This past week I traveled to Ft. Lauderdale in Florida for a relaxing break. Traveling is something that truly makes me happy and I have missed it so much. Although I prefer to go abroad, this small trip was just what I needed. It just so happened that my time off coincided with college spring break, which was not what I was looking to be a part of. I chose to book a hotel that was a little further north, away from most of the bars and clubs. I stayed at Ocean Sky Hotel and Resort, mostly due to the price and reviews I read before booking.
This is a smaller hotel, and I think the price reflected that. It had a more mid-range price tag compared to many of the larger resorts, but still managed to provide a good vacation vibe. I wanted a relaxing trip but still wanted to save money overall. Since I stayed for a whole week, this meant that I saved close to $2000 than if I had stayed in a larger resort.
One of the ways that Ocean Sky manages to do this is by making many of its beach and pool services cost extra. The pool deck was very nice, with a smaller pool (fine for the size of the hotel) and hot tub. There are plenty of lounge chairs on the pool deck and these are all free to use. Around the pool deck there are pool-side “cabanas” which consisted of shaded, two person lounge chairs, and they cost $65 per day to rent. There was also a tiki bar where you could buy fun drinks.
On the beach, lounge chairs cost $15 each per day, with umbrellas an extra $20 per day. Of course, you could just lay with a towel on the beach for free, which many people were doing. All of the chairs were rented through a company separate from the hotel, which also rented jet skis. The on-site restaurant was a little overpriced, but not as bad as I expected. They also had waitresses that would come down to the beach to wait on people and deliver food to them.
Even with all these extras, you could still save money on daily costs by playing your cards right. I love the beach so I got a beach chair 3 of the days with an umbrella twice. The people watching alone was great and there were plenty of people to chat with as well. The hotel did provide fresh beach towels each day, but you had to return your used ones when you were through with them. And of course, drinks are always extra!
One of the biggest expenses was actually my trip to the hotel on the day I arrived. They did not offer free airport shuttle service, so the taxi trip in rush hour traffic ended up being a little pricey. My flight home was early in the morning and the trip was only a fraction of the cost. On-site parking was also an extra daily charge, but I didn’t find the need to rent a car. There was a grocery store that was less than a 10 minute walk from the hotel, which helped me save a ton of money on food. The hotel rooms all had mini-fridges and microwaves, and this was super helpful.
My room felt pretty updated and the bathroom was small but nicely done. The wifi was a little slow, so that hampered the work I told myself I would do (so maybe it was a good thing). It had a nice balcony with chairs on it and you could see the ocean from there. The room was cleaned every day and towels were changed out, but sheets were only changed every 3 days. This is pretty standard nowadays and I don’t mind it. My king bed was pretty comfortable and I slept well overall, which is very important to me.
I don’t have many complaints about the hotel overall, but I knew exactly what I was getting into in terms of extra charges from the research I did before the stay. Many of the other guests were very surprised that chairs at the beach cost extra, so I’m glad I read all the reviews. The weather in Ft. Lauderdale was wonderful, with perfect temps and surprisingly warm ocean water. It was exactly the relaxing trip I was hoping for and didn’t break the bank. It also did wonders for my mood and overall mental health.
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