We had high expectations of this hotel. When we arrived nobody gave us a welcome. The guy at the reception was on the telephone while giving me my keys and documents. The door man didn't bother to say hello. After our very good experiences at other hotels (Affinia Dumont NYC, Lighthouse Key Resort and Tortuga Inn), this felt strange. Our room, though very well appointed and luxurious, was a little small for 4 people. We couldn't move after the sofabed was made. View was nice. The breakfast was very bad. I made a complaint at the reception. It looked so good but in fact the breakfast was not fresh at all. The fruit tasted liked it was peeled 1 week ago!! I know it's complimetary but................Not such a good experience at the Il Lugano for us.

Stayed at this property for a four day weekend to celebrate my daughters 16th bitrthday. Absolutely gorgeous lobby, rooms, pool and gym. Helpful staff, great location a few minutes walk to the public beach or they will drive you for free in an Escalade!!

Only complaint was the early teardown of the breakfast buffet. Talked to management and I would suspect thats been taken care of by now. Overall a wonderful stay and we hope to return next year!

We have just returned from a four day stay at the Il Lugano, with our teenage daughter and friend. We were greeted with a warm friendly welcome, and on telling reception that we were to be one more person in our party, given an instant upgrade to an even larger suite. We paid an excellent "introductory" rate including continental breakfast and valet parking. This new all-suite hotel (opened in January 08) has a sleek classy appeal, spacious suites, large bathrooms, with separate rooms for vanity/toilet and bathtub and shower, which is useful when sharing with two teenage girls!

The bed was very comfortable, with top quality linens and towels. The staff are trying very hard to please, and as with everything new, there are just a few wrinkles to iron out,( a few more pastries at breakfast to make sure they don't run out) but nothing spoiled our great stay here. A special thanks to our concierge Annie, who helped us make our stay complete.

My husband and I are NJ residents who had lived in the Lauderdale area for a few years so we are very familiar with the area in general. We have always loved the intracoastal waterway and enjoy watching the yachts ply the waters but felt there was a lack of high end accomodations either on the intracoastal or with good intracoastal views. When we heard that a new luxury hotel was opening near Oakland Park Blvd., which is centrally located, and that it was going to be directly on the intracoastal, we were looking forward to giving it a try.

We booked through Hotels.com and got a good rate for the Easter week on a king suite with a balcony overlooking the intracoastal waterway. We were very pleased with the accomodations and the staff. Our mini suite was on the 9th floor and consisted of the most comfortable bed, flat screen plasma tv, fully equiped kitchen with frig and microwave, granite countertops, washer, dryer and a spotless large bathroom. The balcony was oversized and faced the intracoastal waterway, where there is lots of boating activity and beautiful views of the city. The housekeeping staff was great as were the doormen and front desk. The continental breakfast was above average, with fresh fruit, juice, yogurt and the usual assortment of fresh baked pastries and cereal.

Some observations that might help other travelers:

This is not a hotel for kids. There is nothing for them to do.
The hotel is a few blocks from the beach. The "oceanview" side is a distant view and it basically overlooks the parking lot of a strip mall complex that looks like it is in a redevelopment stage.

The pool is small and on the north side of the building, thereby basically out of the sun for most of the day. The neighborhood is residential and the hotel lobby is more like a condominium lobby than a hotel. The bar is tiny and not especially inviting. The restaurant is not open yet. Also, although the website says they are giving "Atlantic Reception" (free drinks and snacks during happy hour) it has been discontinued.

To avoid the $25 per day valet parking fee, park in the lot directly across the street. It's a metered lot but since we were gone most of the day, we only paid less than a dollar daily to park there since it is free after 6PM. The only snag is that the meters begin charging at 8AM so you have to get to the meter by that time or risk a ticket.
We did not take advantage of the complimentary Escalade or their boat, which we did see others using.

Many great restaurants are within a short walk from the hotel or you can take advantage of the free transportation to and from anywhere within a wide radius (they will take you as far south as Las Olas Blvd.)

We would return to this hotel and would recommend it for couples who are not necessarily concerned about staying directly on the beach and would appreciate the fabulous views on the intracoastal side of the building. Also, there is nothing better than a brand new luxury room at a reasonable rate and that is what they are offering during their inaugural season. Once this place catches on, and the restaurant opens, I think the rates will be much higher since the Il Lugano is destined to be a 5 star hotel in the near future!