Just like many other folks, we were a bit leary staying at the Clipper after reading the reviews on Trip Advisor. I have to disagree with most of the reviews. The Hotel is a bit dated; after all, its a landmark. However, the Lobby was very pretty and elegant with many little chandeliers and comfy looking red sofas throughout. Front desk staff was very friendly, and explained the parking situation: $12.00 a night to self-park in the tight garage across the street, or Valet park for $16.00 a night. We chose to self-park, which was fine, but there are three buildings, and getting to our room practically required a Garmin. I was surprised to find that our room (as most rooms appear) was reached from the outside, sort of like a motor-lodge. We were on the 2nd floor, and the front door to our room overlooked one of the pools. That was very nice. Upon entering, we noticed a slight cleaning-fluid scent, but that quickly faded, and we noticed it no longer. The room was clean and had nice wood furniture, and the bright bathroom was simple and spotless. There was a nice tray of goodies like lotion, soap, shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash and a poofy for body wash (also there was a hair dryer and iron/board). Our biggest bummer was when my fella noticed there was no balcony, and that the windows didn't open. He's a smoker, so this was upsetting to him. We called the Desk, and learned that the Hotel is now a Non-Smoking Hotel. Good news for some folks, I'm sure, but my guy was ticked. He could go down the outside corridor to a patio to smoke, but there is no coverage or shade from the EXTREMELY HOT sun of south Florida, or protection from the daily summer thunderstorms that roll in and out. MY biggest problem was that the backside of our room faced A1A, and there is quite a bit of traffic on that roadway. In fact, our first night, I had trouble sleeping due to the road noise. A tri-athalon was being run that morning, and so noise of traffic being re-directed and orange cones being dropped (trucks with beeping sounds) woke me up at 6:00 am. Except for those two issues (non-smoking and traffic noise) I liked the hotel. It was clean and pretty. If you go, Dont miss the Mermaid show in the bar. We were supposed to stay for 2 nights per our package deal, but since we live 30 minutes away, and this was just for a
"staycation", we decided to leave after the first night. Oh, and beware, there is a $50.00 early departure charge. Since we were pre-paid, we didnt have to pay it, but others might have to, depending upon their reservations. We only paid $69.00 for our package, so we got our money's worth. Its not a resort, so folks should stop expecting a resort-style hotel. It is very utilitarian, and great for short getaways and family beach trips. Snooty people need not visit. I hope this helps!!!

We were alittle tense reading some of the reviews before our vacation. We know that there are alot of snooty people who would right a bad review, just because they think that the world is there to pamper them. But our stay was wonderful. The beach was awsome, my girlfriend who is nervous around the ocean, never even went to the pool. She spent the whole time on the beach and in the surf. The rooms were clean, the lobbys were clean too. You have to take into account that people are tracking sand in constantly, its hard to have every speck picked up every minute. The staff was overly courteous. There was no attitude as other reviews stated. They were eager to help and informative. They made you feel welcome and never acted like we were an inconvenience. We plan on returning next year with our kids. Food was expensive all around Ft. Lauderdale, but hey, what can you say.

I booked on Hotwire, requesting a three star hotel in Ft Lauderdale and was placed here for a one night stay. I just wanted a nice hotel room for an overnight trip on my way to Coral Gables - just an hour away, but I was driving and thought I'd take a night in Ft Lauderdale on my way down from Atlanta.

So. Checked in, provided my Starwood Gold card and was upgraded to a king bed beachfront room, a very nice gesture - a low-priced Hotwire rate ($30 below the webrate on the hotel site) is run of house, so they didn't need to upgrade me.

The view and the bedding (the new Sheraton bed) were wonderful. The rest of the hotel and room were pretty much not. I have stayed in 1 star motels that are better maintained - both from a long term maintenance perspective and a housekeeping perspective.

The hotel itself is very dated - the windowless lounge and restaurant (through which you must walk to reach the separate beachfront building) are worn and way too thematic for my taste. The pirates on a sailing ship theme is much better for Las Vegas, and I was, in fact, reminded of the old theme hotels in Vegas in the 70s. Public areas have the smell of deoderizing sprays (possibly in response to the earlier comment about the permeating smell of mildew). This always just makes me wonder what the deoderant is covering up - I try to hold my breathe and walk quickly.

My room. As I stated, the bed had the nice new Sheraton linens and there was a wonderful beachfront view. But when I retired, I discovered that every pillow was foam - most hotels have half foam and half feather so people can choose. Since I always choose feather, this was a disappointment.

And the rest of the room was a disaster. It was an old room with new furnishings slapped on - the ceiling was combination dropped ceiling tile and popcorn - both of which showed heavy discoloration from dirt from the a/c unit, all in a fan away from the vent.

Then there was the carpet - clearly new, but with stains and discolorations throughout. There was a sign (the first I have ever seen in a hotel - and I used to work in the industry) telling me that I would be charged $40 if I took the $10 iron from the room. That told me about the clientel at this hotel.

And finally the bathroom. They have left the old tub and toilet but have replaced the sink and the tile surrounding the tub and serving as a baseboard moulding for the room. Well, technically, the tile hasn't been replaced - they have put new tile over the old, which (as any renovator will tell you) is a recipe for disaster - water seeps under the new tile and causes all sorts of issues, which were evident in my bathroom, including air pockets where the tiles start to fall in. Also, the entire surface is half an inch extended from the walls and existing fixtures, making it feel more closed in.

There is no way to regulate water pressure - it comes out of the bath / shower tap at about three times the pressure needed. And the bath drain was extremely slow. The combination resulted in the majority of my shower time wading in undrained water.

My final comment is that they provided only plastic cups, wrapped in plastic wrap. This, too, I have found in one star motels. Ostensibly it must be to conserve water (a notion I fully support). But they would save much more water if they reduced the water flow issue in the tub and replaced their old toilets (3.5 liters per flush and I had to flush twice every time!) with the new 1.6 liter toilets they'd save about 100 times more water than they would save from washing glasses for the rooms. Incidentally, I like a glass in my room to hold my toothbrush and toothpaste, of which a plastic cup is not capable.

Motels up the street advertised rooms for $50 and would probably have been just as satisfactory. How this hotel maintains its 3 star / diamond rating is beyond me.

This hotel was wonderful. My friends and I went on a girls week and we would def. go back. The staff was great. They were so friendly and helpful. It is just a short walk away from the beach. The hotel offeres complementary chairs and towels. Great for a fun get away.