We stayed here Jan 1st-6th 2008 (sorry for the late review), but wanted to share some thoughts on the Pelican Beach resort. Many of the Trip Adv. reviews were positive and was the reason we stayed here. During the time we stayed, we hit a nasty cold spell...it was 40 degrees and windy, we hit rain and wind right after we arrived...so it was horrible weather, but we made the best of it. When you hit cold weather like this in Florida, you really get to see the real deal with a hotel, since you're now spending way more time scouting around indoors that most people who hit normal Florida 75 deg weather and go to the beach all day..so listen up, here's the deal on this place - Bad news, followed by good news:

* The pool is not heated; neither is the lazy river. If it rains or a cold spell comes in (which happens more than you think in FLA) no way you're going in these waters. Bottom line...any hotel pool in FLA should be heated, so you can use it when the weather is cooler. If you hit plenty of warm weather ahead of your trip, the water will be fine.

* Pelican has NO Hot Tub - Unbelievable for a place charging $250-400/
day. Many cheaper hotels in Lauderdale have pools and Hot Tubs...so again, what's up with that ?

* No Tiki Bar outside! There's just an indoor bar area, it's very nice, but you need to have shirts/shoes on to get your own drinks. You are forced to wait for the waitress for any drink you want to have, either on the beach or sunning out at the pool. The pool area and lazy river are so poorly designed, they left no room for a Tiki Bar for people to hang out at. There's a guy that BBQ grills burgers/dogs outside, that's cool.

Beach Chairs - At the pool area, there's plenty of them, but they are all crammed together, side by side...no way to get into or out of the chairs or move them. The hotel tower is on the south side of the pool area, meaning that much of the pool area is in the SHADE most of the day! (at least in winter). Not good design, esp. when it's cooler outside and you're trying to get a tan. On the beach, we had to lift up our own beach chairs and put them down on the beach. The beach staff did NOT lay out the beach chairs every morning on the beach...
very annoying considering all the young dudes on staff.

Restarant food was excellent, but not enough tables out on the outdoor veranda. Most tables are indoor, but large and roomy.

Sunday brunch was like $25-30/head...very expensive. They push it hard, Better off ordering from menu.

11th Floor Observation deck - There is a HUGE observation deck on the 11th floor of the tower. However, it's a TOTAL waste of space! It's got incredible ocean front views, tons' of floor space, but the hotel has made no attempt to do anything with this precious space. What a perfect spot for a Tiki Bar, Hot Tub or even ocean-front restaurant. They just don't get it. Go up and check it out if you go.

On the Positive Side:
REAL nice veranda overlooking the ocean on back of hotel. Great spot for am coffee. Lazy river is nice, but real hard to get up on the oversized tubes. There's a nice workout room on the 10th floor overlooking the ocean (it's a renovated hotel room). Paved Jogging/
walking trails right there, going south towards Los Olas, but if you need your treadmill, it's here.

Location is ok since it's away from the Los Olas craziness, but it's not great either. You are inbetween Oakland Blvd and E.Sunrise blvd. No restaurants close by, unless you want to walk 15 mins north to Shooters/E Oakland Park Blvd. Nice big Gallary mall there at E Sunrise Blvd to the south few miles. Hotel is about 4 miles north of Los Olas blvd, not walking distance to Los Olas activities inland. You NEED a car here or you will be using the bus or paying lot's of money for cabs. Bus stops right out front (trust us, rent a car if you are staying here. (Cab rides to Los Olas are $18/one way). Food and restaurant were excellent. Snack bar and free internet access room is a bit hit..Great Staff, very friendly. Pelican is one of the few hotels that is actually right on the beach. Most hotels in Lauderdale are not, a key reason why people stay here. Place was very clean and well kept. No bugs. Maids/staff all friendly.

Just saw previous post on safes being broken into. We did not have any problems with theft. Very interesting, likely an inside job.

This Hotel is up for sale as well. They have units you can buy as timeshares as well. Place is run by a French folks. The Pelican is nice, but has so much potential for improvement. This place would be A+++ if they did everything I talked bout above.

Bottom line: When you stay in FT Lauderdale, you have to decide whether you want to stay near the beach and drive and deal with parking for Los Olas restarants/clubs every nite (3 miles inland). Or, stay in Los Olas restaurant district, walking distance to all the cool resturants, shops, Las Olas River front, tour cruises, bars, theators, etc and drive to the beach (but have to deal with parking over there). You cannot have your cake and eat it too here. If you want close proximity to beach/hotels/shops/restaurants and mega nightclubs and don't care about seeing rich houses and tons of yachts, just head an hour south and stay in South Beach! If you want a taste of how the super-wealthy live, with their mega-yachts parked in front of their homes, you have to stay in Lauderdale. Hope this helps.