Hotel Review: The Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port
Hotel Review for stay on December 2, 2022
The Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port is the third hotel I tried for my pre-cruise stay in the Port Everglades area. The first resort was the Renaissance on December 2021 and the second was the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort on March 5, 2023. I had seen this Hyatt on my first trip and really liked the location so I gave it a try.
I hope this review will give you some information to help you decide if this is the right hotel for you. I’ll also let you know about things in the area at the end.
Cost
One thing to keep in mind about all Fort Lauderdale hotels is the rate will really jump up during spring break as it is a popular destination for college students. Also the winter is high season so expect rates to be higher then. The normal room rate for this hotel is around $350 as of 2023. But for Spring Break the rate jumps up about $100 a night to $425-450. That’s a lot to pay for a basic hotel and you are definitely paying for the location. It’s a good time to use points if you have them or look for discounts. If you plan to park at the hotel, the charge is posted as $10. I do not know if they allow parking while you are on your cruise. I did not see a sign for that.
Transfer from the Fort Lauderdale Airport
In a previous visit to Fort Lauderdale, I found the ride-share area very congested with a long wait for a ride. For this trip I again opted to simply go with a taxi. The taxi stand is right outside the baggage claim, and I waited no longer than five minutes for a taxi. The cost of the taxi was $19.05 including tip and extras.
TIP: Have the Address Printed
If you do plan to take a taxi, I recommend printing the hotel name and address and bringing that with you as many hotel chains have multiple hotels in the area with similar names. Having the address printed makes things much easier for everybody. The image to the left is an example of what I do. It shows a picture of the hotel and the address and phone number.
Check-in and Lobby
The lobby of the hotel was smaller than I expected. The hotel looks a little worn down but not too badly. I used the app to checkin so I skipped the line at the front desk. There is a business center in the lobby but during my stay, there was no working printer. Have a backup plan if you need to print or re-print luggage tags.
Room
If you have stayed at other Hyatt Place hotels, the room will look very familiar to you. One outstanding feature of the room was the shower water pressure. Wow, it was fantastic and really appreciated. The room was clean and everything in the room worked as expected. One area that could use improvement was the lighting at the desk area. The one light on the desk was pretty dim.
Fitness Center
The fitness center was very basic but the equipment appeared to be in order. It was nice to see a bench and dumbbells available. Treadmills, glider and a bike were also in the center. If you are looking for more, there is an LA Fitness just across the street. (see photo in the “Things Nearby”)
Pool
The pool looked nice. It was very busy with families so I was able to take this photo early in the morning. Be sure to have a physical key card to get back into the hotel.
Laundry
I was surprised to see there was a small laundry room available for use. This can come in handy especially if you have had a long journey to get here.
Things Nearby
The area around the hotel has quite a few shops and restaurants and is why I wanted to stay at this hotel. As I mentioned there is an LA Fitness right across the street. A new Starbucks and Bank of America are nearby. There are also several other banks with ATMs as well.
A short walk from the hotel is a plaza that includes Publix (an excellent supermarket chain that has nearly everything including drug store items) , TJ Maxx (I bought some shirts and shorts there at a great price), a huge wine store and restaurants.
Transfer to Port Everglades
I always put my cruise luggage tags on before leaving for the terminal. I use the plastic covers to attach them. If you are interested, they are listed in my Cruise Hacks Kit where you can find other suggestions I have to make your cruise easier and more enjoyable. In addition to the tags, I also put a zip tie on my suitcase. That way I can tell if the suitcase has been opened and it also keeps the zipper from opening accidentally. I also put another printed luggage tag in the inside front pocket of the suitcase, just in case the tags (I actually put two on) were to both fall off, there’s a chance they might find the third tag easily in the front pocket. I don’t put a zip tie on that pocket. (As I’m writing this, I’m thinking a fourth printed tag inside the main compartment would not be a bad idea.)
I love to get to the terminal early and board the ship as soon as possible. I watch the Princess App for the boarding groups to become available and try and get "Boarding Group A” with an 11:00 AM boarding time. If you need help finding where to select a boarding time on the Princess App I have a video for it that I’ve linked below.
To transfer to the cruise terminal I chose Uber. I pre-booked the ride in the app and it went well. The cost was higher but worth it. Luckily, I get a discount with my credit card so it was only $18.88 with the discount. The driver was excellent and we were there in no time.
Once at the port, the normal efficiency of Port Everglades was again in full swing. I handed my bags off to the porter and headed for the waiting line to get into the terminal. Once they opened the terminal for checkin, I was all through security and in the waiting lounge within 10 minutes. I love Port Everglades!
Would I stay here again?
The location of this hotel is it’s selling point. If you had to pay full rate for the room, it’s hard to justify it, but if you can get the rate down, it’s a great place to stay for one night. I am booked at this hotel for my next cruise in April so I’ll update this post with any new information. I would also like to try the Hilton so maybe I will look at that for 2024.
I hope this has been helpful and if you have questions, please leave a comment below.
