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A secluded, tropical, fun and frisky oasis - Perfect for relaxation, rejuvenation and romance. We guarantee you will never want to leave! Dreaming of escaping to a beautiful paradise is everyone's idea of a perfect retreat from their everyday life. Whether it be with your lover, a group of close friends or freely unattached, the Grand Palm Plaza guarantees our unique tropical paradise is perfect for any memorable affair. Here, you are not only treated like a VIP, you are treated like family. First-class service is a guarantee at Grand Palm Plaza. Our warm and friendly staff is renowned for their unique customer service and vast knowledge of the Fort Lauderdale area. No request is too small for our team of hosts. As our guest, you can sunbathe in our very private, seductive, tropical paradise; or skinny dip in our turquoise, clothing-optional, heated pool. Continental breakfast is served daily. Frozen grapes, scented cold face towels, and impromptu cocktail beverages are served pool side. If you want to experience Fort Lauderdale's famous beaches, you can take a peaceful 2 block walk to our legendary sandy beaches. We are also a few blocks away from the well-renowned gay beach located at Sebastian Street. Complimentary beach chairs, umbrellas & towels are provided. With activities like snorkeling, water craft rentals, bike rentals and more, you can enjoy all the beaches have to offer. If you want a more relaxing experience, you can dine at one our many beach front restaurants and bars. After spending the day in the sun, enjoy the best gay nightlife at one of Fort Lauderdale's flirtatious bars and nightclubs. Wilton Manors has a vast amount of night entertainment, perfect for everyone. Our resort is just a 15 minute drive from Fort Lauderdale airport and 10 minutes away from Port Everglades. There is ample complimentary and off-street parking available. Book your stay today at Grand Palm Plaza. Our courteous staff, comfortable studios, suites and nearby beaches, gay bars and night clubs will make it easy for you to escape, play or celebrate! A memorable, affordable and relaxing getaway is right around the corner.
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Property amenities
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Wifi
Pool
Outdoor pool
Non-smoking hotel
Room features
Air conditioning
Safe
Iron
Kitchenette
Refrigerator
Flatscreen TV
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. They are provided to Tripadvisor by third-party partners.
HOTEL STYLE
Boutique
Residential Neighbourhood

Location

2801 Riomar St 501 Orton Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304-4215
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Grade: 70 out of 100
70
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
7.5 km
Miami Intl Airport
41.2 km
1 Attraction
within 0.5 kilometers
383Reviews2Q+A83Room tips
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Detailed Reviews
Victor V wrote a review Oct 2006
Rockville
I have a real soft spot in my heart for the Palm Plaza. I've stayed there twice - it was the first place I stayed, before making Fort Lauderdale my annual summer vacation spot - and the Palm Plaza is one of the best gay, clothing-optional resorts to start with.

Oh, sure - now that I've been to several resorts there - there are more chic resorts, more "to-die-for" resorts - but the Palm Plaza is a simple, laid back, honest, nonpretentious resort - and a GREAT place for anyone new to the Fort Lauderdale area.

The rates are on the low-end (which is always good, in my mind!) - and the property is visually VERY attractive. I went w. my partner, and had a WONDERFUL stay. The suite was good (not fantastic, but still good enough for us) - the grounds were luscious - and the pool? I have to say (even after staying at many other resorts since) that the Palm Plaza pool is the BEST pool I've seen yet, at any of the Fort Lauderdale gay resorts. It is the LARGEST (size DOES matter!) pool I've seen down there - GREAT temperature, too - making doing laps a good, solid exercise - instead of some of these small (WAY too small) pools, where you do three strokes & you've reached the other end... (What's THAT all about?!?)

It's only 3 blocks to the ocean(!), and a short walk to the gay beach at Sebastion Street.

The management could not have been sweeter or warmer - really remarkable (compared to some other places I've been). I have very, very warm memories of my talks w. the management. Nice guys - nice aura about the whole place. You were definitely made to feel free to be whoever/whatever you are. (And, you can't put a price on that - believe me!)

Truthfully? I loved my stay there.

