My boyfriend and I stayed at the Il Lugano from July 5th - July 9th; we arrived there mid-afternoon. We rented a car at the airport and drove to the hotel. Note: If you're renting a car and not that great with directions, I suggest renting the GPS navigator. It is pricy, but really handy. I already own one and it's great and easy to use. If we didn't have one, we would have stayed at the hotel only or in the same general area. Also, if we didnt have the GPS, we would have missed the turn into the street where the hotel was, the signs are small and it isn't a major road.
We took the advice of previous reviewers and parked in the parking lot in front of the hotel where there are parking meters. They're free from 6pm-8am, which worked out great because we got up early to feed the meters, ate breakfast and went to the beach or shopped around and by the time we came back it, it was after 6 and parking was free!
From the moment we arrived, until the moment we left we were treated with extra care. It doesn't look like much from the outside and the area around wasn't that great either. But that saying is true, never judge a book by its cover. The inside has sleek and modern design and the people are extremely welcoming. We were towing our luggage from the car to the hotel, two gentleman made sure we didn't put too much in the meter and advised us it was free after 6, insisted that he take our luggage, while we checked in and we never had to open our door. (I'm big on the little things, and I've never stayed at a fancy hotel before, so yes I was impressed!) We checked in, the lady at the reception dropped what she was doing to do so, handed me a personalised letter welcoming me to the hotel, and handed me the keys to the room. The bellhop pointed out where all the amenities were: pool, bar & hours, gym, conceirge and his hours, and advised us about their free escalade services that will drop you off anywhere within 3 miles and try their best to pick you up. We never used this service because we had our car, but it sounded like a great perk.
We stayed in room 719 and it had a great view of the intercoastal waterway. The bellhop met us at our room and showed us where everything was, and assured us that if we needed anything to just give them a ring. And boy was the room beautiful! It had a king bed, patio area, a couch, a full-sized fridge, dishwasher, washer and dryer, flat screen tv, two stove tops; however no pots or pans, only a kettle, two closets, and a roomy bathroom.
As I mentioned above, there was a continental breakfast served every morning...for free! They served different pastries including danishes (which i loved), fruits, cereal, and bagels alongside 3 different juices or coffee or tea. You can even eat outside on the patio overlooking the intercoastal waterway and I saw some people even take it up to their room.
The hotel is about less than a five minute drive to fort lauderdale beach. The weather most of our stay was extremely hot and humid. It was hard to stay out and tan if we we not in the water. If you have a beach gear, I suggest you bring it, especially an umbrella because all we had were beach towels and we were dying in the heat!
If you need to buy a bottle of wine or a hard drink while staying at the hotel, there's a 24 hour walgreens about a 2 minute walk from the hotel. Otherwise there's not much around to walk to.
The pool area was nice and quiet, the tanning beds along the waterway were beautiful. The only drawback was the construction noise outside the hotel near the pool area. I only heard it going on one of the days I was out for a swim.
We asked to extend our stay until late afternoon on the day of our checkout, but it looks like a strict rule that we had to be out by 12pm. Other than that, I don't really have complaints about the hotel itself. The hotel location is in the middle of no where. So if you do stay here, make sure you have a car if you plan to go any where else outside the hotel's 3 mile radius.

We just returned from a week at the Il Lugano with our 1 and 2 year olds. I have mixed reviews.

One of the main reasons I booked the Il Lugano was because of the complimentary boat tours. I thought it would be fun for our little ones. THESE TOURS DO NOT EXIST. Hotel Management expressed frustration at some of the incorrect information that circulating on the internet. They did compensate us for our disappointment.

The complimentary breakfast buffet was strictly continental (I had read on the internet about waffle and egg stations - not true!!). DH loved sliced mango (pretty sure it was canned!) and fruit salad. The kids and I mostly ate bagels. I ended up buying some instant oatmal so the kids could have that for breakfast too.

The trolley to the beach was cool (although my daughter was terrified, but she was also terrified of the escalade - so there!). Complimentary transportation was amazing. Only on one occasion was I asked to wait about a 1/2 hour for a ride. Other than that, transportation was always available.

The room was nice and clean. We didn't have a full intercoastal view as I had expected. Don't book room 721 as you stare straight at the rooftop fan of the adjacent hotel. A must for our hotel booking was to have a full kitchen - which the Il Lugano did. However, other than plates, glasses, and cutlery, the kitchen was not stocked. There were not pots or pans to be used. I ended up making do by heating up soups and other foods in the kettle. I should have bought a cheap frying pan from Walgreen's (close walk) on the first day.

While the room does have free DirecTV, the hotel does not subscribe to many family chanels (NickJr., Noggin, Disney). Good thing I brought the portable DVD.

Area Recommendations: Water Taxis, Kilwyn's (Las Olas), Julian's (Great Burgers - walking distance), Golden Chopstics (Delivers to hotel), and Pizza Rustica (walking distance).

Let the hotel trolley you to Bamboo Beach. They have an arrangement with a hotel there, and you can use their facilities - very handy with a potty-training toddler.

Although there are still some kinks to be worked out .... the hotel gets five stars for the staff. Concierges (Lisa and Allana) and all the drivers were amazing (wish I knew their names). Many of the staff greeted us by names and took the time to play and chat with our kids.

My husband and I were very pleased by this hotel (considering the fact that we had a very good deal with priceline).

Our room was on the 8th Floor and was more like a one bedroom suite (large balcony overlooking the marina with table & chairs and lounging).

The living room had comfy couch, large screen TV, dining table and chairs, a large desk, plugin Ipod station.

Kitchen was modern with a table bar and chairs, coffee & tea maker, dishwasher, large fridge.

Bathroom "boudoir" had a double door (one going to the bedroom, one going to the open living room/kitchen), another door leads you to the bathtub and cabinet.

Bedroom was large and with a king bed, chest of drawers and a lot of closet space. Very nice furniture overall everywhere.

The suite also had a washing & dryer machine in one of the closet, along with a safe.

Breakfast was complimentary and located on the 6th floor. I personnaly enjoyed the breakfast, but would eat it in my suite.

The pool is small but well appointed and so is the "spa" & changing room.

Staff was courteous.

Our only complain was the cleaning lady appointed to our room.
She would (when she came..) place 3 products of the same kind (like 3 body cream we had no use for) because policy is "3 products, I guess" instead of asking her management to give her shampoo or showerbath, or soap for her cart. Twice our room had not been made coming back at 6pm, no towels, no kitchen cleaning.

My mother who was staying on the 6th floor had nothing to complain about, the service she had was perfect, so it had to be with the staff on the 8th floor.

Stayed 8 nights at this fantastic hotel. The room has more than you can ask for including flatscreen tv and ipod charger. The staff was very friendly and helpfull to all of us and became allmost friends with my boys aged 10 and 14. There is absolutely nothing negative about this hotel, just stay there you wont regret it.