Sheraton Biscayne Bay - Mini review pt 1

Those that have read my other reviews on CC know I can be very long winded, so please foirgive me. Here goes -

I’ve seen a number of CC’ers bring up this hotel as one that they’d like to get more information about for a pre/post cruise in Miami. On our next cruise, we (myself, DW, our 3-kids, MIL and SIL) will be staying at the Sheraton Biscayne Bay pre-cruise as well. Since I had a planned business trip this week to FL, I thought I would use the opportunity to come in a day early and stay the night there so I could scope it out for our up-coming trip.

I booked this room through Hotwire for both trips, and during our pre-cruise, we got a rate of $79/nt for two rooms. I’ve seen where others have done as well as $59/nt on Priceline.

When we pre-cruise, we are flying into Fort Lauderdale and driving down to the hotel. As others have consistently stated recently, flying into FLL has offered some pretty good rates. One of the things I liked about this hotel is that they have a Budget rental car office in the building that is open daily 8AM-4PM (with a drop box if you get in later). This makes it easy for our group of seven to fly into FLL early in the day, rent a mini-van at the airport, and return it at the hotel. It works out much more convenient and cheaper than taking a taxi down to the area IMHO.

If you book through Priceline or Hotwire, don’t use the directions they provide on their websites to get to the hotel. Use the directions shown on the Starwood (Sheraton’s parent Corp) website. It’s much easier.

I arrived at the hotel on Saturday at 2PM. I used the valet parking service, which was friendly and efficient. The cost for valet parking was $18/night (the posted rates at the bell station showed no difference between valet or self-parking). If you self-park, there is a parking garage adjacent to the hotel which you could use that allows in/out privileges.

The hotel is located on Bricknell Blvd, just across the Bricknell Bridge in downtown Miami. If you use the sidewalk to walk up to the intersection of Bricknell and SE 2nd Ave (about a 50-yard walk), turn right and walk another 100 yards to the top of the Bricknell Bridge, you can see the CCL and NCL ships in port.

During check-in, I had very pleasant service, and was cheerfully provided with a bay-view room upon request. One thing that I was not aware of with this hotel is that the bay-view (east facing) and city view (west facing) rooms here do not have balconies. The hotel is a rectangular shaped structure, with the balcony rooms located on the North and South ends of the buildings (looking at floor plans this means an estimated less that 20% of the rooms have balconies). However, for a non-balcony room, the view was quite nice through several large windows facing the bay. My room also had a room safe included. Local calls were $1.50 each, and if you need to be on-line using there dial up service, the cost was .10/minute after 60 minutes. I could not see the cruise ships in port from my room.

I had read where others have made comments about the property being in decline from a maintenance stand-point. While I did notice a few area of my room carpet to be wearing, I didn’t see anything else wrong at this hotel at all. The normal rack rate for this property is 199-219/night (depending on when you’re traveling), but for the hotwire or Priceline prices, it’s an extreme bargain (this is the 3.5 star property on Hotwire, and is a 3 star property on Priceline).

Walking around the hotel, I noticed that the grounds were very well maintained. Compared to resorts we’ve stayed at in the area (Fontainbleu Hilton, Four-Points Sheraton, Bal Harbour Sheraton), the property is much smaller, but very clean. Compared to the Holiday-Inn (another popular pre-cruise hotel which we have stayed at) across the street from Bayside Marketplace, the Sheraton Biscayne Bay is superior in every way.

The pool is not very large, but the area is well maintained and surrounded by Palm Trees and other tropical plants. The deck area is very pleasing, made up of decorative stone as opposed to the normal gray concrete of an average hotel. There is a Tiki bar open during lunch to pre-dinner that offers canned beer and sodas, as well as a limited food menu selection (no mixed drinks/frozen drinks). There seemed to be adequate seating (lounge chairs) around the pool area, but only a few tables with shade near the tiki bar. Though limited, service was pleasant.

I ventured up to Bayside Marketplace during my stay, and it was a cab-ride of less than $5. While it may be close enough to walk to (for my younger and/or more fit CC friends, I would highly suggest taking a cab, especially after dark). The entire downtown Miami area is always a safety question mark, and $5 is a small price to ensure the rest of your trip will be enjoyable. There are taxis lined up right out front of the hotel, and Bayside Marketplace, so it’s so easy to get from point A to point B.

Bayside Marketplace, to me, has always been a lot of fun, and I look forward to spending a few hours there each time I go to Miami (and I’ve been there about twenty times over the past few years). CC’ers – don’t light the flame-throwers – but I love going to the Hard Rock Café and Forrest Gump’s when I’m there (I also enjoy the Mambo Café for something quick). There’s also an excellent Cuban restaurant here (can’t remember the name, but ate there the last time we were here) and right across the street is the American Airlines arena with a few restaurants as well. I didn’t eat at either establishment this time, but I did have a few tall draft beers at each while people watching. It’s just a fun, party atmosphere that really gets you even more excited about going on a cruise the next day, IMHO. If you’re cruising RCCL, you’ll see their ships at port from here.

After returning from Bayside, I spent a few minutes at the hotel bar. Most everybody there was leaving on a cruise the next day (Sunday) and again, the party atmosphere prevailed. I had great service at the bar. Just another note on safety, on the advise of the hotel staff. The hotel is located right next door (on the south) to an open property (that is certainly not a park). There are people that are unfortunately homeless that frequent this lot. It is very sad to see, and for some may be intimidating. Just something to keep in mind, if you happen to come into contact with someone in this situation, consider helping with a few $ if you can and feel safe doing so. God will bless you for it.

Speaking with the hotel staff, there is not a regular shuttle with any of the cruise-lines. Sometimes they may have one here, but that is only when a TA or the line has a large group that has reserved well in advance. Taxi is recommended, and you can arrange that (or vans for larger groups) though the bell/concierge services.

I did order room service, and prices were typical of large Miami area hotels. The menu was varied, and very good (try the wings for appetizers, they’re great!). They do add 19% for gratuity and a nominal delivery charge to the bill (so keep this in mind when the deliverer looks for “another” tip).

In closing, I would definitely recommend this property for a short PRE cruise stay. However, I do know that it is "leaving" the Starwood family of hotels this summer. Rumor is that it will be demolished and replaced with condos. I dould not get confirmation of this during my visit. If I can answer any questions, please let me know.