Many thanks for the suggestions (incl. those via PM)!

Direct flights from here are mostly to Miami, which is why I started to look for hotels/motels between Fort Lauderdale and Delray Beach. I then realised that spring break is going on until April 10. My inital intention was to come end of March and stay for three weeks as the wind appears better in March than April.

The problem is that once we arrive, because of jetlag I don't want to spend hours driving on the first day. This is why I decided against the Tampa area (and because someone wrote somewhere that the wind is stronger along the east side). Either I arrive later or look for a quiter place away from Miami (maybe staying for one night and then moving up north to Cocoa Beach).

Using Google Earth for hotels, unless one pays >200$, the reviews tend to be quite mixed. So far I could not find any accommodation offered by surf shops/schools.

Olaf