Where to stay in Florida
Hotels
With over 420,000 hotel rooms scattered across the state, there certainly are a plethora of hotels for you to choose form.
Outside peak periods, which include Easter, half term and summer school holidays, you can often find hotel rates for a much cheaper price in Florida. Microtel Inns (www.microtel.com) and Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) are two budget hotel chains noted especially for their cleanliness, consistency and value. Holiday Inn Express (www.hiexpress.com), Hampton Inns (www.hamptoninn.com) and La Quinta Inns (www.Iq.com) are a few mid-range chains that often score high marks in surveys. Almost all international luxury chains can be found in Florida along with unique destination hotels, such as the legendary Fontainebleau on Miami Beach (www.fontainebleau.com), the Biltmore in Coral Gables (www.biltmorehotel.com) and The Breakers on Palm Beach (www.thebreakers.com).
Most large cities in Florida tend to have clusters of hotels in their central business districts, in a close proximity to their airports as well as along interstate highways. The cities are located on the coast invariably have hotels along the beaches.
The main hotel districts in the Miami area are located in Brickell (the city's financial centre in Downtown Miami), Miami Beach, Coral Gables and near the Miami airport. The hotels in Fort Lauderdale are generally clustered downtown, along the beach, as well as near the Fort Lauderdale airport. The hotels in West Palm Beach are also located in the general vicinity of the downtown area, the beach and the airport.
Orlando, in comparison to the other cities, generally has a much more widespread offering of hotels, especially south of the city along International Drive, near Disney World in Lake Buena Vista and along US Route 192 in Kissimmee.
Bed and breakfast
There are plenty of small guesthouses throughout the state, in addition to self-catering villas, to pick from throughout the state. They tend to be found in historic locales such as Key West, St. Augustine and Apalachicola. For more information, see Florida Bed & Breakfast Inns (www.florida-inns.com).
Camping
With over 100,000 campsites to choose from, Florida is a destination where approximately 6 million people come to camp every year. The smaller campsites are located in a number of the state parks spread throughout the state and most can be accessed year-round. The larger campsites, in contrast, are usually used for parking RVs and come complete with full-service restaurants and other amenities. Check the camping page omn the state’s official tourism site Visit Florida (www.visitflorida.com/camping) for more information.
Other accomodation
Hostels are becoming increasingly popular in Florida, with new locations popping up on South Beach, the Florida Keys as well as in other traditionally upscale areas. For a full directory of the hostels in the state, see the Hostels.com Florida page (www.hostels.com/florida-state/usa).
Many people opt to stay in villas in Florida, which is particularly good if you are planning to travel in a large group with family or friends. The villas generally range in price and can also come in the forms of condominiums and homes, often with private pools.
With regard to LGBTQ+ travellers, there are various LGBTQ+ friendly and exclusive hotels located throughout the state. These hotels are primarily found Key West and Fort Lauderdale. Other hotels can also be found, to a lesser extent, in Miami, Tampa and Orlando. are the prime gay hot spots in the state, along with gay-friendly options in Miami, Tampa and Orlando.