Yes - some of the repair work done within the resort rooms is a bit disappointing (bathroom door didn't close all the way, tile replaces with mismatched sizes, crooked medicine cabinet, etc.), but the place is clean, sunny, tropical, and at a good price. (And who doesn't appreciate a bargain?!?)

So, if you're not familiar w. Fort Lauderdale, and want a good place to start? I totally recommend the Palm Plaza.
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Luis Manuel wrote a review Feb 2006
Washington, DC
A very nice deal without major pretensions. Nice accomodations and staff. Walking distance to the beach and short drive to Las Olas Boulevard. We were traveling for many days in different cities in Florida, so we needed a comfortable, but not too expensive, hotel. This was indeed the place.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christopher L wrote a review Feb 2015
Can't wait to go back. Great Service. People staying there are also cool. Open minded place. Had a great birthday stay. Got a great price for my stay. I wanted to stay 1 more night, and they helped made it happen.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from NorthBeachVillage, Owner at Grand Palm Plaza
Responded Mar 9, 2015
Thank you for choosing Grand Palm Plaza for your recent vacation and travel plans. As part of North Beach Village Resorts & Hotels, it is our pleasure in making the experience of our guests as memorable as possible. We are very happy to hear that we made your birthday a memorable experience. We do our best to accommodate everyone and were happy to extend your stay. We hope to see you again very soon!
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crymsunAlbuqerque_NM wrote a review May 2013
Albuqerque,NM
This was our first visit to South Florida. My Partner and I were loooking forward to
our first stay at a "Gay Resort". We arrived at Grand Palm Plaza noticing the baking
hot "astro turf" amongst beautiful gardens and palms.. As we went up to our room on
the second level in the corner, we immediately noticed the rusted and rotten railings
along the top level. Some of the railings were just holding on by plaster and paint,
which we thought was very dangerous. Our room "seemed" fine although had a small
odor and was very outdated. The only staff that ever introduced themselves were
Edward and Michael. We noticed other staff asking other guests if they needed anything,
but they never asked us. Also, housekeeping is not consistent. We had to ask for towels,
coffee, and vaccuming. We also decided to clean our toilet ourselves because they
never cleaned it. This was a yucky thing to do while on vacation. My Partner would not
stand on the floor on his side of the bed because there is a dangerous soft spot
under the carpet. Lets skip to four day later when the rains started and revealed the
dangerously puddling stairs and walkways. In the room, the outer wall which holds the
windows and air conditioner, began bubbling with water at the baseboard. The
water soaked our luggage and some of the contents. We did not notice this until we
were preparing our stuff for checkout the night before. The carpet and wall were soaked
with water and this wall contained alot of electrical wiring. This could have been very dangerous for us. The odor in this room could be mold and mildew, which could also be dangerous for us.
Edward was not present at check out, but Michael was present and did acknowledge the
issues. As of yet, no compensation has been offered for being put in a dangerous room.
Therefore, we decided to dispute the charges. Please read "all" the reviews about this place.
We do not recomment you stay here. It is dangerously outdated and tacky and cannot be compared to other resorts in the area. It has to be one of the worst places we have ever
stayed at. At times, we were thinking we were in a bad horror movie from the eighties. The only two stars I give to Grand Palm Plaza are for its location, gardens and palms(minus the astro
turf and fake flowers), and Edward and Michael who are doing the best they can with a place
which is in need of extensive renovations.
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip: Stay away from room #22.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from coledwoz, General Manager at Grand Palm Plaza
Responded Jun 1, 2013
Gentlemen, I was very sorry to hear your response. From the posts you had on your facebook page, we assumed that you were having a wonderful time. If you had communicated at any time during your stay you felt unsafe, I would have immediately moved you from the top floor and into a more suitable room or another property owned by our company. Safety always comes first, which is why the building has gone through several inspections. within the year, we had inspectors come and evaluate and the building is indeed up to code. The railing is old, but sturdy enough to withstand body weight. I have tested this myself. However, we will be replacing it during our renovations. It is unfortunate that the room did leak the night before your check out. We immediately made the repairs to the building and the room. Room #22 is ready and available to use. This place may be old, but has a lot of charm. We are updating both interior and exterior things this summer. Plans for new furniture for the units are in effect next month. Again I am sorry you felt your experience was like being in "a horror movie from the 80s". From what we read on your facebook page, we were lead to believe you had "the best vacation."
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Erikisnothere wrote a review Apr 2013
Where do I even start. The room was practically wired with extension cords. Extremely overpriced for what you actually get. Buyer beware. There is a million other "gay resorts" that are the same or cheaper that are not held together by duct tape. This place needs a serious renovation. You can hear the person next door using the restroom.. And if your showering and someone in another room happens to use any water source, your going to either freeze or get scalded. I do not recommend. How they won awards is beyond me. One star hotel with a three star price. The only pulse in this place is the Mosquitos I had to keep smashing in our room. I do not recommend this place to anyone.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RandyRandy wrote a review May 2006
Midlothian, Illinois
We just returned from Ft. Lauderdale this past weekend. Here's our take on this property...

