Family with Teens Easter Trip Report ( Or Luxury for Less )

Thanks for all the help on this board that I%26#39;d received from everyone prior to our trip. Everything went wonderfully! It started with winning Marriott Harbor Beach on Priceline for $135/night during Easter week. I bid the resort category in Ft. Lauderdale%26#39;s beach zone (www.biddingfortravel.com and www.betterbidding.com tipped me off). Next, after all the rental car rate complaining on this board, several of us found Budget discount codes that cut rates by 66%, with no questions asked at pick-up (BCD# U071101 or X797726). It may have helped to have picked the minivan up at an off-airport site, the Quay shopping center, a mile or two from the airport. The hotel was beautiful, but a little crowded, which meant reserving chairs by 8am and taking the stairs to our room on second floor, as elevators could get pretty busy at certain times. We spent time around the pool and some time at the beach. They had water coolers set up at the pool and gave out complimentary snacks a few times each day. The chairs and umbrellas were free to use at the beach. People were always coming and going so it was easier to find chairs there, than at the pool. We ate one meal at the hotel, as it was pricey, and that was at 3030 Ocean on Thursday night. It was kind of fun because Paula, one of the restaurant%26#39;s chefs, was there and they showed her competing in Hell%26#39;s Kitchen on a big-screen t.v. set up in the restaurant. (The show had been taped previously and Paula is sworn to secrecy.) Luckilly, this wasn%26#39;t the night she was eliminated, but I think they%26#39;re down to the last 5 contestants. Our two meals were around $150. The $25 restaurant.com gift card helped a bit, but go to www.retailmenot.com to get a discount code before purchasing one. Husband graded his tuna an A and I graded my snappper a B. Of course, our teens wanted to get in on the action so they joined us for dessert, after we%26#39;d taken them Forest Gump%26#39;s for dinner, a mile down the street. We walked 3 blocks to the Day%26#39;s Inn (Bahia Cabana) for breakfast each morning. You can get a good breakfast for under $10 in a beautiful dockside setting there. Friday night, from 5:30 to 6:00, we watched mermaids swimming around the pool from the windows of the Wreck Bar at the Yankee Clipper. Their appetizers were fairly reasonable. We splurged on another dinner, with a $25 restaurant.com discount, at Eduardo De San Angel, an upscale Mexican restaurant. My cilantro soup and carne asada (skirt steak) were excellent (A), but husband gave his fish dish a B, and the kids ordered soup and a salad, saying nothing appealed to them. This isn%26#39;t your typical Mexican restaurant and I should have known not to take the kids. They were happy when we took them to Jaxsons afterwards. Wait til you see the size of those sundaes. Daughter and I split a $16 goblet sundae, so it%26#39;s expensive, but a very fun place. We drove 2 hours to Gator Park in the Everglades because Frommers recommended them and we had $3 discount coupons. The kids liked seeing the gators and the corny animal show afterwards. I%26#39;m not sure it was worth the 4 hour roundtrip drive time. We tried to attend the sunrise Easter service that%26#39;s held right on the public beach, near the Marriott, but we were off on our ';sunrise'; estimates. The service started at 6:30am and we didn%26#39;t arrive until 7:15, just as it was ending. We packed up and headed to Key West for a couple nights after that and I%26#39;ve already posted that trip report on the Key West board. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

Family with Teens Easter Trip Report ( Or Luxury for Less )

I can%26#39;t believe you guys got to see Paula, thats great. All in all, seems like you guys had a good time? I enjoyed reading it. Hope you around again.

Family with Teens Easter Trip Report ( Or Luxury for Less )

Sounds like a great trip- sorry you missed the sunrise service- the website listed 7 am- but I guess that was a ballpark figure!

I%26#39;ve been to Eduardo%26#39;s as well and it sure isn%26#39;t what many of us think of as Mexican- someone described it ,accurately I think, as what the President of Mexico eats for dinner ! My lamb chops there were great but even with our restaurant.com discount, two of their wine based magaritas( wine and beer only there) and a (delicious) shared dessert we spent almost $100 for two- definitely a special occasion place!All your research really paid off it seems- we%26#39;ll have to deputize you as a DE for families with teens! Come back and see us!

tamaralee- What kind of room did they give you at the Marriott? I am wondering if the Priceline rooms are the rooms without a balcony.

Our room had a balcony. We got room 261, on the second floor. It actually was great because we could take the stairs when the elevator was really busy. Our balcony overlooked the lobby roof, but the roof actually has trees and plants on growing on it, so it was truly a ';garden-view'; room.

Make that room 262.

Nice report. Thank you. Construction issues @ HB marriott?

The only construction looks to be a new building in the NE corner of the property. I was on the SW corner, but didn%26#39;t hear anything from the beach or the pool area.

thanks tamaralea

Thank you tamaralea for posting this report! It%26#39;s great that you took the time to write about your experiences while you were here.

What fun that you had an opportunity to see Chef Paula at the resort! She is such a nice person and while I would love her to win, I%26#39;m selfish enough that I%26#39;d prefer to have her stay here. She%26#39;s really awesome!

Also, I%26#39;m glad you talked about the construction at the resort. I have been there many times throughout all that%26#39;s being done but I think your saying it wasn%26#39;t intrusive means more..

Thanks too for all the info about the discount coupons!

Come back again - soon and often!!