Best hotel in Miami close to port?

[Kariz]

Looking for a good hotel in Miami. Its would be nice to be able to walk to the beach. Unfortunately we will be traveling the weekend after Thanksgiving. We didn't consider that when we booked the cruise. Cruise leaves on Dec 2 (Tues) so I am thinking of flying in a day or 2 early. 

[cruiseny4life]

We went to South Beach for a few nights back in 2021. We were there about a week before Christmas and loved the Cardozo! It's affordable - about $200 the weekend after Thanksgiving this year. And it's within very, very easy walking distance of the beach. We walked down to South Pointe Park Pier where we watched cruise ships sail out of Miami (this was before we started cruising). Maybe that's why we booked a cruise in February of 2022! 

 

Anyway, it was a really great place. Good restaurant, walking distance of a bunch of restaurants, it's one of the Art Deco Hotels, and so easy to get to the beach. It's a really great place for a morning stroll, too as a park is across the strip, or just go through the park to get to the ocean. What I didn't know until just now is that Gloria Estefan owns the place. 

 

Here's their website: https://cardozohotel.com/ 

 

The other hotel we stayed (when in Miami for a cruise) was the Dunns Josephine. It's in Miami's "Harlem" and is a black-owned, woman-owned hotel. The decor is stunning. The staff are really attentive and kind. And the neighborhood is super great to walk through! I loved my evening and morning walk there before we took the five minute Uber to the cruise port. It's not really close to the beach. 

 

And, their website: https://www.dunns-josephinehotel.com/

[the_scarecrow_in_oz]

3 hours ago, Kariz said:

 Its would be nice to be able to walk to the beach.

Just to be clear......if you're looking to walk to the beach from your hotel, then you are looking for a hotel in Miami Beach, not Miami. Even from a downtown Miami hotel it is still a 15 - 20 minute Uber/taxi ride to get your toes into the sand of Miami Beach. There are many art deco hotels along Ocean Drive across the street from South Miami Beach, which is the main public beach people imagine when they think of Miami Beach. There are also multiple hotels in the South Miami Beach area that are within a 1-5 block walk of the beach. During the covid fiasco years we made several attempts to do a NCL Panama Canal cruise, and with each of 4 re-bookings we made reservations at the Avalon Hotel along Ocean Drive which is right in the middle of the art deco region. Unfortunately, with the final re-booking we opted for a downtown Miami hotel via NCL. However, we arrived 2 nights before our cruise and were able to take an Uber to Miami Beach and spend a day (New Year's Day) exploring South Beach and Ocean Drive. We visited the Avalon and it appeared to be a clean, comfortable hotel.

On that New Years weekend, the city of Miami Beach closed off Ocean Drive to vehicular traffic from about 6th St to 14th St, making that entire stretch a pedestrian mall. I don't know if that would be the case for Thanksgiving weekend, but be aware that although a hotel along Ocean Drive will provide for great access to the beach and great people-watching, its placement along Ocean Drive may also prove to be relatively crowded and active well into the night on a holiday weekend. The area around a hotel 2-5 blocks further inland will likely be less crowded and noisy.

 

[Wayward Son]

Your title says you want a hotel close to the port. Vicinity to the port doesn't matter, you can't really walk to the port from any hotel. You going to need a cab/Uber regardless.

 

If you want to walk to the beach, you have hundreds of options. The only real question is how much you want to spend.

 

 

[nhraformula00]

Best hotel close to the port. Intercontinental.

[JohninDC]

We like the Doubletree - great views of the port and an amazing pool area.  Next door Marriott is another good option - both are about a 5-10 minute cab ride from the port.  If you want to be close to the port you will not be walking distance to the beach.  Your call.

[Cruiser Who Knows Nothing]

Our fav is the Marriott Stanton in MB - its on the sand and you can see the ships coming in in the morning (if you get up early enough)  So exciting to see your ship coming home to pick you up.  🙂

[orla56]

Hi as we had been to South beach before we decided to try the Hampton Inn and Suites in Brickell and we really liked it.Rooms were clean and staff very friendly.There is a small pool area but we didnt manage to use it.A lot of cruisers use it and there is a shuttle to the port for a small fee.We just used a Lyft which we booked the night before and the driver turned up promptly at time booked.It cost 25$ and took about 25 mins due to heavy traffic.Hotel was a reasonable price with a decent free breakfast and you receive a voucher for a free drink on arrival.Only thing was the paper plates and plastic cutlery.Theres a coffe station to use 24 hrs and iced water.The hotel was a lovely area with lots of nice restaurants, bars, shops and a big shopping mall and a Publix if you need anything.The Batch bar and restaurant next door  was good and always busy.

The hotel was next to the Brickell transport hub  for getting around and alot of people used the metro to get from the airport to the hotel.We felt safe when out and about it was always busy at night.

Hope this helps and enjoy your trip.

[Langoustine]

On 6/3/2024 at 8:51 AM, Kariz said:

Looking for a good hotel in Miami. Its would be nice to be able to walk to the beach.

Just to clarify: There are NO beaches in Miami (except on Key Biscayne). You really must go to Miami Beach for hotels on the beach or close to it