Vacation rentals are becoming “the new normal” post pandemic. They’re not only affordable, they offer more space, privacy and amenities that hotels can’t offer. I’m used to booking hotels, but for Father’s Day, my family and I decided to go all out. We booked a $10 million dollar vacation rental in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was one of those mansions you’d see in TV shows, and best of all? The 6-bedroom/7-bathroom home with private pool and beach was only $1,700 a night.
Take a look at the $10 million vacation rental — Harbourview Key, part of Marriott Bonvoy Homes & Villas portfolio — my family and I booked for a weekend in Fort Lauderdale.
Harbourview Key is fairly new (one year old) and functions as a vacation rental – a really nice one. It was the first time I had booked one, and the process after booking on Marriott Homes & Villas was similar to any vacation rental (with pre-arrival email including door code access and other details) – a seamless booking. Once I arrived at Fort Lauderdale International Airport, I was surprised relieved the villa was only 15 minutes drive away, and located in an upscale neighborhood.
This is what it was like when I first arrived. Harbourview Key has a driveway with garage fit for three cars, and a private gate that opens to a beautiful outdoor courtyard, perfect for my pup Ruby. I had basically used up all my storage space taking videos and photos of this unbelievable luxury vacation rental. It was actually raining when I arrived, but cleared up fast.
You’ll notice chandeliers, a massive kitchen with high-tech appliances, dining area, living room, sliding glass-doors that lead to the outdoor pool and plenty of private space right on the harbour, including an extended deck.
The luxury vacation rental came with a private and heated pool. Most of the 6 bedrooms (all except one) face the harbour and pool.
There is only one bedroom on the main level of the three-level house (yes three levels). In fact, the luxury vacation rental came equipped with an elevator. Talk about baller! A true mansion with all the works. I loved my room, which had sliding glass doors that opened up to the pool and harbour. The beds were comfortable. In fact, considering the vacation rental is new, I could tell that very few have slept in it, so that was a big perk – basically a brand new bed inside a gorgeous room.
Harbourview Key luxury vacation rental is perched on the harbour facing Port Everglades, the famous cruise port, while yachts of all sizes cruised back and forth along the harbor. Port Everglades is where all the cruise ships take off, and if you scroll below, you’ll see a Princess cruise. I had fun waving to the passengers.
The master bedroom is exactly as you would think: grandiose. But I was more enthralled with the bathroom. Two vanity stations, Pure Fiji amenities, a glass-encased shower with a second shower (not in photo) as well as a sinking tub and expensive chandelier. This is fit for royalty. The master bedroom also has a closet that’s just as big as the smallest bedroom, which has two twin beds, to give you frame of reference of how big it is.
My favorite part of the stay was at night. I loved the moody sky, and the fact the pool changed colors. Nightswimming was a thing for us, considering the pool was heated, and it is Fort lauderdale, so it was warm at night anyway.
My parents, who stayed in the master bedroom, loved the second floor balcony, which came with a hammock. The wrap around deck was perfect for views, and it was connected to the second largest bedroom as well.
As mentioned, the high-end villa was directly across Port Everglade, where you can see all the cruise ships line up to take off.
The extended deck right on the water was perfect for my family, who love fishing. Here they spent every waking minute fishing! There were also fishermen in boats all along this area fishing for sport. 
More fishing during sunset at the luxury vacation rental.
Location, location, location! One of the best features of the luxury vacation rental villa was its perfect harbor setting — a 4-minute Uber, 6-minute bike ride or 10-minute walk to the gorgeous Fort Lauderdale beaches. Of course, you can’t go to Fort Lauderdale without visiting the beaches! It was SO close to the villa, and the villa even provides bikes.
The villa is pet friendly! One of the biggest trends this year is pet-friendly vacation rentals. In fact, we wrote about how online travel sites have seen a significant uptick of the “pet friendly” filter being used on their sites, so I was glad to see that Harbourview Key was pet friendly. Not only was it pet friendly, it had so much fenced-in outdoor space where my dog did not have to be leashed. That’s privilege and luxury right there.
The villa offers an outdoor grill, and everything you need in the kitchen, from a stove and microwave that’s so high tech, you’d think it’s from the Jetsons, as well as truly modern fridge and dishwasher. We were on vacation, so we ordered in often. A lot of the most award-winning restaurants in Fort Lauderdale are just miles away.
If you’re traveling with friends or family, you’d spend almost quadruple the amount for a hotel that had six rooms, and you wouldn’t have the extreme modern luxury comforts of a private heated pool, fully equipped, expansive kitchen, bedrooms that each have their own bathrooms, an elevator to get you up and down three levels (there are also spiral staircases), private, fenced-in outdoor space for dogs to be happily unleashed and, of course, the perfect location right on the harbour.
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