Dirt cheap fares to the gay resort capital of Florida

Fort Lauderdale's gay Sebastian beach. (Photo by: Ed Walsh)

If you are tired of the Bay Area cold and are considering a trip to Florida, it doesn’t get any gayer than Fort Lauderdale.  Just 30 minutes north of Miami, the Greater Fort Lauderdale area boasts more gay clubs and gay resorts than Miami and Key West combined. 

And airfares are dirt cheap now.  Just after Christmas, I found a roundtrip fare from SFO to Fort Lauderdale for as little as $215!  Check out my favorite flight search engine, sidestep.com, for the very lowest fare from your closest Bay Area airport.

The City of Fort Lauderdale’s next-door neighbor is Wilton Manors, one of the gayest cities in the country.  According to City-Data.com, the small city of just 13,000 has the highest percentage of gay male couples of any US city.   Estimates put its gay population at 40-50%.   While almost all the gay resorts are in Fort Lauderdale, most of the gay nightclubs are in Wilton Manors.  Unlike Key West and Miami Beach, where you are better off without a car, it’s a good idea to rent a car in Fort Lauderdale if you want to explore the city’s nightclubs and dining scene.   But if you are content to stay at the beach, you can get along without wheels.

The Canals of Fort Lauderdale

(photo by:  Ed Walsh)

Accommodations

There are more than 35 gay guesthouses in Fort Lauderdale.  The owner of the upscale Royal Palms Resort, Richard Gray, set a high standard for the other gay resorts when he opened his hotel in 1991.   The only other gay hotel at the time shut down just before he opened.  Other resorts soon followed Gray and gobbled up and renovated some of the old apartment buildings and resorts along the beach. 
   
The Royal Palms consistently ranks as one of the best gay resorts in the country. It is just a short walk to Fort Lauderdale’s unofficial gay beach. By the way, each section of the beach is named for the street that intersects with it.   The gay beach is where Sebastian Street meets the ocean.    The ornate columns on the entrance to the beach are marked “Sebastian.” 

Above YouTube Video that profiles the Royal Palms

The Grand Resort is just a block from the Royal Palms.  It  lives up to its name.   The property is impeccably maintained in a minimalist chic motif.  It is also the only gay resort with a full service spa. The spa has a separate entrance in case you are staying somewhere else and want to use the facilities. 
   

One of the newest gay resorts in Fort Lauderdale, Mary's Resort, opened just before Hurricane Wilma hit in 2005 and had to shut down for weeks while repairs were made. There's no sign of any damage now and its lush vegetation has all grown back. The eight-unit property is in a residential area, and is a beautiful and quiet oasis away from downtown. They recently began
marketing as "Hetero-Friendly" after so many guests wanted to bring friends long. In addition to the standard daily stays, Mary's Resort is now offering incredible 50% discounts on 7+ night stays.

YouTube Video of Mary's Resort
   
The Elysium is another example of a gay resort in Fort Lauderdale that's come back better than ever following Wilma  The owners had to replace an upper floor of one of its two buildings after the roof blew off. That floor had to be gutted and completely replaced. With 36 units, the Elysium has the most rooms of any of Fort Lauderdale's gay resorts. 
   
La Casa del Mar continues to be a good choice for lesbian travelers. Although it is mostly men, its manager estimates that about 40 percent of guests are gay women.

The gay/lesbian mixed La Casa del Mar Resort

(photo by:  Ed Walsh)

If you are on a budget, the Orton Terrace  is next to the Royal Palms and offers a wide variety of food in its continental breakfast as well as free daytime snacks, coffee, and a couple of Internet stations also free to guests.  The property is a definite step down in quality from most other gay resorts, but you can’t beat the location or the friendliness of the staff.

Nightlife

   
The club scene is centered in Wilton Manors with Georgie’s Alibi and the Boom nightclub which are part of a strip mall that includes a couple of gay-focused clothing stores and shops. One of the newest gay clubs in town, Scandals,  is western-themed and already attracts a big following.   Sidelines Sports  Bar features flat screen televisions, pool and darts. The Cloud Nine Lounge  is a lesbian club in Davie, which is just southwest of Fort Lauderdale.   

GayMart store and Boom nightclub in Wilton
Manors

(photo by: Ed Walsh)

The Sights

   
Fort Lauderdale (pop. 186,000) is a city of canals where the super-rich can ride their million-dollar yachts up to their multimillion dollar homes.  The famous Jungle Queen Riverboat  is good way to get an up-close look at how the other half lives in style along the canals.
     
The huge Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, just across the street from Fort Lauderdale beach, affords great views of some of the canals   The park offers some great cycling, picnicking and you can even take a guided Segway tour of the park, offered by the MCruz Rentals concession in the park.  Or if you want to go supergreen, they will also rent you a bike. 

YouTube promotional video from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau

Eating Out

   
The super-rich of Fort Lauderdale support some of the finest restaurants you will find anywhere in Florida.     The Trina restaurant is the signature restaurant for the Atlantic Resort and Spa.  It features Mediterranean dishes.   You can dine outside overlooking Fort Lauderdale beach.
    
Other gay favorites include the gay-owned and operated Hi-Life Café with fine dining by candlelight, and the newly opened Lips which is beautifully decorated to resemble a jewel case.  The dinner here includes a drag show here.