Native Sun resort.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Has anybody stayed at the Native Sun resort lately at Lauderdale by the Sea?
I just got an exchange there for this summer and it looks like a nice place but was wondering if there was any firsthand experience here.

Thanks.

[Holly Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Holly]

I stayed there in 2008...there is a thread on here someplace about it. (Maybe OY I don't remember.) Anyway, here are my impressions:

Older, small resort...motel conversion

Clean
Nicest employees you will ever meet

RIGHT on a beautiful beach

Most people were owners and they use their unit every year and have been coming for years...some are 2nd and 3rd generation. Really like a big family

Good part of Pompano...lots of stuff around there

Resort has a collection of sand toys that they have accumulated...everyone shares them...it's great.

Negatives
No washer/dryer in unit...resort provides these carts and they make NOISE when people roll them down the halls. Seems little but it really is loud.

Resort does not supply beach towels if I recall...that was a little annoying
It's obviously not the Ritz Carlton


We loved it and would go back.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Thanks Holly.

I consider 2008 a recent stay considering it's a converted motel.
I actually love these old converted to TS, motels. I own at Enchanted Isle which is just that but these old motels have the best beach locations. Nothing like being toes in the sand right outside your door.

Actually I drove by the area last month when staying in Pompano. Such a cute little strip of little timeshares and motels. I don't know why I haven't stayed here before but it's definitely on my exchange radar now.

The beach looks real nice too and I don't like crowded beaches and this one seems just perfect. Do they have free beach chairs? I did see they have wi-fi on their website, do you know if it's free? Actually the rooms look pretty decent on the website. I called the resort to ask a few questions and they are very proud of their gold crown status. I find it hard to believe a converted motel is gold crown status but it must speak highly of the staff.
Welcome to The Native Sun Resort | NativeSunResort

I hear what you're saying about the luggage carts but I'll be sure to play my music loud enough to drown out the noise.

Do you know if they have elevators in the building? Also the resort said all the rooms face the beach. It doesn't look like they all do from the website. Do you remember if they all really do face the beach? Parking also looked pretty limited. Do you remember if they allow day guests?

I'm debating about just doing a solo trip and not telling anybody that I'm going. It's too close to my hometown. Somebody always finds me if they know I'm staying at the beach.

As for the towels, no biggie. I drive so will pack my own. I don't plan on doing any laundry either so again no biggie. That's the nice thing about going on vacation on a gallon of gas.

[Holly Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Holly]

I don't remember about beach chairs
I don't believe that there was an elevator but I could be wrong
The layout is a horseshoe with the pool in the middle, so most units face the pool with the beach off to the side
There are grills, and I think that I remember shuffleboard
Beach is fantastic
Resort was full but never seemed crowded

Again, I would go back. I like the smaller family-type, older resorts too. At Native Sun, lots of people knew each other as they had been coming there the same week every year - kids, grandkids and all.

[pranas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pranas]

Native Sun is a very nice resort in Lauderdale by the Sea not Pompano Beach. It is right next door to the Sea Ranch restaurant and I think all of their units have a ocean view. Better check with management to see if day guests are allowed. The resort has lots of comfortable beach chairs but you have to drag them down closer to the water. Town ordinances prevent leaving them close to the water at night. No beach vendors in the area. The beach is very nice and if you are snorkler keep in mind thar LBTS is the shore diving capital of Florida. You can easly swim out to the first reef. Also, one block south of the pier is the new biorock reef restoration project - only one of its kind in the US. Again it is on the first reef which you can swim to easily.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Well that reef is further that it looks. We swam out quite a ways and had to swim back due to the strong current. I did see some dive boats coming out to the reef a little further away from where we were swimming. I wish I was a stronger swimmer but don't want to die on vacation. I did get my fill of reefs in Cayman earlier this year so I'm good for a while.

And Pranas the GPS thinks this resort is in Pompano. If you put in Lauderdale it takes you to a different place. My friends got lost trying to find it using their GPS even though I gave them clear instructions on how to get there.

[Holly Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Holly]

TripAdvisor thinks it's in Pompano too.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...h_Florida.html

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

TripAdvisor thinks it's in Pompano too.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...h_Florida.html

TA must use the same GPS.

[pranas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pranas]

TripAdvisor thinks it's in Pompano too.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...h_Florida.html

This resort is almost across the street from me and I do know where I live. I couldn't have served on the LBTS town commission if I lived in Pompano. The post office has divided my town into two zip codes and the northern one is Pompano's. This has caused us a lot of problems. It would take an act of god to get the post office to change their system.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

This resort is almost across the street from me and I do know where I live. I couldn't have served on the LBTS town commission if I lived in Pompano. The post office has divided my town into two zip codes and the northern one is Pompano's. This has caused us a lot of problems. It would take an act of god to get the post office to change their system.

Your town is so cute. I love that little strip with all the low rise motels. I'll have to try exchanging in there next time.
What do you think of Costa del Sol resort? It looks nicer than Native Sun.

[pranas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pranas]

Thanks Chriskre, we have been fighting the developers for years and the town has a three story height limit that was passed by referendum vote. Most of the high rises are in the newly annexed area that voted to join LBTS when the county was getting rid of the unincorporated areas. The Coste de Sol had major renovations done not that long ago so it should be a nice place to stay. There are several other timshares on El Mar Drive, the two mile long street just east of A1A.

As to GPS systems, they can be quite flawed. They have gotten me lost many times or taken me to the edge of a lake when my destination was the other side of the lake. And yes, some are still flawed in my town and throughout the county. They are based on old emergency response maps that still have flaws in them. But don't get me started on that.