Pompano Beach / Ft. Lauderdale / Miami diving operators and cheap clean hotel?

[tmassey]

Hello!

I have a trip scheduled with my family for Pompano Beach from January 19 - 23, 2012. The rest of the family is flying into Ft. Myers early and driving over with more family on Thursday, and I'm flying into FLL Thursday evening, renting a car and meeting them at the hotel. We do the reverse of that on Monday.

The plane tickets are already bought. We also have a hotel reservation, at the Holiday Park Hotel and Suites in Deerfield Beach. Going back over the reviews for that hotel, though, has made me more than a little nervous at this point. I stay in a fair amount of cheap hotels and I'm used such places having lots of good and bad reviews, but some of the reviews of this hotel seem pretty scary, as in our safety being an issue.

So, here's my question: Can any of you suggest a cheap but clean hotel and a good dive company nearby to dive with in the area of FLL? I'd be willing to drive about an hour or so from the airport, so that gets me anywhere from West Palm Beach to Homestead! All I'm looking for from a hotel is clean and safe. Other features would certainly be a bonus: only 2 of the 6 of us dive, so a pool or being within a mile or two of a beach would be useful. But cheap comes before features: all we *need* is clean and safe. And, of course, I'm looking for a dive company that is competent and friendly at a reasonable price--and that takes us to nice dive spots, of course!

Alternatively, could someone tell me if the Holiday Park Hotel and Suites in Deerfield Beach is clean and safe? Reviews mentioning drug dealers and police are not encouraging...

Thank you all very much for your help! This is my fourth trip to the Ft. Lauderdale area. The diving has been nice, but finding affordable hotel rooms has always been the toughest part of the trip. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you might be able to make.

 

[j2s]

PM sent

 

[sportxlh]

You'll find Ft Lauderdale and Pomapano ops in this recent thread

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...erdale-saturday-12-10-2011-a.html#post6123169

A few in WPB and Boynton include the following:

Underwater Explorers (he's a SB member): https://securec7.ezhostingserver.com/diveboyntonbeach-com/indexs.cfm

the Scuba Club Welcome to The Scuba Club, America's Only Country Club For Scuba Divers in West Palm Beach, FL

Walkers Scuba Diving in the Palm Beach area - Walkers Dive Charters


Jim Abernathy Scuba Diving Palm Beach, Florida :: Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures


And if your willing to drive another 15 minutes north to Jupier: Jupiter Dive Center Jupiter Dive Center


A buddy of mine stays at the Marriott in Ft Lauderdale every time he comes into town and does not normally pay more than $120 a night. If any of these dive operators look interesting, you can always call the shop and get recommendations from them. Sorry I can't be any more helpful on the hotels: when you live in a place, you don't tend to get to know the hotels all that well. (alternately, I could probably tell you all the decent hotels in Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills since I used to live in Rochester and now go back to visit friends periodically!!).

 

[tmassey]

Sorry for the delay in responding. Thank you all very much for the links. I will definitely check them out!

It seems that it might be easier to get inexpensive hotels in Miami than in Ft. Lauderdale or farther north. Are there any dive operators worth considering in Miami? And of course, dive sites? Wrecks are my favorite, which is why I enjoy Ft. Lauderdale. Are there nice wrecks in the 80' range in Miami that we could go to?

And if anyone has any other suggestions for hotels/motels in that area that are worth considering, please let me know. I've actually stayed at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott. It's very nice, and I think a very good value. However, going in January is a very expensive time: I can't find a room at that Marriott for less than $140 a night. I'm just hoping for something substantially less nice, and therefore hopefully slightly less expensive! I will need at least two rooms (or a suite) for 4 nights, and that adds up fast...

 

[matts1w]

This is where I stay when diving Pompano Beach. It aint all that clean, but it is safe, across the street from the beach, and has a nice pool/tiki bar. It is also a three minute walk to the dive boats and a bunch of places to eat and drink. Pompano Dive center has a deal with them. Might be worth a call.

South Florida Hotel: Sands Harbor Resort and Marina: Pompano Beach Intracoastal Waterfront Hotel

 

[tmassey]

The Sands is the place I stayed the first time I dove in that area. That used to be the hotel that SFDH had a deal with. At the time I stayed there (4 years ago?), it was $80 a night. It was the dirtiest hotel I've ever stayed it. Not unhealthy dirty: not stains or mold or bugs. Just *dirt* everywhere. I can live with dirt!

I was later told that the hotel was planning on being torn down, go condo, etc. and didn't care. I guess that's been a real problem for the area: lots of places that let the hotels fall apart planning on rebuilding and then the recession hit, and now they have to be run as hotels again--with little or no money for repairs.

Same thing for the Sands: I just got a letter from the Sands a couple of days ago trying to entice me back. The prices they offered, though, were just the standard rates: same prices as hotels.com... The least expensive room is $120/night.

That's what kills me about hotel rooms in that area. The Sands is $120 a night, the Marriott is $140 a night. That extra $20 gets you a *LOT* more room...

I know there are $80/night rooms out there: hotels.com lists about a dozen in the Ft. Lauderdale area, and there's a bunch more for Miami. It's just hard to tell if any of them are worth staying in. I've stayed in a lot of such hotels (TraveLodge, Days Inn, Super 8, Red Carpet Inn, etc.) in other places successfully. For some reason, though, the ones in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, etc. seem to get a lot worse reviews than they do in, say, Chicago or Baltimore. Is it because everyone is expecting a Disney-style resort for $80 a night? Or are things just worse in that area?

And one more plea: no one has mentioned any kind of diving in Miami. I'm pretty familiar with the diving in Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach, but know very little about what's in Miami. Should I assume from the silence that it's not worth it, and to stay focused on Ft. Lauderdale?

Again, thank you all for your information. I appreciate any suggestions you might be able to make!

 

[matts1w]

Here you go: the little diving in Miami aint worth it.

 

[tmassey]

Here you go: the little diving in Miami aint worth it.

Thanks! I just dug up this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/167887-ft-lauderdale-miami-diving.html . It says much the same thing. So now I can stop looking in Miami!

 

[danvolker]

The Hilton On Singer Island ( west palm diving) frequently has rates for individuals ( divers only though) as low as $110 in summer...they have SPECIAL DIVER RATES all year, as they WANT to be the top Dive Resort in the Hemisphere....In January they will be more ..maybe $150?? Check with them and see.
South Florida Dive Journal > Hilton Oceanfront Singer Island This is a hotel with 4 star quality, right on the beach, less than a mile from the diveboats...They have a special "Diver Menu" with entres priced for divers ( more like an Aplebees entre cost, but better tasting and more nutrition. ....They will even make you a box lunch to take on the dive boat, if you request this the night before....Full hilton style busffet breakfast in the morning, also at special DIVER rates

 

[tmassey]

That is a really good deal! I will keep it in mind when I only need one room, thank you!