The whole place is rather worn. The grounds are nice but really need some TLC from someone who knows how to care for tropical and semi-tropical plants. The room was spacious and mostly clean but really needed some work around the edges. The baseboards were old, painted multiple times and had wiring tacked around them and were grungy. The kitchenette in our room had ultra-cheap, laminated, press board cupboards and the light didn't work. They instead set up a living room torch light in the middle of the kitchen floor. The furniture was mismatched and some pieces should have been thrown out years ago. The bed was marginally comfortable; the A/C worked extremely well.

On our first night we had no hot water. I mentioned this to the proprietor who seemed surprised. It turned out they had run out of heating oil; they called and scheduled a delivery for the next day. I would think that checking oil levels would be apart of the regular maintenance routine and regular deliveries could be scheduled. After the oil delivery, when the water heater was fired up, the whole property stunk of exhaust fumes from their smoke stack. When I stepped out of the room and smelled it the first time, the foul odor almost knocked me over! This happened about 3 times while we were there.

The only ice machine was out of order and from the looks of things it had been out for some time. An ice machine should be considered essential and not optional. Had it been me, I would have it repaired or replaced immediately!

The pool is not cleaned as often or as well as it should be. I commented to my partner more than one time that I wished I knew where the supplies and chemicals were and I could show them how it should be done. It wasn't overly dirty or growing anything, it just could have been better tended to. The pool area was quite small and the pool itself had a very odd, raised lip around the edge, making getting into and out of the pool more difficult than it should be.

One morning they moved the lawn and pool furniture to water. After they were done no one stopped to reposition anything even though there were people waiting. Two employees passed several times and did nothing. Finally my partner & I repositioned the furniture ourselves so everyone could come out and relax poolside.

