HILTON GARDEN INN: DANIA BEACH
Enjoy the ideal location in the charming city of Dania, FL, between Ft Lauderdale and Miami at the Hilton Garden Inn Ft. Lauderdale Airport – Cruise Port hotel. Take the complimentary shuttle to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and to local restaurants, bars, and shopping venues in the evenings. Ideal for post and pre cruise stays, this Ft. Lauderdale hotel offers a scheduled charter service to the Cruise Ship Terminals at Port Everglades and Port of Miami.
Have a productive stay with complimentary WiFi internet access throughout the hotel, a 24-hour business center, complimentary parking, and versatile events space. Relax by the outdoor pool and de-stress with a workout at the complimentary fitness center. Visit the hotel restaurant for breakfast and dinner, and unwind with a cocktail in the lounge.
MY REVIEW:
We booked a room at the Hilton Garden Inn, located in Dania Florida. We have stayed in this area before and I managed to snag a decent price: $115 plus tax.
I usually try to pick a place that at least offers free breakfast in the morning to save some money, but at least this place was close to places to walk to for dinner that night and breakfast in the morning.
We called for transportation to get us and they said he was on his way. We waited, and waited, and waited....and it was an hour and they never showed. I decided to give them a call again. The receptionist said that he had been there and picked up 2 people already and didn't see us and came back to the hotel. She said she would send him out again.
He finally arrived and by the time we made it to the hotel, it was already around 9:45pm. That was a little late to be trying to find a place to eat dinner, not to mention the walk involved in finding a place. So, we decided to just eat there at the restaurant they had on site in the hotel. They informed us that they were closing at 10pm and as long as you had your order in, they would allow you to sit down. The front desk said we could store our luggage there and rush over to eat and that we did!
Upon check in, we received a bag of goodies and some water.
We put our order in and they served us our drinks....CHEERS! (Something Sakari always likes to do).
I opted for the steak burger (it was SO GOOD) and their fries were delicious. The hubby was craving a pizza and Sakari has been on a wing kick for months now so she got the wings.
Since it was closing time, they came around and served us another huge plate of fries they had left over. There was no way I could eat any more and I was probably going to have to be hoisted out of my chair to begin with. The hubby enjoyed a few of them.
MY REVIEW:
Here's a few pictures of the hotel. I found it to be really nice!
They had a dining area and bar.
Outside you would find the bikes they rent for you to ride with the first 30 minutes free.
And a few pictures during the day
Now onto our room.
They even had towel flowers on the bed. They had a lot of added little touches that made it nice like little flowers in the towels in the bathroom.
The room and hotel was nice and clean. I didn't find anything wrong or not working at this point.
We settled in and watched a little t.v. and decided to go to bed somewhat early (for us) because I know that every night before a cruise, I have a hard time sleeping. Be it from the excitement of the next day to come or the fact that I have to sleep on a full size bed instead of a King and it's just not enough room for me to toss and turn and roll and tumble IMO. LOL
I turned the air cooler and we headed for bed.
We woke up (well I did automatically around 9:45am before the alarm went off) and I thought "man it's hot in here". I went over and turned the air lower again and then headed down stairs to check out the menu...just in case the fam didn't feel like walking anywhere and wanted to eat there.
They had a breakfast buffet that also included made to order items as well.
I went back up and woke the family up and asked them what they wanted to do. Everyone wanted to just go down to the restaurant in the hotel since it had a buffet. As a family, we really enjoy buffets and I like having the option to pick things out myself and go back for more if I liked it.
My plate from the buffet consisted of some very dried out eggs that really was not edible because it tasted and had the consistency of sitting there all day. Also potatoes, bacon, sausage links, and corned beef hash. Everything else was ok. Just ok, not great, but edible at least.
Sakari and the hubby took one look at the eggs and said "no way" and did the made to order (which at that point, I hadn't discovered). I went back and had them make me an omelette with bacon. Ahhh, much better. They also had french toast.
I went down to check out and told the lady at the front desk about the air. I really wasn't expecting anything and just wanted to inform her so that maintenance could fix it for the next person, but she offered to give us some type of refund. She checked with her manager, who said they could only offer the highest points available to me for future stays. I don't remember what they said maybe "5,000" points?
So if you take Uber to the port of Miami, the cost for a car is $26.88
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS PLACE?:
It's a nice place and I would highly recommend it. The room was nice and very clean and the added touches made it very nice. The staff was accommodating and pleasant.
I'm not so sure I would recommend the breakfast buffet food. For the cost, it's just a little much for the quality of the food. The food in the evenings were pretty good though.There are places within walking distance to go to if you arrive earlier in the day.
