Gay Resorts in Fort Lauderdale

[Karl-G]

Friends from the North are visiting in Fort Lauderdale this week and staying in a gay guest house. When I went to visit, they suggested we walk around the neighborhood and visit some of the new and/or refurbished gay guesthouses, because there have been considerable changes in the last few years. We found some very interesting things. There are more than 30 gay guesthouses in Fort Lauderdale, but the greatest concentration is in an area between Miramar and Riomar Streets just a block or two inland from the ocean. (This is half-way between Las Olas Boulevard and Sunrise Boulevard.) Originally, these were all little family owned motels with 10-12 rooms each. They began to change to gay motels about 30 years ago, and they had great success. There came to be more and more of them.

 

But the trend in the last five years has been for some of the original gay guesthouses to expand by buying the properties adjacent to them, sometimes similar motels but also small hotels. Today there are a number of these joined properties in this area, and they offer a number of special advantages. When you have 30-50 rooms, rather than 10-12, you have many more gay men who can meet and the costs of maintenance and servicing are reduced. All these resorts have at least two courtyards and two pools, clothing optional areas, fitness centers, and now many are opening spas. They have all been completely renovated in structure and furnishings, and every one we looked at was very nice. In all of these properties, there are no children, no women, and no heterosexual men. You can carry on conversations without shouting.

 

The first one we wanted to see was the new Royal Palms. It is several blocks away from the original Royal Palms, which is now closed and appears abandoned for the moment. The name was kept by the new owners and used to replace the old Hotel Monaco and the adjacent property. Now the Royal Palms is fully a block long and half a block wide, with 52 rooms. The property has been completely refurbished. All carpets have been removed and all floors are marble or fine stone. There is a nice fitness center and a spa offering manicures, pedicures, facials, massages, etc. There are three courtyards. And there is a restaurant and bar, which is something new. You can buy sandwiches, salads, and appetizers and order drinks all day long; the bar is open until 10:00 at night. This is the only guesthouse which (thus far) offers this amenity. Rooms are very European in style, simple, clean, open, spacious, all new furniture and bathrooms. Each room has a large flat-screen tv. For the time being at least, the restaurant and bar are open without extra charge to other guests in the area, and this should become a popular spot to hang out and meet people. It is also a pleasant and convenient place to have lunch, since there are no other simple restaurants in the area.

 

Like all the gay guesthouses, there is a large complementary breakfast around the pool every morning and free cocktail hour some afternoons. These are great times to meet other guests. Several of the guesthouses were booked up completely from Thursday to Sunday this weekend and most weekends.

 

The Grand Resort and Spa is also large and offers many amenities. It combined two properties a number of years ago and has three courtyards, pool, hot tub, lush landscaping, and a large spa with many services. The spa looks out on a beautiful courtyard with hot tub and fountains and thick vegetation. It is very pleasant to try a manicure, pedicure, etc. while here and you don't have to leave the grounds. The Worthington has taken over the Alcazar next door and now has three times as many rooms, two large courtyards, and the rooms have all been redone. The fitness room has floor to ceiling windows facing out on the swimming pool, which provides interesting viewing while you are pedaling. The Elysium is another combination of several properties and has two courtyards and pools and many rooms. There are a number of other gay guesthouses in the area. You can find ads and web addresses and pictures and rates and special promotions for all of them by going to HOTSPOTS Magazine on the web and flipping through the pages.

 

June 1 - September 30 is low season in this area, and so there are special deals for those coming during the summer. Most of the resorts are charging $99-$119 per night for a room with a King sized bed or two Queen sized beds. Some of the resorts offer, in addition, a fourth night free if you stay three nights (or you can stay 8 nights and pay for 6). This brings the price down to $75-$80 per night, which is very reasonable. There are also beautiful spacious suites available for those interested.

 

The gay guesthouses are wonderful places to relax among other gay men who share common interests but lead many kinds of lives. Meeting other people is one of the great pleasures of staying at one of the resorts. Many European men come to visit and stay in the gay resorts. There are non-stop flights to Miami from London, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, etc. so getting here is very easy. It is always interesting and enjoyable to chat with other gay men from Ireland, France, Germany, England, Sweden, Spain, etc. Friendships made here can last a long time. It is not unusual for men who have met at a guesthouse to plan to come to the same place at the same time the following year.

 

The beautiful Fort Lauderdale beach and the ocean are only one to three blocks to the east. You can walk to gay St. Sebastian Beach in 15 minutes. Another five minutes will bring you to the beach area where all the college boys congregate and the eye candy is endless. You will need a car, however. There are lots of nice, interesting and good restaurants only 10 minutes by car on Las Olas or Sunrise. You can always get a good deal on a car rental at the Fort Lauderdale airport by using Priceline. The gay bars and restaurants of Fort Lauderdale are a 15 minute drive away. Wilton Drive between 26th and 19th is lined on both sides with gay businesses, bars, restaurants, outdoor cafes, clothing stores, gift shops, gyms, and coffee shops.

 

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[Diverdan]

Hi KARL,

Thanks for this update. FTL is one of my favorite places to visit, and I have stayed in a couple of places you mentioned, but not for some time. I guess it is time to put FTL back on my "must visit soon" places. Perhaps this would be a great location for an east coast version of the "Palm Springs Weekend" experience. Not to detract from PSP, but a place in Florida in the winter for a great weekend with a bunch of guys who are on the Forum would also be nice.

DD