Fort Lauderdale, Florida Hotel Review: Wish You Were Here Inn

Sometimes I like to sample the little quaint local inns, hotels, and motels during my travels. There are so few of them left, what with the big chains pretty much taking over. Wish You Were Here, rumor has it, was recently purchased by Hilton and is slated for major change so we went ahead and got a room for 4 days last time we were in Fort Lauderdale to savor its last days. Let me reiterate though, this sale and change is simply local rumor, so it may be just speculation.

This is a small property which sits on coveted Intracoastal land in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. From the front, Wish You Were Here it looks a bit tired and past its prime. Nothing special at all. The surprise is that if you request a back room, you have a fabulous view of the waterway. This is an excellent spot to watch the annual Boat Parade from.

The Wish You Were Here lobby is spacious but sparsely decorated. There is the check-in desk and a table where some of the regulars gather to play poker or just shoot the breeze. I liked this touch a great deal. It added a lot of local flavor to the place.

Checking in went fairly rapidly and the gal in charge was very nice. Beware though. We were lead to believe she was cutting us a break at $129 per night during the beginning of high season. When we got to the room, however, the posted maximum on the back of the door was $10 less than what we were charged. Had I been in a less than affable mood, I would have turned them in for it. It is illegal to charge more than the posted maximum.

There is no elevator, so we schlepped allll those suitcases up the stairs to a back room on the second floor. All rooms here are non-smoking, but there is a landing just outside the backdoor with an ashtray, and the window in our room overlooking the water had no screen and was large, so I set up my laptop right there on the small dining table under that window. heh.

What was called a kitchenette turned out to be a basic room with the addition of a microwave and fridge. Misleading bit, that. Oh well... it was only for 4 days after all. We could deal with that.

The bed was actually quite comfy. Given how old it looked we expected to awaken to serious back issues, but that wasn't the case at all. No. Besides being over-charged and mislead, my biggest gripe is that the microwave was sitting on top of that dorm sized fridge, with no outlet close to it. So I had to physically move the microwave to the floor on the other side of the room to use it. What the hell is up with that? Crazy stuff, that.

The bathroom was clean, but very tiny. Hot water was limited, and the pressure was anything but perfect. It fluctuated a great deal, which is really annoying. The shampoo and soaps were of the cheapest possible type and dryed my skin and hair out horribly.

There is no Internet service at the Wish You Were Here, but from my room I was able to hijack a random wireless signal. (Did I say thaaaat?!?) There are also no laundry facilities here.

Parking is free, but extremely limited with about 5 cramped spaces in front, and a precarious 10 more or so in back by the dock. I say precarious because it is haphazard gravel parking with no clear delineation of the spaces.

As far as location goes, this is very, very good. You are right on the Intercoastal less than a block away from a Water Taxi stop, and about a block in the other direction from the best part of Lauderdale Beach. This sits right behind the Marriott's Beach Place shopping center with lots of dining and stores.

So. I'm settling on 3 stars for the Wish You Were Here inn. Some good, some not so good. These are not lush accommodations, but the location is sorta worth it. Go ahead and stay here, just be aware that this is not the Omni.

7 North Birch Road
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

Tel: 954-462-0531 | FAX: 954-462-5714