We arrived at the Courtyard by Marriott, Ft. Lauderdale Beach at about 10:30am on a Saturday following a cruise. We were pleasantly greeted by the valet staff and directed to the front desk. The positive greetings continued and we were told that a room was not ready. No problem, we expected that. They allowed us to put our valuables in a safe, took our phone number and informed us that our luggage would be held for us. At this time, they inquired about us celebrating our 25th Anniversary and told us they would try to get us a special room. Terrific! After receiving directions toward the closest restaurants/bars, we headed out to explore. We walked all along the beachfront and decided to double back to Spazio's. They had a nice atmosphere and great drink specials. We stayed here for the next couple of hours just people and car watching while enjoying libations. We received a call that our room was ready, so we headed back to the hotel. We checked into room 1017A. It was lovely!!!! A corner room with floor to ceiling windows that had a view of the intercoastal marina in the back and the ocean from the front. We were thrilled. We took a nap and then headed out the back door to Coconuts for dinner. The restaurant is right out the back door of the hotel across the street. Very convenient! The following day, we purchased water taxi tickets from the helpful concierge and headed out to explore. It was a fun day and we had dinner and drinks back at Spazio's. The "famous" Elbo room is next door too. On our last full day, we hung out by the pool. We ordered lunch from the hotel and it was very reasonable and delicious. Our stay at the Courtyard could not have been better! The location is great, the staff is friendly and very accommodating and although the hotel is older, it's kept up very well. We plan to stay again if our travel/cruise plans have us departing from Ft. Lauderdale. Don't hesitate to book a reservation with them. Thank you for a wonderfully relaxing stay!!!!

Location is the best part of this hotel, with the beach just a short walk away. Also, restaurants, bars and shops are within an easy walking distance. The room my wife and I had was awesome, being a corner room with floor to ceiling windows on two sides. Good views of the ocean and the intercoastal waterway. Breakfast was good, and the pool bar was relaxing in the evening with a patio overlooking the ocean that included comfortable chairs and gas firepits. The only negatives were an uncomfortably hard bed, being limited to valet only parking ($29/day), and one day having to call housekeeping at 5:30 pm because our room hadn't been serviced all day. The staff was friendly. I would stay here again but would ask if they have rooms with updated, more comfortable beds.

Just completed a two night stay on the beach. Great location. Terrific views of the ocean. Superior staff. Valet parking is sometimes convenient, occasionally slow, always polite and consistently expensive ($29/night). We experienced minor ekevstor delays; but the hotel was packed. Checkout wss slow for the same reason. Computers in the business center are not up to date and really need to be replaced. After all thatcomplaining let me say the stay was great and I will gladly return.

I had reserved a two-bedroom suite at the Marriott Beach Place Towers (One block North on Rte.A1A) for $341.00 per night, but preferred this hotel because the parking garage at the Beach Place Towers is a pain in the neck. The week before my arrival date, the AAA rate for a one-bedroom suite for the Courtyard dropped from $289.00 per night to $151.00 per night. The AAA rate also discounted parking from $29 per day to $14 per day. Since I was traveling with a friend, I needed two rooms which saved us $39.00 per night. So I changed our reservation to the Courtyard.

Our plane (Jet Blue) was delayed two hours due to a computer problem and we arrived at 12:30 a.m. on Friday night. At check in, the young lady welcomed us and informed us that there was only one suite available. She apologized and discounted the room that was not a suite to $109.00 per night. She offered us drink coupons as well. I asked for breakfast coupons instead and she agreed. So we got breakfast for two each day saving $34.00 per day.

We went to our rooms and upon entering my suite, there was a strong smell of tobacco smoke. So I called the front desk and went down to see what my options were. She offered me a corner room directly below where my friend’s room was. These corner rooms are awesome. They have two walls of glass and lots of extra room. I took it at the same $109.00 per night rate that she gave us for the other room. By now it was 1:00 a.m. and I was definitely ready for some sleep.

My room was perfect, but as I unpacked, I realized I was missing my small travel bag. Sensing this was beyond a nightmare night that was not going to end, I called the front desk and told the young lady that I may have left the bag in the first suite. She said not to worry, that a security person would come to my room and escort me back up to the suite and let me in. He (security) showed up in a couple of minutes and when I went into the suite, no bag! I must have left it in the rental car. So down I went, heading to the valet area, when the security guard called me. He was holding my bag which I had left at the front desk during check in. Thank you God! So back up to my room. When I tried to go in, neither of my keys would open the door. Both got red lights after swiping. So back to the front desk and she re-programmed the keys. Finally to bed at 1:45!

The next morning I was up at 6:30a.m.and heading out to pick up my dad for breakfast. On the way out I tipped the security guard and the young lady at the desk for their great assistance during my nightmare. Although they tried to refuse, I insisted they accept it.

The rest of the stay was wonderful. Breakfast was great. There was a very helpful waitress and waiter each day. The omelets, eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit etc. were awesome. The valet parking was fast and the guys were polite and happy to offer water, assistance or directions. I tipped them a couple of dollars for each car retrieval and they always thanked me. Check out time can get a little hectic, but the longest we waited was about 3 or 4 minutes.

Everything worked in the rooms. Cleaning was done daily.

Checkout was fast and the bills were exact.

We’ll be back next January, if not sooner.