The Riverside Hotel, Fort Lauderdale is a Perfect Sunny Urban Retreat
This trip I was going on business so I would be spending most of my time in meetings and social events so the location was our primary choice and I’d been at this property for meetings in the past. So I booked it even though it wasn’t the host hotel of the conference I was attending but was eight minutes away.
Well, this turned out to be the perfect place and the experience was so nice I had to let people know about it. It still isn’t the easiest thing in the world to find a good dog friendly property. At the Riverside Hotel, for $75 your dog stays the whole time you do at this property. There were plenty of canine residents at the time we were there and on Sundays there is even a canine happy hour and the lobby bar area fills with patrons who are locals and happen to bring their dogs in for the event or hotel residents.
There is a courtyard off the lobby bar and beyond that is a large field right in the middle of Las Olas Blvd which serves as the town’s primary shopping precinct. Historic photographs line the halls of the ground floor of the hotel and it was fascinating to look at them all and see what the hotel looked like at certain times.
Pictures of the area from the early 20th century showed quite a wilderness. Today, there are plenty of bars and restaurants amidst the shops on Las Olas Blvd. and we frequented the chain restaurant Cheesecake Factory a few times because it was nearby and the Skinnylicious menu was appealing.
We also had a delicious hummus at Mango’s down the boulevard from the hotel. Regardless of what you are in the mood for, there is plenty to sample within walking distance of the hotel and even within the hotel for that matter!
We got a 50% off drinks card at the in-house Golden Lyon Pub which we also took advantage of. There is a pool that has a small bar attended to until 5PM and it is a heated pool with towels and ample chairs, tables and loungers.
Additionally there is a small gym on property. We used the valet service at $23 per day (self-parking is $17 per day). The crew at the valet stand were always happy to help and extremely efficient. Housekeeping service was excellent and the room we had on the ground floor was perfect for what we needed.
How Do I Travel 
Reblogged this on Pet Friendly Florida and commented:
This sounds like a place that me and Vinny need to check out. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure, it really was a great place and I like sharing stories about great places. You and Vinny will love it.
Used to work not far from there and frequented the Cheesecake Factory and Big City Tavern. Also, the Floridian is a great brunch spot further down.
Can’t beat the location, as the Himmarshee bar district is not far on the other side of Andrews. Across the Andrews bridge is a cool two story Publix (nice to grab a few groceries). And I believe a museum is not far away, too (had the King Tut exhibit long ago). And probably about 1.5-2 mile from 17th Street and the Port Everglades cruise Terminal. One of my favorite areas – now I gotta stay here one of these days!