The Dalmar Hotel Fort Lauderdale: An Adventure In Beauty

I had the occasion to visit family in Fort Lauderdale, found The Dalmar online, booked it for my overnight stay.

I liked the choice more and more as I approached its heavenly, laden in greenery entrance and then fell head over heels when I got to the sixth-floor lobby and noted that this upper-upscale hotel is awfully close to being a luxury hotel.

The Dalmar, Fort Lauderdale, is a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. In short, that means you know it is going to be good.

In long, it is self-described as a chain of premium hotels, each independent but connected by the same spirit of standout service, captivating designs, bold use of color and noteworthy art installations, all with the goal of creating a hotel you will be talking about.

So let’s talk about it.

I had booked a king-sized bed, skyline view, premium guest room, for a cool $276.85, August stay. However, I never got to see that room because I was selected as the guest of the day and received a killer upgrade!

Being guest of the day means additional points were added to my Marriott Bonvoy account, receiving a complimentary continental breakfast, a daily discount off the bill, shuttle service in a Mercedes-Benz van to the beach, and a room upgrade.

I was happy to see that the new room was a corner room, meaning more windows, but the real surprise was when I got inside the room. It was a suite!

The  Federal Suite.

The Dalmar has four suites. The one in which I was upgraded to, the Federal Suite, is the third largest at 600 square feet.  It came with a king-size bed, a double vanity bathroom with rainforest shower, two 65-inch televisions, and a fantastic living room consisting of a couch, table, chairs, and workstation.

Room view, sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.

I loved the room. It was impeccable, beautifully adorned, there is nothing not to like and everything to love about it, including the coastline views.

Equal to the room is the food.

The Terrace Grill is the lone full-service restaurant on the premises. Located directly across from Rose’s Coffee Bar on the ground floor, it closed for renovations, and though there is no firm date as to when it will reopen, it is expected to happen “in another couple of months,” a front desk employee commented in a recent phone interview.

But food can still be had at The Dalmar, on the sixth floor, the epicenter of activity for the hotel. Off the elevator in one direction is the front desk. The other direction leads to the outdoor pool, a complimentary gelato stand, and two eateries: the poolside Sip-n-Dip and the Lobby Bar.

The Lobby Bar is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it offers a fantastic view of the pool.  I thoroughly enjoyed every meal at the Lobby Bar, from the perfect breakfast parfait to the seasonal fruit side dish consisting of grapes, melon, and pineapple. The lunch entrees of hummus & crudités, and organic salad, the falafel wrap (could have been warmer) and Greek salad were excellent.

Lobby Bar offers tasty food and a comfortable atmosphere.

The Service at Lobby Bar was great, but for one snafu. An afternoon barkeep gave me house Pinot Grigio rather than the better Alto Vento. I don’t know if she made an honest mistake or not; however, she didn’t apologize for it.

Here’s the deal. The Lobby Bar lunch menu lists only the Alto Vento Pinot Grigio. It was fantastic. Being that that was the only menu choice when I ordered a glass from the bar, I didn’t make a distinction between the house wine and the Alto Vento.

The barkeep gave me the house wine without asking which I’d prefer. In the elevator, heading back to my room, I took a sip, immediately knew it wasn’t the Alto Vento, and felt that the barkeep had summed me up as a person who wouldn’t know the difference between the two.

I returned to the bar, said that this wasn’t the wine I had at lunch, she poured a glass of the Alto Vento without offering an apology nor an explanation.

Another bar on the premises that one should definitely check out is the Sparrow Rooftop. Though it is geared towards a younger crowd than I, the fam went up there for a spell to take in the vibe and views.

Fun Facts: The Dalmar shares the 299 North Federal Highway building with Element Fort Lauderdale Downtown. Element is also Marriott-owned and fits right beneath The Dalmar in classification, as it is considered upscale.

Smith Travel Research classifies all Tribute Portfolio Hotels as upper-upscale. U.S. News and World Report rates The Dalmar as the ninth best hotel in Fort Lauderdale. That puts it in the top 3% for best hotels in the city,

Opened in 2019, The Dalmar’s 209 rooms and 15,000 sq. ft. of event space spanning floors seven through 23 of the 24-story building.  In addition to the pool, two eateries, gelato stand, and front desk, the sixth floor is where the gym can be found.

Save for the rogue barkeep wine kerfuffle, the hospitality is outstanding at The Dalmar. I am looking forward to a return trip in early 2026.

A day-night view of Fort Lauderdale from the bedroom window .

See the site of the Dalmar. A great downtown Fort Lauderdale Hotel

Charles I. Guarria is an author, reporter and host based in the state of Florida, USA, covering any topic, anywhere in the world. His career began in 2009. Mr. Guarria is a three-time winner of Emerald Group Publishing’s Highly Commended Award and host of The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. He is available for hire to write, research, or beta-read.

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See ya soon! Photo Credit: CNN, The Dalmar, G&G Magazine, Me

The Dalmar

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