Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

As you cross the drawbridge in Fort Lauderdale to the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six hotel, the large masts of sailboats, smaller recreational craft and behemoth cruise ships scatter across the waterway providing a fantastic sense of peace and relaxation. The Hyatt is located immediately to the left as you cross the bridge, nestled among waterways that provide marina views to several exposures of the property.

The Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six has a central building that rises above the property. There is a sprawling pool area behind the main hotel building which is surrounded on three sides by two-story buildings that stretch the length of the large property. These rooms provide views of the pool area on the interior and the marina on the exterior. My room was a single King with a marina view. The large room was sparsely furnished but had adequate desk space with a chair for getting work done. A smaller table and two chairs would provide tight quarters for taking a meal in the room. Two night tables and a television stand (which contains a stocked refrigerator) round out the furnishings.

My room had painted stucco-style walls that felt appropriate for a beach resort area. The walls showed wear with patchy paint areas indicating obvious repairs of some sort. I was a bit surprised that a hotel of this reputation would have walls that looked like they belonged in a Motel 6. The art work on the walls was also very sparse. There was a small seascape watercolor located above the desk, a nautical diagram above the bed and a mirror and shelf located in the hallway. The shelf contained two bottles of Evian which cost five dollars each. Yikes! If you see the water, you may be tempted to spend the five dollars. Humic or tannic substances in the water cause discoloration that is not supposed to create any health risk. But the discoloration is still disconcerting to ingest.

Getting down to the basics, I was in Fort Lauderdale on a turn around flight. I only had one night to spend and really required nothing more than a work area to prepare for a presentation and a comfortable bed to be well rested for a busy day of work and return travel. I found the desk area to be adequate for my needs. I use an aircard (Sprint) which had ample signal for uninterrupted connectivity. In the event I needed internet connectivity, wired service is available through Wayport for a fee. The fee is listed on connection, so I did not see the daily pricing. As far as the bed goes, I slept like a rock. The bed was soft enough to be comfortable while providing good support. The four pillows on the bed were more than enough.

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