In Pennsylvania, we had a never-ending winter. Our kids actually had a school cancellation in the middle of April due to our winter. At the beginning of March, we decided we were getting sick of the snow. My husband gave me a budget and told me if I could find flights and a hotel around Easter, we could go on a spring break. The challenge was accepted.
I found out that if you go to the airport to book a flight for Spirit, you could save a lot of money. I waited about an hour at the airport but saved about $200 for our family of 5 from the price I found online.
Next, I needed to find a hotel room or condo that was oceanfront and had a suite for our family of 5. I found a very affordable room with excellent reviews on TripAdvisor at the Residence Inn Marriott Pompano Beach/Ft. Lauderdale Oceanfront Hotel.
Some bonuses of this hotel:
- No resort fee
- Oceanfront
- Great oceanfront pool and hot tub
- Free breakfast every day
- Full kitchen in each room
- Perfect for families of 5 (most hotels are better for families of 4)
- Clean
- Friendly staff
We had a smooth flight into Ft. Lauderdale and got our luggage quickly. We had to wait in a very long line for at least 30 min for a shuttle bus to get to the rental car building. They packed us into these shuttle buses like sardines to ride to the building to get our rental car.
We got to our hotel about midnight and finally settled into our room. It was 2 queens and a pull out couch with a small kitchen. Perfect for a short beach trip for our family of 5.
The next day we had a nice and relaxing pool and beach day. There is a company that rents beach chairs and umbrellas on the beach not associated with the Marriott company.
We ate lunch at The Sand Bar in our hotel. We could eat in our bathing suits and walk straight from the beach into the restaurant. It was pretty good. Service was a little slow, but they told us two staff members had called off, so one of the front desk clerks had to be our waitress.
For dinner that evening, we ate at Houston’s, which is on the water with a beautiful view. We ate here 17 years ago in July of 2001 on our honeymoon. The menu is small, but the food was fabulous. The entrees range from $17-48.
The next day we went to the beach again during the day and headed in early to get ready to head to the Florida Derby!
We drove about 20 minutes to Gulfstream Park to see the Florida Derby. We went to lunch at the Yard House prior to the main race. There were over 20 restaurants to choose from in Gulfstream Park. The Yard House had a wide range of food on the menu with affordable prices. They also had a huge selection of beers to choose from.
We had a fun time at the race betting on horses and getting to see Audible win the Florida Derby. Audible went on to place 3rd in the Kentucky Derby in May!
Our final full day was Easter. We went to mass at a local Catholic church near our hotel. After church, we had a fabulous brunch at The Foundry. The guys were excited to eat fresh oysters, and they had a wide range of many different items for brunch.
We spent the rest of Easter at the beach and the pool and ate dinner at the pool. It was a fantastic Easter!
We loved our short trip to Pompano Beach for a long Easter weekend! The weather was perfect. We really were needing some time with just the 5 of us as a family after a long winter and hockey and gymnastics season. It was great to take a break and relax as a family. I definitely would go back to the Residence Inn Oceanfront due to the spacious rooms. affordable prices, and oceanfront location. Nothing beats waking up in the morning and looking at the ocean outside your window!!
Hockey Sticks, Grips, and trips 