hotels (red roof inn) ft. Lauderdale & neighbourhood

In article ,
sien wrote:

Has anybody any experience staying in Red Roof inn in Ft. Lauderdale?
Is it a located in a good neighborhood?

There's no Red Roof in Fort Lauderdale itself, according to
http://www.redroof.com/. You're probably thinking of the one in Oakland
Park, just north of Fort Lauderdale and part of the metro area. Hmm,
Powerline Road near the Commercial Blvd. exit of I-95. I think I remember
passing that place while driving around the area. It's a light-industrial
area. Not a slum, but not an area where I'd want to walk around at night
(no place worth walking to, anyway). If you have a car, it's probably OK.
Just figure on having to drive at least a few miles to anyplace
interesting, e.g. three or four miles to the beach.

I have read in this newsgroup that days inn in Ft. Lauderdale is
situated in a rather bad neighbourhood

There are four Days Inns in Fort Lauderdale itself and one in Oakland
Park. #1 is on Ocean Blvd. at the north end of Fort Lauderdale, very near
the beach and probably pretty safe; there are other hotels nearby, and big
expensive condos. #2 is on Oakland Park Blvd. near I-95, four miles from
the beach. It's in a somewhat gritty commercial strip near a somewhat
dicey residential area. #3 is on Federal Highway north a couple of miles
north of downtown and a mile from the beach; very busy automobile-oriented
commercial and shopping area (Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, CompUSA, car
dealers, etc.) which has improved quite a bit in the last ten years or so.
I'd have no problem with it except maybe the noise and traffic. #4 is on
Broward Blvd. near I-95, about a mile west of downtown; this is probably
the one you were warned about, and I'd have to agree. #5 is at the south
end of Fort Lauderdale beach, and is probably OK.

and since it's our first time
to go to Florida, I have no idea where we have to stay, so any
opinions will be welcome.
Do you have any other suggestions about nice budget hotels in Ft.
Lauderdale-Dania-Hollywood area?

I don't stay in hotels when I'm in Fort Lauderdale (my mother lives there
:-), so I can't speak from personal experience, but there are scads of
small hotels and motels along Ocean Boulevard (route A1A) from Fort
Lauderdale all the way up to Pompano Beach. I'm sure if you browse around
while you're there and check them out personally, you can find something
to your taste. You might consider reserving just one or two nights at a
chain like Red Roof or Days Inn, then find something else after you get
there, if you don't mind switching lodgings after a night or two.

--
Jon Bell Presbyterian College
Dept. of Physics and Computer Science Clinton, South Carolina USA