Spend a day on the water and discover a whole new Fort Lauderdale.

Pelican Grand Beach Resort fronts a 500-foot private beach on the Atlantic, reached straight from the property with no road to cross. The sand is for registered guests, with complimentary lounge chairs, umbrellas, and towels, and a beach team that sets guests up. Water sports run through the resort’s partner, Beach Ventures, with preferred pricing included in the daily resort fee. Back from the sand, guests have a beachside zero-entry pool and Fort Lauderdale’s only lazy river.

Plenty, through independent operators the resort works with. Beach Ventures rents Seabobs, the underwater scooters, and runs guided tours with underwater cameras. Aloha Watersports covers wave runners, parasailing, water playgrounds, Hobie cats, boogie boards, paddle boards and surf boards. A1A Watersports rents everything from jet skis to water trampolines. Lady Pamela II runs sportfishing charters, Best Boat Rentals handles boat hire, and Tropical Sailing Catamaran Charters takes groups out under sail. The daily resort fee includes preferred pricing with the resort’s water sports partner.

Funky Fish Ocean Camp runs on the pool deck and the beachfront, and it is taught by marine biologists rather than supervised by minders. Children learn to snorkel at the pool and in front of the resort, boogie board the waves and skim board the shoreline, and the day also takes in tie-dyed shirts, hemp surfer jewelry and eco ocean crafts. It runs weekdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and weekends from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at $100, needs four children to go ahead, and takes 48 hours’ notice. Sign up on 954-712-9900.

It is not all-inclusive. The daily resort fee covers lounge chairs, towels and umbrellas for the pool and the beach, fitness center access, beach games and activities, two bottles of water on arrival, robes and slippers on request, one Water Taxi ticket per stay, preferred pricing on water sports, priority reservations at OCEAN2000, PURE Spa and Funky Fish Ocean Camp, and complimentary evening transportation to local shops and restaurants. Meals, spa treatments, water sports rentals and the ocean camp are billed separately. Seasonal packages add resort credits, which can be spent on food and beverage, spa, golf and the gift shop.

Two set-ups are bookable. Dining on the Dunes is a private outdoor dinner in the dunes, with a coursed menu, champagne and wine pairings, flowers, a set tablescape and custom mementos; the culinary team handles the booking on 954-556-7667 or by email, with at least 48 hours’ notice. A Golden Sunrise reserves a private verandah table over the beach at first light, with a bottle of Lallier champagne, fruit juice, coffee and tea, freshly baked pastries and tropical fruit, at $125 per couple plus tax and hospitality fee, with 24 hours’ notice. Tables for both are limited.

Beach attendants set chairs out from 9:00 am on a first come, first served basis, and take them off the sand by 5:00 pm November through March and 6:00 pm April through October. Pelican Grand Beach Resort fronts 500 feet of private beach on the Atlantic at 2000 North Ocean Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, on the ocean side of A1A, so guests reach the sand from the property without crossing a road. The beach is for registered hotel guests, and attendants set out chairs, umbrellas and towels covered by the daily resort fee.

• Included in the daily resort fee: lounge chairs, towels and umbrellas for pool and beach, beach games and activities, and preferred pricing with the resort’s water sports partner.
• There is no lifeguard at the beach or the pool, and food and drink bought elsewhere cannot be brought onto either, which is a condition of the city and state licenses.
• Water sports run through independent operators: Beach Ventures (Seabobs and guided underwater tours), Aloha Watersports, A1A Watersports, Lady Pamela II sportfishing, Best Boat Rentals and Tropical Sailing Catamaran Charters.
• Children: Funky Fish Ocean Camp, run by marine biologists, weekdays 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and weekends 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, $100, four-child minimum, 48 hours’ notice, 954-712-9900.
• Private dining on the sand: Dining on the Dunes with 48 hours’ notice on 954-556-7667, and A Golden Sunrise verandah table at $125 per couple plus tax and hospitality fee with 24 hours’ notice.
• Back from the sand are Fort Lauderdale’s only lazy river and a separate zero-entry pool, both open dawn to dusk.