If this were Ft. Lauderdale's only option I would probably stay here again. However, there are numerous other properties in the immediate area, several of the same motel-type genre, and a couple in the same general price range. Because of that, I will probably not stay here again. There are other, better places to stay. One of which is The Dunes, where we have stayed before and will likely stay again.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeff-WS wrote a review Jun 2011
Winston-Salem, NC
My partner and I stayed at Plam Plaza Memorial weekend 2010 and had to check out due to a broken air condition in our room that Steve the manager could not have repaired until the following day. We only stayed one night of our 3 night booked stay. Steve told us that we could come back and stay for two nights at the resort for free next time we were down in Fort Lauderdale. I called about the two night offer and Steve said he never said such a thing! He found our stay from May 2010 and still denied that he made the claim...
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RobnMattnOrl, Manager at Grand Palm Plaza
Responded Jul 5, 2011
These guys called us and said that they had stayed with us on Memorial Day weekend 2010 and that the ac in their room was broken and did I remember them ? I told them that I did not remember them or recall the incident that supposedly happened over a year ago. Then they said that they had checked out after only one night and that I (Steve) had promised them 2 free nights at a later date. It already sounded strange to me as it was way over a year ago that the "incident" had happened and whenever I give away free nights I always make it clear that the free nights must be used within 1 year period - pretty standard practice. Also, if we have a problem with one of our ac units we wil literally replace the unit that very same day, they are just window units so there would be no need for anyone to ever check out because of a broken ac ? Anyway I assured tham that if what they were telling was the case that it would be reflected in their reservation profile. I ALWAYS enter incidents in the guests profile, especially if they check out early and I had promised them anything complimentary. I am not in the business of promissing something and then not delivering it, that is very bad business. I checked their reservation and there was no record of them checking out early or me offering them free nights. The reservation showed that they had stayed the 3 nights ? They asked me if I would still give them the 2 free nights. I asked them how many total nights did they want to stay on their next visit, they said that they only wanted to stay for 2 nights ! I said I was very sorry but I could not help them out. I will always honor my word. I have nothing at all to gain by not fulfilling a promise that I make to a guest. Think about it ?
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partytravel wrote a review Apr 2007
MO
This is the worst we have been to. The room was filthy. The electrical wires and plugs were a definate fire hazzard. The ice machine is broken and they just throw a bag of ice in it once in awhile. There was mouse feces under the kitchen sink. The clothing optional pool can be seen by the tall building accross the street and between the trees near the fence. Stay away, it needs work. They should invest in fixing the place up. Check out the pics we took.
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RobnMattnOrl, Manager at Grand Palm Plaza
Responded Apr 22, 2007
We have never reponded to a review until now. We are an older property with pure old Florida charm and do not clain to be anything more. We pride ourselves on our hospitality and although our rooms are not on the level of upscale resorts we are very clean. We find it hard to believe that anyone that checks into a hotel that is described as "filthy" ends up staying 3 whole days and 2 whole nights ? We also find it hard to believe that anyone that was so unhappy with their stay never once approached any staff member with any issues that they had ? Never once giving us an opportunity to resolve any problems that they had. We stock our ice machine every day with fresh, bagged ice. The picture claiming to be "mouse feces" was nothing more than debris under the kitchen sink, we have a professional pest control service on our property twice a month (we would be more than pleased to furnish anyone with there name and number). Please read between the lines regarding this review.
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NDCCPF1 wrote a review Feb 2016
Freehold, New Jersey
We stayed a year ago at the same location. We decided to go back. Bad decision. Owners have changed the way things operate and cut back on quality and services. See below:
Front gate operated by internet door-bell now, nobody answered, other guests let us in
Office now manned only 8AM to 4PM, after that you call a local number and cross fingers
Pool was dirty and not filled with enough water
No more continental breakfast, you get coffee delivered maybe by 7:30AM to the yard
Room smelled dank and musty
Bed support had to be fixed by us under the mattress to support the box spring
Bathtub drain too forever to clear when taking a shower
There were sink trap flies all over (google them)
Cleaning service of the room was very poor... bathroom not cleaned, tub still had dirt and sand from the day before, towels were left on the microwave and not placed in the bathroom
For the price paid compared to the other gay properties in the area it was a total shame and rip-off.
Look elsewhere !
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip: If you are desperate for a men's gay hotel and nothing else is available
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mobile13833 wrote a review Oct 2005
richmond, va
The service and staff of this guesthouse in Ft. Lauderdale were above and beyond. From the moment we walked in we were immediately welcomed and made to feel like family. This is wonderful and inexpensive place to get away from everything, and without the attitude!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ALSO KNOWN AS
palm plaza gay male hotel fort lauderdale
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Palm Plaza Resort
LOCATION
Central Beach
NUMBER OF ROOMS
15
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Grand Palm Plaza - Reviews & Photos

Frequently Asked Questions about Grand Palm Plaza
Which popular attractions are close to Grand Palm Plaza?
Nearby attractions include Village Shoppe (0.4 km).
Which room amenities are available at Grand Palm Plaza?
Top room amenities include a kitchenette, air conditioning, and a flat screen TV.
What are some restaurants close to Grand Palm Plaza?
Conveniently located restaurants include Tinta- Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach, Lona Cocina Tequileria, and La Fuga.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Grand Palm Plaza?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.
Are there any historical sites close to Grand Palm Plaza?
Many travellers enjoy visiting History Fort Lauderdale (4.0 km) and Old Dillard Art and Cultural Museum (4.7 km).
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