Miami Hotel Precruise

We are trying to decide about our one night precruise hotel in Miami. The hotel that Regent provides has some very mixed reviews. We are thinking of taking the hotel credit and just booking our own possibly using points. As we are only there one night we do not need a bunch of amenities. We do need clean, convenient and decent (after all we are sailing Regent);p

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Holiday Inn Port Of Miami-Downtown

If you got the right room you can see the ship when you wake up. 5 min with the taxi to the port and on the other site of the road nice area with shops and restaurants (Bayside Marketplace)

We used this one for our 2015 cruise

Just be aware that the hotel provided by Regent includes transportation to the cruise port and breakfast. That being said, we usually book our own hotels in the U.S.

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I'll second the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. Quite decent, good staff, easy ride to the port. We didn't get free breakfast, but on the upside were able to walk down to the tourist area near the port.

That Holiday Inn is interesting.

We have been using Epic. You can also see the dock. We always get there too late to enjoy the walk as we come from the West Coast.

Epic has been good for us.

Ann, know well that Keith and Anne Marie (Keith1010) will have some good suggestions for you--they have boarded Crystal cruises at least a dozen times out of Miami--will send Keith an email and cc Shel and you.

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We have always booked at Holiday Inn hotels. Inexpensive, decent, great staff and good location.

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We will just use Regent's hotel. When you fly from the west coast, you arrive so late in Miami that, IMO, it doesn't make much of a difference where you stay. IMO, sometimes it is worth saving money by booking your own hotel and other times it really doesn't matter... this is a case where, at least for us, it doesn't matter. The hotels in Miami tend to be overpriced and are not worth the $$$. We just want to have Regent get us to the hotel so we can check in, have a bite nearby (having restaurants nearby is important to us) and go to bed. I'm finding it interesting that people like Holiday Inn as we stopped using them about 20 years ago. It just didn't measure up to our expectations. OTOH, there are some lovely but high priced hotels in Miami. If we were staying in Miami for more than 12 hours, it would likely be worth the money.

Thanks Henk, Grandmommy, Wendy, Caroldoll, Wes and Easyboy for the suggestions. I will look into them

Last time we stayed in Miami near the port the cab went all the way over to the freeway to access the port. When we asked why he was going so far out of his way he said he had to because he was a commercial vehicle. I don't know if we had "sucker" written on our forehead but what should have been a $10 ride turned into a $30 fare.

We might try uber this time.

TC I just saw your post. Make sure to read the reviews on Yelp. I don't know if the same info comes up on Trip Advisor. We were all set to use the Regent hotel until I read them.

TC I just saw your post. Make sure to read the reviews on Yelp. I don't know if the same info comes up on Trip Advisor. We were all set to use the Regent hotel until I read them.

Which hotel are you referring to?

I just looked up our hotel for our November cruise. We are staying at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables. Since I am not a believer in Yelp but do believe in TripAdvisor, here is a listing of their reviews https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g34152-d84298-Reviews-Hyatt_Regency_Coral_Gables-Coral_Gables_Florida.html

When looking at any review site, I look for a trend and pay attention to what the majority of the reviews say about the hotel. While this is not the best, it is far from the worst (79% of reviews find this hotel Excellent or Very Good).

P.S. Yelp is based on 87 reviews while TripAdvisor has 1,317 reviews. IMO, this is significant. 34 people rate this hotel five stars, 321 rate it four stars, 10 rate it three stars, 3 rate it two stars and 9 rate it one star.

Holiday Inn Port of Miami - Downtown's reviews on TripAdvisor has 65% Excellent or Very Good reviews (based on 2,321 reviews)

Yelp has 64 reviews. 9 people rate if five stars, 10 rate it four stars, 14 rate it three stars, 17 rate it two stars and 14 rate it one star

Thanks TC. I will check Trip Advisor more throughly. I don't usually even look at Yelp but for some reason it came up when I was checking the hotel.

With respect to some of the recommendations, I avoid recommending the Holiday Inn. I always am very respectful of everyone's recommendation but this is one that we just don't recommend. There are a lot of questions now about the property as it was recently sold and when we were in Miami they pulled down a building next to it and there was graffiti all along the area. The locals who post on the Florida board also don't recommend this one. We are not a local of Miami.

For those staying downtown getting transport on your own is very easy and reasonable so I would not worry about it. In fact, my wife and I were there this past January we tried Uber for the very first time. It was a pleasure as we were taken in a beautiful vehicle from the Epic Hotel (less then a five minute walk from the Holiday Inn) and we had a professional driver. Many people who provide the Uber service also work for private vehicle companies. A wonderful experience. I think we paid $12.00.

We stay in Miami about once a year.

For a few days pre cruise we like the Four Seasons but another good option is the Epic Hotel and although have not stayed there we have visited the Mandarin Hotel and like that one too.

For short stays (long ones too) and f or moderately priced hotels I would recommend JW Marriott or Conrad Hotel (about 10 minute to 15 minute drive from the port) and within a few minute walk from Mary Brickell Village (stores, pharmacy, supermarket, some stores) and the recently opened Brickell Centre (restaurants and lots of stores). In fact, a new hotel is at the Centre which is Hotel East.

In addition other places I would recommend that are even closer to the port then the Holiday Inn and to me nicer are the Marriott Marquis and the Intercontinental Hotel.

The good new is there are lots of choices.

