Downtown Miami Courtyard

[kanda]

Can anyone tell me about this hotel. We have enough rewards points to stay there free 2 nights pre-cruise. How close is it to the port, can you see the ships coming in from the hotel, is it in a safe area? This will be our first visit to Miami. Thanks.

[TrentS]

It was an older hotel that was gutted and converted into a Courtyard in 2003. It's a nice enough place that's less than 5 minutes from the port. The neighborhood is okay, but you don't want to walk anywhere from there at night, which is the case in most of downtown Miami. The hotel is perfectly safe though. No, you can't see the ships, your only view will be of various construction sites, which is also the case in much of Miami. ;)

 

If you have Marriott points, and want to see the ships, go with the Biscayne Bay Marriott. It's not in the best neighborhood, but is quite safe, also less than 5 minutes from the port, is a very nice hotel, and it has the best view of the Port of Miami from it's SE view rooms... http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/miabb

 

The BEST Marriott in Miami is the JW Marriott on Brickell. It's a wonderful hotel in a nice neighborhood about 5 minutes from the port... http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/miajw

 

Downtown Miami is the best place to stay the night before your cruise as the downtown hotels are all very close to the port, and a short/inexpensive cab ride from Bayside Marketplace - A very popular place to eat, shop, hang out the night before your cruise... http://www.baysidemarketplace.com/

[kanda]

Wow! That's the exact information I was looking for. If you don't mind one more question, is the BEST Marriott you refer to also "downtown", or near the bayside marketplace? Thanks so much for taking the time to share the links to each hotel.

[TrentS]

Well Bayside IS "downtown", at the entrance to the Port of Miami, but the JW Marriott is only about 5 minutes or so from there by cab. All 3 of those Marriotts are in downtown Miami. NONE of the Marriotts however are within what I would consider a safe walking distance of Bayside. They're all very close, but for your own safety you'll want to take a cab from any of them. There is a great deal of construction going on in downtown Miami and with any large city, you don't want to be walking around dark empty streets at night.

[kanda]

Thanks TrentS, you're a wonderful source of information. I really appreciate your help.