The Riverside was everything we wanted. The location was wonderful as were the staff. The room in the tower was large, cheerful and clean. It was great to have a balcony.
Arrangements for a car went smoothly as did reservations for dinner. Will definately return.
Lynn. Toronto March 22/07

The Riverside Hotel is a nice place but expensive. Very clean with terrific food and good service. It's in a great location about 2 miles from the ocean on LasOlas Blvd. The pool is very nice although accessed only across a small street in the back. They tried to put us in a room on the first floor in the older part of the hotel. It was newly renovated and clean but it was tiny...and I mean REAL small. The window had a not-so-nice view of the sidewalk and street. We ended up in the main tower. I have read the other reviews but we didn't find the rooms noisy at all. The bed was exceptionally comfortable. The concierge however was rather inept, basically lacking information about anything. Lots of restaurants all around that you can walk to with ease. We ate at Johnny V's right across the street and it was terrific. The Riverside has great food as well. In my opinion, I think the stores near the hotel on Las Olas Blvd sell overpriced junk that you really don't need. Frankly, I don't know how they even make enough money to pay the electric bill because nobody was buying anything and most only looked in the windows as they walked by. Anyway, it's interesting to sit at a sidewalk table at the Cafe Indigo and people watch. It's a quick 5 minute drive to the beach and after driving by a couple of hotels down there we were VERY glad we had selected the Riverside. Hollywood beach is just down the road a couple miles and has a nice, wide brick walkway with tons of pizza and burger joints. Plenty of colorful characters down there. Nice beaches and nice water too.

The Riverside is a beautiful, historic property with spotless and comfortable rooms. The service was prompt and polite, esp. for south Florida. Everything is relatively expensive, but not only is this Fort Lauderdale, it is also Las Olas. So, what do you expect? However, noise is a big problem. Reading an earlier review, we asked for a tower room and got one on the 10th floor. It didn't help. The patio door needed to be shut at night because of the traffic noise. It also had to be shut during the day because of construction noise that started between 8 and 8:30 every morning. Jack-hammers that could be heard over the A/C (with the patio door closed) that went on all day long. They have just broken ground on a 20+ story condo tower immediately next door on the west side of the hotel. When they finish with the jack-hammering, I suspect that dust and crane noise will be next. I predict that for at least the next two years or so the Riverside will be uninhabitable until they finish this construction. Additionally, the Riverside was apparently build before insulation was invented and the walls are paper thin. You can hear anyone walking in the hallways and easily hear every word spoken in the next room at night. Too bad...it is otherwise a wonderful property.

Beautiful hotel, wonderful location... We didn't have a chance to use the pool, so I can't comment on that. However, the room was extremely clean and comfortable, and service was amazingly friendly. The hotel bar and restaurants were fantastic, even compared to all the competition on Las Olas.

With regards to price... I think the daily rate was appropriate considering the amenities, atmosphere, cleanliness, quality of service, and location. Also, there is a parking garage right behind the hotel, and with your hotel stay, you get a special daily parking rate. In my opinion, of the four hotels I've stayed at in Fort Lauderdale so far, Riverside had the best price-to-value ratio.

Though the experience was great overall, there are a couple of things I want to note, as some travelers may be interested in these details: 1) In our room, the bathroom didn't have much counter space; 2) The bed was sort of soft (probably only noticeable if you have back issues); 3) the curtains in our room didn't close all the way (the main part of the window was covered by blinds only).

I'm truly looking forward to going back to the Riverside... After this visit, I can't imagine staying anywhere else in Fort Lauderdale.