Hotel Review: Port Everglades Crowne Plaza

Crowne Plaza Hotel  | 455 State Road 84 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida

THIS HOTEL IS FOR YOU, IF:  you’re sailing out of Port Everglades and desire luxury rooms, complimentary shuttle service, interior corridors, and a restaurant/lounge on premises.
 
There are many great things to be said about the Crowne Plaza Airport/Cruise Port.  It’s brand new, modern, comfortable and convenient.  The hotel turned a month old on the Saturday night we stayed (it opened Superbowl weekend).  The hotel is an eye shot north of the airport and less than a mile from the cruise terminal (we saw our ship from our hotel window).
 
We arrived on the property at 3pm and checked in with no problem. There are a couple of hotel features that served us well.  The $10 per day parking garage is under the hotel so there is no long walk to and from your car.  The parking garage is well lit and has plenty of spaces.  An effortless elevator ride to guest services makes check-in a breeze.  The check-in area had two desks both with staff and a porter in the lobby if you choose to use his service.  There is also a kiosk in the lobby for flight check-in to make it easier when departing from the airport.
 
We had standard double accommodations on the seventh floor which still has that new room smell.  The rooms are furnished with amenities like a large flat panel TV, fridge, business work area, and a stylish chaise lounge chair.  There’s an ice machine on every floor, room service daily, and housekeeping comes at just the right times.
 
The business center (2 computers and printer), lounge, restaurant, fitness center (all brand new equipment), pool, meeting rooms and a store are on the fifth floor.  Though the weather was a little chilly during our visit  it  didn’t seem to stop a lot of people from taking advantage of the pool and the sun area outside.  Although there were minor complaints of service issues at the front desk and lounge area, I’m sure they were all due to understandable “new hotel” adjustments.
 
In my opinion the Crown Plaza is well above average and can be compared to many 3 star hotels.  If you are flying in, this hotel is perfect and puts away the fear of missing your ship.