The best hotels in Margate, FL, aren’t actually in Margate. The city has one RV resort and one small motel inside its limits, and every branded hotel sits 10 to 20 minutes out in Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Tamarac or north Fort Lauderdale. This guide sorts those rooms by budget, from the cheapest branded beds to the two full-service properties that are a genuine step up, and covers extended-stay suites, pet policies, parking and the months when rooms get scarce.
The Hotel Map Around Margate
Margate is a 9-square-mile suburb wedged between Coral Springs, Coconut Creek and North Lauderdale, 7.5 miles from the Atlantic and about 20 minutes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to the City of Margate. It’s residential almost end to end, with no hotel district anywhere.
Four towns hold the rooms, and each points at something different. Coral Springs, west along Atlantic Boulevard, is the default for visiting family. Coconut Creek, to the north, is the base for Butterfly World, Tradewinds Park and the Seminole Casino. Tamarac sits southwest along the Sawgrass Expressway, which matters if you’re driving in from the west. North Fort Lauderdale, southeast at I-95 Exit 33, holds the largest hotels in the area.
The Greater Fort Lauderdale tourism bureau calls Margate a gateway city and lists chain hotels in the surrounding towns rather than in Margate itself, and that’s the right framing for booking. Pompano Beach is about 20 minutes east, Coral Square is about 10 minutes west and downtown Fort Lauderdale is roughly half an hour.
Hotels Inside Margate City Limits
Two overnight options sit inside Margate, and only one is worth planning around.
Aztec RV Resort is the exception. It’s a gated 104-acre motorcoach community at 1 Aztec Boulevard with 645 oversized paved lots from 3,100 to 9,000 square feet, two pools heated year-round, two spas, a fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts, and a clubhouse, with a putting green, shuffleboard and petanque courts. Rentals run nightly, weekly and seasonally, and lots are also sold. The catch is strict: it’s for Class A motorcoaches only, so a travel trailer won’t get through the gate.
Country Haven Motel on State Road 7 is the other, and honesty serves you better than a recommendation. Reviews of this independent motel are mixed. Treat it as proof that Margate has almost no lodging of its own, then book in Coral Springs or Coconut Creek instead.
Budget Hotels Within a 20-Minute Drive
The cheapest branded beds near Margate are in Coral Springs and Tamarac.
La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Coral Springs South on University Drive is the budget answer on the western side. Rooms are straightforward chain rooms with a mini fridge and microwave, there’s an outdoor pool and free breakfast, and The Walk of Coral Springs is steps away for dinner. The hotel advertises pet-friendly rooms, but confirm fees and limits at booking rather than turning up with the dog and hoping.
Comfort Suites Tamarac Sawgrass, on West Commercial Boulevard near the Sawgrass Expressway, is farther out and the plainest option here. It’s fine for what it is: a clean bed for people who intend to be out all day. Tamarac is quiet in the evening, so if you want dinner within walking distance of the lobby, this is the wrong pick.
Mid-Range Hotels for a Family Visit
Three mid-tier hotels cover most Margate trips, and since all three fall in the same rough price band, choose on geography rather than brand.
Courtyard by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Coral Springs, at 620 North University Drive, is about 10 to 15 minutes from Margate and within walking distance of Coral Square. It runs the standard Courtyard format with a heated outdoor pool, a 24-hour fitness center and The Bistro on site. This is the default for anyone visiting family in the city, and it fills first in the January to April high season.
Hampton Inn Coconut Creek is the best base if your trip centers on Coconut Creek rather than the coast. Butterfly World, Tradewinds Park and the Seminole Casino are all minutes away, and the tourism bureau names it among the lodging options near Margate. Butterfly World is best in the morning, so being close to the gate is worth more than it sounds.
Hampton Inn & Suites Ft. Lauderdale West-Sawgrass/Tamarac, at 5701 Madison Avenue, sits off the Sawgrass Expressway at Commercial Boulevard. That makes it an easy arrival if you’re coming from the west side of Broward or from Sawgrass Mills. The trade is that it’s a driver’s hotel, convenient to the road and not to anything you’d walk to.
Upper-Tier Hotels for Business Trips and Groups
There’s no luxury hotel within 15 minutes of Margate, and any guide claiming otherwise is describing the beach. What the area has is two larger full-service properties at I-95 Exit 33 in the Cypress Creek business district, a real step up from the Hampton and Courtyard tier.
Sheraton Suites Fort Lauderdale at Cypress Creek is the most upscale room close to Margate. Its 253 suites each have a separate sitting area rather than just a bigger bedroom (Sheraton Suites Fort Lauderdale at Cypress Creek), which makes it the practical choice for a business trip.
Fort Lauderdale Marriott North, at the same interchange, is the largest hotel in the immediate area, with 315 rooms. That size is the reason to pick it, because its 12 meeting rooms and more than 18,000 square feet of event space can take a conference group or a wedding block that the smaller properties can’t (Fort Lauderdale Marriott North).
Extended-Stay Suites and Resort Rentals
Extended stay is the category Margate actually generates demand for, because people relocate here more often than they vacation here. Four properties within about 20 minutes are built for stays measured in weeks.
