We stayed at the Hampton Inn Plantation on Christmas Eve before an early morning flight out of FLL. The hotel is sort of difficult to find in the midst of a mall area, but this was our only peeve. We stayed in room 503, a very comfortable king-sized room with free wi-fi and with a great shower featuring their 'curved shower rod'. With no room service in the hotel we chose from the in-room restaurant suggestions and ordered delivery from Espisito's Pizza. Big mistake. The in-room menu was well out of date and our pizza cost over 25% more than the menu stated. No problem if it was a good pie but the toppings were almost non-existent and the delivery guy had the "I hate my job" attitude despite a substantial tip. Enough about them. The next morning we were treated to a complimentary breakfast consisting of an egg scramble, several breads, a good selection of fruit juices as well as fresh fruit with coffee and tea. Great for free! The shuttle to FLL left at the top of the hour (8'oclock in our case) and being Christmas Day only took about fifteen minutes to get us there. When we returned 10 days later a simple phone call to the hotel arranged our ride back. In fact, the shuttle was already there and picked us up in a matter of minutes. Compounded with the free parking at the hotel, the shuttle service makes the Hampton Inn Plantation cheaper than airport parking alone on extended trips and qualifies the Hampton Inn Plantation a no-brainer.

We stayed here for two nights prior to our cruise and really believe we made a good choice. The staff is very friendly, the room up to date, clean and it's in a very quiet neighborhood.

One thing to be prepared for when you arrive at FLL. There is no direct phone to the hotel - you must call from a pay phone or your cell phone. If you did not have their number you might have a bit of a problem. The van (complimentary) arrived in good time and the driver was very courteous.

We came in on Saturday and the hotel was completely sold out. There was a bit of difficulty getting everyone to the cruise terminal as some folks did not get to go exactly when they wanted to. The hotel runs two vans and the sign up is on a first come, first served basis so those that arrived later in the evening had to go either around 10 or had to wait until 2. Not a problem except people were anxious to get to thier ships. On Monday their we only 6 or 8 cruise passengers and we could go whenever we wanted.

The van ride to the port takes about 20-25 minutes but it is also complimentary so who is complaining?

There is a large mall adjacent to the hotel which is handy. There is a large Albertsons and two liquor stores within about a 10 minute walk. Also, there must be at least 10 good restauants in the same 10 minute walk so while you are quite a ways from the port, you do have everything you need close at hand.

About our only negative would be they don't have waffles in their breakfast buffet but since it too is complimentary I guess we can't complain too loudly.

We would definitely choose this hotel again when we cruise in the future.

We stayed here 1/25/08 before boarding Jewel of the Seas. Great staff and very clean rooms. Our bed was very comfortable and the room was large for the two of us. Shuttle was very prompt at the airport and very friendly. It seemed the regular shuttle man was off so we got Willie and his co worker. They were both great people.You will have to walk to get around the area as they are not close to alot of eateries, stores, etc. The Broward Mall is across the street but the food court is not great. We happened to catch Willie as he was leaving for the airport so he dropped us off to shop. He promptly picked us up as arranged. If you have a rental car - this property is great. If you don't, you can't shop like you can in FLL. The breakfast is wonderful, the coffee is great. If you are cruising and you don't need anything else and are content to stay put for the day, this is the place for you. I am more into sightseeing and being mobile. We got that with Willie.
The area around the property is clean and we felt safe walking over to Broward Mall. I would NOT hesitate to book this hotel again pre or post cruise. The staff make you feel so welcome and part of the family. We enjoyed our stay there and hope you do as well!
Susan

We had a wonderful stay at the Hampton Inn. The shuttle service from the airport and to the cruise port is a great service. The staff is friendly and helpful and really seem to enjoy their jobs. The rooms were clean, the breakfast was great and the location is ideal. Shopping mall and a vast selection of restaurants all within walking distance. It was raining the night we arrived and the staff offered to drive us to the restaurant even though it was only a couple of blocks away. We felt welcomed and had a great stay. We would absolutely recommend this hotel for anyone regardless of the reason for their travel. The employees are so nice and so accommodating, they make you feel like you are important and that is rare these days. GREAT PLACE!