Florida, that is…
So I recently had the pleasure of spending another week in the Fort Lauderdale area, this time in Hollywood, Florida. I got to spend 8 days at the beautiful Westin Diplomat hotel, see beautiful hotel pictures below.
In Case the Ocean isn't enough...
Blue Lagoon?
But not so fast! The Diplomat pool bar closes at 6pm. Let me repeat that. The pool bar closes at 6pm. There is no pool service at all after 6pm. The lobby bar will sell you a drink you can carry outside, if you can get it past security (no glass containers poolside of course). But the lobby bar is tiny, usually packed, and half of it has been taken over by a Sushi restaurant.
Not that any of this really matters anyway, because the pools are always crawling with rats. Specifically Rugrats. Even at 11pm it was not out of the ordinary to find 6 or more children under 10 still pissing swimming in the pool.
The pools at the Diplomat look so inviting, but they’ve gone out of their way to make them suck. There is a very nice beach just beyond the pool area so you could at least go out there in the evening, but wait! Not so fast mister! The gate to the beach is locked at dusk.
Dusk.
So you can look at the ocean, but you can’t get to it. You can look at the bar, but it’s closed. You can look at the pools, but unless you feel like sharing with a bunch of diaper clad “swimmers” best not to touch.
But I wasn’t there for the pools, or the beach, I was there to work. The Westin has an attached conference center, along with a generous helping of their own meeting rooms. Our conference was big enough to require space in both areas, which is a little inconvenient because they are separated by the hotel itself, but it’s not too bad.
One thing I can say about working at the Diplomat is the conference set up staff is top notch. They make it a real pleasure to work there. Of course there’s always the random “security” issues, but the actual set up staff do great work, are friendly and helpful.
Security is as security does. Lock a room here or there for no apparent reason. Officious and pompous one minute, friendly and helpful the next. Security at the Westin Diplomat has a bit of a schizophrenic personality.
But let’s talk about time away from work. You need a beer, and some chow after a long day in a conference room right? Well the Westin has that covered. (I’m lying). Just head across the skybridge to their sports bar, Rivals (for the love of God don’t go there!). Enjoy there array of big screen TV’s many of which are tuned to sports channels (but the sound is off so you have to listen to their Euro trash music). Enjoy. (You won’t.)
If you can get away from the Westin, take a cab to downtown Hollywood, it’s pretty fun. There are two main streets that visitors typically enjoy Hollywood Blvd and Sheridan Street. Dining options range from Italian to Transylvanian. Really. Transylvanian. There’s a couple Greek places, Italian, Mexican, and pretty much whatever you’re looking for.
There’s two decent Irish bars, Kelly’s which is kind of a dive, and Mickey Byrnes, which is less divey but still no fern bar (Yelp ★★★★✩). Monday night is “Bet the Boss” night. Flip a coin and if you call it right the bar buys your shot. Tuesday night is trivia night at Mickey Byrnes. I had to work that night so I missed it, but it seemed like the kind of place that would have a good time on a trivia night.
A cab downtown from the Diplomat should run you about $15 with tip, which is more than reasonable, but if you’re up for a walk there’s a few places fairly nearby that are worth checking out. For some Cuban food that would make Castro jealous, check out local chain, Padrino’s Cuban Cuisine, (2500 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd.). Really really good food, mediocre service, but worth it. There’s also a beach side place, whose name escapes me if you just want some bar food and some beer.
Ready for you’re night of adventure? Hop a cab or bum a ride to South Beach. It’s worth the trip, though it’ll set you back $100 for the cab fare easily. I asked these two stalwart travelers what the best thing to know about South Beach is:
But in case you don’t want to pony up the $200 round trip here’s a quick montage of South Beach.
See you on the next flight home.
