The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale opened August 11, 2008 as the Gold Coast's newest oceanfront luxury hotel and the 10th Florida hotel for the company named by The Luxury Institute as "The Most Prestigious Luxury Brand."
Envisioned by legendary architectural firm Arquitectonica and hospitality interior design leader Hirsch Bedner Associates, the 24-story, dramatically tiered and glass walled hotel has sweeping curves that are reminiscent of a grand luxury liner.
Pretty much everything else in the 192-room hotel has remained the same, minus the St. Regis branding everywhere. Even the Cero restaurant, the Wine Room and the spa are still intact. Only thing missing? The St. Regis butler service.
Yesterday when we announced that the St. Regis Fort Lauderdale was to become a Ritz-Carlton on August 11th, one of the noted concerns was that the property was not actually located "on the sand" but rather across the street. And despite this, the Ritz would probably have higher prices than a sister Marriott property that is on the beach. Booo.
A few commenters wondered about the photograph that we used, saying the shot looks totally deceiving. So we had to dig up a better shot of the hotel to prove it was not on the beach.
Snooze alert in effect for Fort Lauderdale: The troubled St. Regis Fort Lauderdale will stop operating under the St. Regis brand on August 11th and become a Ritz-Carlton. Great. Like as if we didn't already have enough Ritz-Carltons in South Florida. Oh, you think we are just exaggerating? Lookie here:
This would be its fourth South Florida property, with a fifth on the way. Ritz-Carlton already operates hotels in Key Biscayne, South Beach and Coconut Grove, and is building a luxury timeshare and condominium resort in Miami Beach. It also furthers Ritz-Carlton's big expansion push in Florida, where it operates nine resorts.
Another thing that sucks? The Ritz is going to want to charge more than its sister property, The Marriott Harbor Beach, which is actually located on the beach whereas this property is across the street. Booo....
While the hotel is close to the Florida Convention Center and thus gets a lot of spillover business, it's also parked on the intracoastal, giving guests great water views. And the hotel has a 33-slip marina meaning you can just boat your way down to Ft. Lauderdale instead of driving on 95 or chancing it on JetBlue. (Although we doubt your boat is as big as the ones in the pic above.)
The hotel offers five categories of rooms, two types of suites and the presidential suite. The starting room, called The Fort Lauderdale Room, is about 312-sg.ft. with floor-to-ceiling windows and a full balcony. All rooms have mosaic-tiled baths, flat screen TVs and spacious work desks. That last bit alerts us to the fact that a lot of biz travelers probably will stay here.
But the hotel is not all business. When you kick it by the pool, the hotel has a Poolside Ambassador on hand to "provide you with an invigorating Eucalyptus towel or fresh Evian spray." There's also a poolside lounge and restaurant and the hotel will try to set up any leisure activities like water sports or golf.
Introductory rates start at $199 and our source says that will continue until the China Grill Restaurant opens. Yes, that China Grill brand. Also, the Fort Lauderdale Grande is part of Hilton Hotels so you might be able to use your HHonors points here.
If you stay at the Fort Lauderdale Grande, let us know how the renovations look.
Spriiiiing Breaaak!!! You know Fort Lauderdale is where it all got started, right? Well, after years of not being that great for boozing and partying, Fort Lauderdale's coming back--don't believe the hype that it's all family-friendly these days. (Check out Jaunted editor Davie's video if you don't believe us.)
True, the town probably won't be the sin den it was in the '80s, but you can still re-live the glory days at the soon-to-open St. Regis Resort, Fort Lauderdale. Right on the beach, you won't have far to stumble to find the sand on the hotel's planned boardwalk. With 166 rooms, you won't be inundated with other partiers, but there should be enough folks around that you can easily make some new "friends." May we suggest meeting them on the huge pool deck after a day at the beach?
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by juliana
