My husband and I just returned from a short stay at Lago Mar. We loved the hotel because in addition to being attractive, clean and comfortable, it was in a residential area -- fully away form all the noise, bustle, restaurants and nightlife of Fort Lauderdale Beach.It has a genteel upscale feeling. As the official descriptions state, Lago Mar owns a large strip of beachfront property so that it is one of the few Fort Lauderdale hotels from which guests can walk, without crossing a street, from the gardens and pool to the ocean; these gardens, the pool area and the beach are lovely and well-kept. The grounds and beach area are large and spread out enough so that the many young families could splash, play and make noise without bothering us older, quieter guests. The hotel is in the neighborhood of two and three story buildings (with one exception), so that it has the ambiance of a tropical resort (rather than the feel of the concrete jungle feeling many of the areas south of Boca Raton offer.) The room was pretty and fairly large.
My only complaint about this hotel was the dim lighting in the elevator. The hotel should use a brighter light fixture so that people coming in from the bright outside have an easier time seeing. The other caveat might be about the airplanes. Until about an hour before our check out, we saw planes taking off in the distance. Then, during a brief storm, we spent about forty minutes directly in the flight path. I suspect future guests might want to know about this uncharacteristic and weather dependent. phenomena.
Finally, the location suited us perfectly, but had we taken our teenaged children, they would have complained about the peace and quiet and would have preferred to be within walking distance of the still slightly tawdry commercial strip further north.

We loved the grounds, pool, beach and the service was outstanding everywhere we went in the hotel from the restaurant and the bars to the bellmen. Food was great too and reasonably priced. Room was clean, comfortable and beautifully decorated. We can't wait to go back with our kids!

Just returned from a five-night stay during my daughter's April vacation week. This lovely and quiet resort that was fun for the whole family. My husband and I were able to relax while my daughter played with the many friends she met at the resort. The children's playground and mini-golf area were both very close to the lagoon pool, so we felt comfortable allowing her to play in these areas with her friends while we stayed by the pool. We felt the lagoon pool was prettier and more inviting than the larger pool -- the larger pool felt like a standard hotel pool, whereas the lagoon pool was more unique and resort-like. The beach was clean and secluded. There was a bit of a rough undertow, but the water and sand were lovely. It was fun to see the cruise ships coming in and out of the nearby channel -- but some of the tankers and container ships were a bit unsightly.

Our accommodation, a one-bedroom poolside suite, was in the older building, but it was clean and comfortable. My only complaint was that the bedroom window was right along with open-air hallway, so I had to remember to close our shades before dressing!

The resort is indeed pricey for food and drinks, but the kitchen and refrigerator allowed us to stock our own breakfast and beverage items and save some money. We ate twice at the Italian restaurant, Acquario, for dinner. It would have been nice to have more of a choice for dinner. However, this is a function of the Lago Mar being a relatively small resort, which was a real plus to me.

About the 18% gratuity (not 20% as I've seen mentioned in other reviews here) -- yes, it does exist. However, my husband and I usually tip in the 20% range, so this made it easy in that we didn't have to calculate the tip. And maybe the resort has changed its policy, but I did not see it added to non-service items that I purchased in the Soda Shoppe (my daughter bought some candy that was subject only to tax, not gratuity). I recommend purchasing sodas and snacks at nearby shops, such as Walgreen's and Publix, if you want to save some money.

The free parking and free wireless internet connection were nice extras. We stayed at a far inferior resort near Miami last year where we had to pay nearly $40 each day for those services and a "resort fee."

In general I don't like Florida very much -- I think it can be tacky and can feel unsafe, but the seclusion of Lago Mar and its private stretch of beach make it a lovely hideaway. I can understand why people would return to the resort year after year, and I hope to do the same!

We just returned from a wonderful trip to the Lago Mar. It is the perfect family resort. The grounds are beautiful. I felt like I was in the Caribbean. The staff was very helpful and accommodating. The best part of the resort is the old fashioned charm. It is not at all like the other modern high rise resorts in Ft. Lauderdale. Yes, the Lago Mar is a bit older, but that helps to contribute to the ambience. We had a one bedroom suite. While it is in the older building, the room was still very nice and spotless.
The only glitch we encountered was a mistake on the bill. They overcharged us by four hundred dollars for our breakfast!! Luckily, we caught the error and they corrected it right away. Always double check the itemized area on the final bill.
I highly recommend the Lago Mar. I just hope they don't tear it down and turn it into an impersonal high rise resort.