Our Fort Lauderdale beach resort truly has it all.

Pelican Grand Beach Resort sits directly on the Atlantic at 2000 North Ocean Blvd in Fort Lauderdale, with a 500-foot private beach you reach without crossing a road. It is a boutique, AAA Four Diamond beachfront resort that opened in 2004 and completed a $7 million redesign by Degen & Degen in 2019. A day here moves between the private sand, a beachside zero-entry pool, and Fort Lauderdale’s only lazy river, with complimentary chairs, umbrellas, and towels set out by the beach team. Rooms and suites face either the ocean or the Fort Lauderdale skyline, and the resort is managed by Noble House Hotels & Resorts as part of the Curator collection of independent hotels.

There are two water features. The lazy river is the only one in Fort Lauderdale, and floats are provided, so you can swim it or drift it. Beside it is an outdoor zero-entry pool that slopes gradually from the deck into the water, which suits small children and anyone who would rather not use steps. Both are open dawn to dusk under Broward County Health Department rules, and there is no lifeguard at the pool or the beach. Pool chairs are out from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm November through March and until 8:00 pm April through October. There is no hot tub on the property.

Connecting rooms are available on site; reservations arranges them, and they have to be pre-paid and are non-refundable. Cribs are free on request, and rollaway beds are $30 per night on a first come, first served basis, in suites only. The zero-entry pool suits toddlers and grandparents, the lazy river covers everyone in between, and Funky Fish Ocean Camp runs supervised sessions so parents get their own time. The Emporium is an old-fashioned 1950s ice cream parlor, OCEAN2000 has a children’s menu, and wireless high-speed internet reaches the guest rooms and the public areas.

The resort sits on the ocean side of A1A, so you walk from the lobby to the sand without crossing the coastal road. Most of Fort Lauderdale’s luxury hotels, including the Ritz-Carlton, the Conrad and the W, sit on the far side of that road. The building went up in 2004 in an Old Florida style, with covered verandas and gabled roofs drawn from early twentieth-century coastal Florida rather than from contemporary resort design. Add Fort Lauderdale’s only lazy river, a rooftop spa on the 11th floor and a restaurant that locals book, and the mix is hard to match on this stretch of beach.