Residence Inn by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Coconut Creek, at 5730 North State Road 7, is the strongest of them, with 105 suites and a full kitchen in every one (Residence Inn Fort Lauderdale Coconut Creek). It suits people between leases, contractors on a Broward job and families waiting on a closing date that keeps sliding. A suite holds your clothes and your laptop, not the contents of a house, which is why a 5×5 unit in Margate, about the size of a small closet, so often gets rented the same week as the room.
TownePlace Suites Fort Lauderdale West, on West Prospect Road by I-95, has full kitchens in studio to two-bedroom suites. Extended Stay America Suites Fort Lauderdale-Tamarac, on West Commercial Boulevard, has in-room kitchens and is what people fall back on when a move slips by a month. If the whole household is in transit, 10×10 storage units hold a one-bedroom apartment while you wait.
Club Wyndham Palm-Aire in Pompano Beach is the outlier and the best pick for a family week. It’s a timeshare resort with studio to two-bedroom suites and four pools, next to the Palm-Aire Country Club courses, so it suits anyone building a trip around golf courses in and around Margate. Suites are larger than hotel rooms, making it the wrong booking for one night and the right one for seven.
Booking Windows, Parking and Hurricane Season
Book January through April well ahead, and expect late summer to be easier for a reason. Crowds and hotel demand peak with snowbird season from January to April, while late summer is usually the easiest time to find a room. August is also the hottest month, averaging a high of 91°F against January’s 76°F under the NOAA 30-year normals.
If your dates fall inside the June 1 to November 30 window, the NOAA National Hurricane Center puts the statistical peak at September 10, and the busiest stretch of the season runs from mid-August into mid-October. Margate sits 13 feet above sea level and well back from the coast, so it’s spared the surge that forces evacuations out on the barrier islands; the local hazards are canal flooding, extended power outages and high wind. On a September or October reservation, travel insurance earns its line item.
Parking is the quiet advantage of staying inland, since hotels out here generally park you on a surface lot rather than a paid garage. Several Broward County Transit routes and the free Margate Community Bus serve the city, but they won’t get you between hotels and sights efficiently, so a car isn’t optional. If you stay long enough to keep seasonal gear here, summer humidity is why climate-controlled storage in Margate is standard rather than an upgrade, and a 5×10 unit, about a small walk-in closet, takes the contents of one room, like the patio furniture and bikes a snowbird leaves behind.
One thing competing guides skip: plan around Mondays. Several places you’d drive to from your hotel close that day, including Pasta And on West Atlantic Boulevard and Livello in Coral Springs. Butterfly World stops final entry at 4 p.m., earlier than most visitors assume. Check things to do in Margate and Margate’s restaurant scene before fixing the itinerary, and read the best time to visit Margate if your dates are flexible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the best place to stay in Margate?
Stay in Coral Springs if you’re visiting family, because Courtyard by Marriott Coral Springs is a short drive from the city and next to Coral Square. Pick Coconut Creek and the Hampton Inn there if your plans center on Butterfly World or the Seminole Casino. Tamarac suits drivers using the Sawgrass Expressway.
What are the best luxury hotels in Margate?
Margate has no luxury hotels, and neither do the towns immediately around it. The most upscale room nearby is Sheraton Suites Fort Lauderdale at Cypress Creek, an all-suite property at I-95 Exit 33 about 15 to 20 minutes out. For a genuine resort, you’re driving to Fort Lauderdale Beach or north to Boca Raton.
How far is it from Fort Lauderdale to Margate, Florida?
Margate sits about 14 miles northwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale, roughly 30 minutes by car in normal traffic and longer at rush hour. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is about 20 minutes away. The two hotels at I-95 Exit 33 put you closer to I-95 for that airport run.
Are Pompano Beach and Margate, FL the same?
Pompano Beach and Margate are separate Broward County cities about 9 to 10 miles apart. Margate is inland with no coastline, sitting 7.5 miles from the Atlantic, while Pompano Beach has the nearest public sand and fishing pier. Atlantic Boulevard runs straight between them, so the drive takes about 20 minutes.
Is Margate, FL a good neighborhood?
Margate is a quiet, established suburb of about 58,700 residents at the 2020 Census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. SafeHome.org ranked it the 4th safest Florida city of its size in 2017, as the tourism bureau notes. The ranking is dated, but the character has held.
Storing Your Things While You Stay in Margate
Guests rarely need storage, but people arriving to live in Margate almost always do, and a hotel suite is no substitute for a garage. Value Store It’s Margate facility rents month-to-month with no long-term contract, which is the point when a two-week stay quietly becomes a two-month one.
Beyond the sizes already mentioned, the lineup runs through a 10×5 unit for a furnished bedroom, 5×15 storage, about a large walk-in closet, for a studio apartment, and 10×15 units for a two-bedroom apartment. At the top end, 10×20 spaces take a three-bedroom home, and a 10×30 unit holds a four-bedroom home. The unit size guide sorts out which you need in about a minute.
If your move to Margate lands before your closing date does, we can hold the difference until the keys turn up.
