Byron P.
Yelp
Ok so we came here with the family last Summer to tag along with my wife who was coming for a work conference. This hotel is part of the Marriott Bonvoy chain so I figured it was a safe bet to get a quality stay here. We did have limited options in which hotel we could stay at. But I must say, it was quite a disappointment from what I expected.
So the location is very close to the beach, maybe 2-3 blocks away. Granted, its been a while since I've come, but I don't remember South Beach being so dirty. Perhaps it's because I'm older now and I came with a family, but the area reminded me of Hollywood, chalk full of homeless people, druggies and the Marijuana smell everywhere. This may be desirable for some, but not for me.
We drove into the back alley entrance so we could valet the car we rented, as that's really the only option for parking. The space was tiny and the valet was full. I was a little concerned about this at first, but it turned out to be just fine. Good service at the valet; the car was never far away and if you call ahead of time, it's usually waiting for you on arrival to depart the hotel. Then we walked in with the family and all our luggage. The check in desk looked like the desk I had in college, as it was small and tucked into the corner of the lobby. The lobby was just a open space room with a couple chairs and couches, the lobby bar and a tiny coffee tienda. The kids enjoyed watching the glass ceiling that was underneath the hotel pool. The laughed and interacted with some folks that were swimming. The decor was casual, trendy, and just like every beach property there was limited space. It also reminded me of a college studio apartment a friend of mine once had. Everything was "on top" of everything else, meaning it's built up, not out. We got checked in and went to the elevators around the wall. Elevators had tile in them, with poolside decor, I suppose to allow for wet guests coming from the pool, but I was not a fan. It seemed dirty to me. We got to our floor and were the very last room at the end of the hall. I quipped to my wife that they probably put us there down at the end because we had kids. We entered the room and I was immediately disappointed. The room is super cramped, smaller than most standard hotel rooms. There was no closet, only a rack on the wall designed to hang things on. There was no dresser, no drawers for clothing so we all left our clothes in our suitcases but there was barely any room to put the suitcases. For the entirety of the trip, we had to scale the walls and beds to walk anywhere around the suitcases. There was literally about 2.5 feet of space between the foot of the beds to the opposite wall. The exact definition of cramped. There was no disposable ice bag. It was a thick, reusable plastic bag. Gross and no thanks. There was no bathroom light switch! The light was on a timer with a motion sensor; however the sensor was not sensitive as the lights repeatedly shut off while we were using the toilet or taking a shower. I showered in the dark every day on the trip and had to ask someone to enter the bathroom to turn the damn lights back on while using the toilet. Every day. There weren't enough electrical outlets in the room. The counter top and sink in the bathroom was tiny and there was nowhere else to place items except the toilet. That was not going to happen so many of the toiletries remained in the suitcases.
As the week went on, there were times when the hallways smelled like weed. We did eat at the pool and the pool bar a couple times. The food was pretty good, drinks were ok. The pool was long and narrow. There wasn't a lot of space for the kids to play with the many floaties that the hotel provided for guests. They kept bumping into people while floating around. The hotel staff were fine, friendly and willing to help when asked. I cant recall any issues with them. The bartendars were cool. There are many small restaurants, bars nearby to walk to, if you can stomach the atmosphere. The best part of the hotel was the ice cream shop right next door. It's definitely a young person's area. I love the beaches there, and I'll definitely be back to South Beach, but there's no way in hell I'm staying at this hotel again, whether I'm with my family or not.