Priceline Hotel: Help with upcoming trip

[Double_Downon11]

My wife has meetings in Ft.Lauderdale in mid January and we are thinking about heading in 3-4 days earlier to enjoy some sunshine. We have never been to Ft.Lauderdale or Miami but it has been suggested by a few friends that we spend our extra time in South Beach.

Here are my questions:

1) If we fly into Ft.Lauderdale is it close and easy enough to drive to South Beach for a few days?

2) How much could we expect to pay for a 4* hotel? Is there a big difference between 3* and 4* hotels?

3) Should we just make it easier on ourselves and just stay in Ft.Lauderdale?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Chris L.

[AaronJB]

Do you have your dates finalized yet? I ask because prices can vary heavily from day-to-day and it's not really possible to do research without dates.

Hopefully others who are more familiar with Florida can answer 1 & 3, but for #2, prices will depend on dates.

Let us know dates and budget and we will be happy to proceed further.

[Double_Downon11]

Thanks for the response Aaron. Right now we are looking at Jan 8th till Jan 12 (four nights).

[thereuare]

1) If we fly into Ft.Lauderdale is it close and easy enough to drive to South Beach for a few days?

Yes, it's about an hour, but traffic can be heavy at times.

2) How much could we expect to pay for a 4* hotel? Is there a big difference between 3* and 4* hotels?

In my opinion, in South Beach, "yes", there is a big difference in terms of both price and quality between 3* and 4* hotels. Also, don't forget that PRICELINE now offers a 3.5* classification in their star rating system. It's hard to talk about price since i'm not sure which zone(s) of Ft Lauderdale you're willing to accept, but if your in the research phase you can search HOTWIRE to compare prices for each area at each star level.

3) Should we just make it easier on ourselves and just stay in Ft.Lauderdale?

Depends what you're looking for. If you enjoy going to night clubs and "the scene" then South Beach may be a nice place for you... if you're looking for a little peace, quiet, and relaxing time then Ft Lauderdale may be a better choice.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.