There are so many great restaurant options downtown and the hotels on the list are convenient to a supermarket and various pharmacies for last minute items.

Here are a few photos.

Holiday Inn.

View of the pools at the Four Seasons from our room.

We continue to enjoy Miami more and more with each passing year.

Keith

We are trying to decide about our one night precruise hotel in Miami. The hotel that Regent provides has some very mixed reviews. We are thinking of taking the hotel credit and just booking our own possibly using points. As we are only there one night we do not need a bunch of amenities. We do need clean, convenient and decent (after all we are sailing Regent);p

 

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ann, Shel:

We have done Miami twice for Regent cruises and a third will be in February - all on the Explorer.

1st trip - We wanted a Concierge cabin so took the included pre-cruise night at Hyatt Coral gables. Limo transfer from airport about 6 miles to hotel, nice hotel room, so-so breakfast, very nice lunch/dinner restaurants in neighborhood, and bus transfer to ship at 12:30 embarkation day.

2nd trip - Had F cabin and didn't need the air deviation. Also had Hilton points. Stayed at the Hilton Miami Airport; very nice experience! Free shuttle to hotel; very nice room; very acceptable restaurants on-site; hourly shuttle to ship's dock ($14p.p.) reserved at hotel (we used the 10AM and it arrived at ship's pier before 10:30).

3rd trip - For the February cruise we have 2 Concierge cabin's and will stay with Regent hotel (Epic?). Our "kids" are new to Regent. Epic would be Okay with us BUT Regent seems to change the Miami hotels from what originally offered in cruise description! if it was just us, I'd have gone back to the Airport Hilton on points.

Hope you have a fun cruise.

Jim C

Keith, many thanks for the helpful introduction to the Miami scene. The Four Seasons looks lovely. We have stayed at the Conrad Hilton in the past. We will only be there overnight this trip so the choice isn't quite as critical as long as it is up to standards. You have given us several possibilities. In addition we get get adventurous and try Uber. We appreciate your help.

Jim (Deep Freeze) also appreciate your detailing of your recent experiences. The Park Hyatt was the Regent option offered to us. I think we will pass on it as we don't need Regent's included air deviation that comes with the included hotel night and hotel doesn't sound great to us. We do have a mess of Hilton points so your good experience at the Airport Hilton was interesting.

Thank you one and all for the help.

Eager2Travel you are very welcome.

We were very pleased with our Uber Experience in Miami. Our first time. Often with the first time you can also get a coupon code for a discount.

Wishing you a wonderful trip. Should you need an recommendations on restaurants nearby your hotel once you finalize where you stay please let me know and I would be happy to offer some choices.

Keith

Ann/Shel, and for those Regent cruise critics who have/use the American Express Platinum Card. Along with AMX-P new annual fee now $550 you get a $200 Uber credit. This Uber credit can be used asa $15 credit when you load your AMX-P card in the latest Uber App. In December you will get an additional $20 for a $35 credit.

Here in ATL Uber basic, Premium, and SUV beats the car service we have used for the last five years by at least 20%.

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Another vote for The Epic. We stayed with them in Jan. and LOVED it! We had booked a concierge cabin and the room/suite they gave us was on the "club" floor with a wonderful corner room where we could see the ships as well as the little canal that runs along the side of the hotel. It was great afternoon boat watching with everything from work boats to "cocktail wagons" (the huge things that people don't know how to drive, but have a great platform for drinks...haha!). The other thing that was nice about the Epic was the afternoon social hour with wine served to everyone. We could walk to all sorts of restaurants as well as Whole Foods if you wanted a snack. We're very pleased that we're staying there again in November.

EX MIA Woman. would not send my dog to a Holiday Inn. if you do not want to pay for Epic stay at the IC. stayed there twice and always could see a ship from my window.. I walked to Epic for dinner. Loud and noisey but great Asian food. But was more expensive than LA Sushi.

if one night downtown I stay in MB at the Ritz. The club floor serves food all day long. One night it was raining and i sat with my ipad and Kindle eating and drinking. it was great.

"Would not send my dog to a Holiday Inn"

Well, this old dog will be staying at a Holiday Inn near the Manhattan Pier before boarding our Regent Cruise in October. It's what we can afford. After doing research, I have no qualms about staying there. It may not be the Ritz or the Plaza, but for one night it will suit us just fine.

What hotel does Regent use in Miami if the Holiday Inn is considered an upgrade by so many above?

I know of two Hyatt hotels that Regent uses in Miami and have never known them to use Holiday Inn. I think that some posters just like Holiday Inn.

Eager2Travel - I guess we were talking about two different Hyatt Hotels. Regent is putting us in the Hyatt Coral Gables in November while you were offered the Park Hyatt. I will check out Yelp even though I have no confidence in their reviews but will also check out TripAdvisor - even though we won't be staying there.

P.S. I'm now more confused - I Googled "Park Hyatt" and Hyatt Regency came up so I'm not sure which hotel it is. I did check out the two reviews and I guess if depends upon whether you believe the negative or positive reviews. Yelp rated them 3 stars while TripAdvisor rated them 3 1/2 stars.

Best Western Premium , Around $200 per night, and they have the shuttle to the port for a small fee.

I honestly wasn't impressed by the epic at all, which is where Regent had us pre-cruise. If I had been booked it on my own, I would have been upset at the cost.

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