbors) seems to cater to vacationers staying a night or two before their nearby Port Everglades cruises. It's perhaps a symbiotic relationship, because the hotel is more than adequate for a night or two of relaxation, but probably isn't nice enough to be a "destination resort" for its clientele. For what I paid in high season, I'd happily return for a couple nights. If I had paid more, I'd probably be less satisfied.

[Randi66]

Just got back from an 8 day stay at the Bahia Mar. I paid 1092.00 for 2 ppl, 8 days with a midsize rental car included.

About a week before I left, I wrote an email to the GM of this hotel using advice I read on Gary Leff's blog a view from the wing. I basically wrote an email asking for an upgrade, saying I wasnt entitled to it, but I'd heard great things about the Bahia Mar, etc, etc. It worked. When we checked in, we got 3 upgrades to an ocean view room.

Cons:

The hotel was nothing special and I found the service to be sub-standard. I received wrong directions from the concierge one night. The valet parking was outrageous at 22.00 a night plus tax( self park isnt much better at 18.00 a night). However, the parking ended up being comped because someone( maybe a housekeeper or maintenance man) smoked in our room when we werent there. The room reeked of smoke and I found a ciggarette but on the balcony.

A few mornings( around 8am) the walkway to the beach was locked. The pool was advertised as heated, but it wasnt. Oh and I didnt enjoy the mandatory 18% service charge on the 2 drinks we ordered at the pool.

Pros:

The bed was comfy, the toilitries were Rusk and were very nice. The towels were fluffy. The fitness center was great, in fact I used it 7 days in a row. The equipment was new, however at times I felt like I was picking up lots of germs because I never saw anyone wipe them down. The pool was clean if a bit chilly. The location was great( although if you dont like waiting for a drawbridge, skip this hotel, we caught the bridge at least 4 times in 8 days).

Overall, this package was well worth the money paid. I doubt I'd book this hotel independently though, the parking and service fees turned me right off.