Pre- Cruise Miami Hotels- GOOD/Bad Hotels

[caribbeanchickie]

Hey all!

 

Looking for some help on where to stay in Miami.

We need a pre-cruise hotel in Miami for Oct 25.

Any suggestions on where to stay OR, where NOT to stay.

 

Thanks

Michelle

[maria1234]

I have stayed in South Beach and near the Port. I LOVED the Parc Cenral in SB. Its the coolest art deco property right across from beach with an awesome lobby bar. Good rates for being in the heart of the strip.

At Port, we stayed at Holiday Inn Port of Miaimi. Loved it , too. There have been mixed reviews and I thought I'd give it a shot anyway. Glad I did. Nice rooms, good breakfast at resaraunt downstairs and right across the street is the port with the mall, a Hooters, Bubba Gump, tons of little bars, a Hard Rock(which was a cool one). And great rates with AAA . There were no complaints from any of us. Except the hangover from going out the night before we boarded our ship:rolleyes:

[moniquet]

2 years ago we stayed at the Avalon on SB, it was awful, really run down and tiny rooms. Didn't feel safe either with dodgy windows on the 1st Floor. Good restaurant outside but thats all..oh and great location. This year we stayed at the Hyatt Regency, close to Bayside and it was fine.

[jman_in_minnesota]

tripadvisor is probably a good place to read reviews on all sorts of hotels

 

if you are brand indifferent, you can use Priceline like I did to get a good rate in the downtown area ($54 @ Hilton Downtown Miami on 8/28/2008)

[caribbeanchickie]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

I'm the fussy one when it comes to hotels. I need a clean room and comfortable bed that comes with no guests ( Cockroaches :cool:)

 

Since we are cruising out of Miami I would really like to have something in that area. From all that I've read, hotels in Downtown Miami don't offer free shuttle pick from the Airport? Does anyone know this for sure?

 

I checked Price line for Oct 25th but the prices are outrageous. Over 130.

Has anyone ever used Easyclick????

[caribbeanchickie]

tripadvisor is probably a good place to read reviews on all sorts of hotels

 

f you are brand indifferent, you can use Priceline like I did to get a good rate in the downtown area ($54 @ Hilton Downtown Miami on 8/28/2008)

 

 

I can get this one for 100 on easyclick travel. How far is it from the Port? What type of area is it in? Would you stay here again?

[jman_in_minnesota]

I can get this one for 100 on easyclick travel. How far is it from the Port? What type of area is it in? Would you stay here again?

 

if you don't mind waiting about 3 weeks, I'll let ya know! :)

 

from what i've read on this forum and elsewhere, the reviews are mixed (and i'm really interested in seeing for it myself)...lots of expectations are not being met, i'm not sure if that's because of the clientele doing the review or if the service is indeed bad.

[caribbeanchickie]

if you don't mind waiting about 3 weeks, I'll let ya know! :)

 

from what i've read on this forum and elsewhere, the reviews are mixed (and i'm really interested in seeing for it myself)...lots of expectations are not being met, i'm not sure if that's because of the clientele doing the review or if the service is indeed bad.

 

I can wait. :D

THANK YOU

[CarribbeanTina271]

Hi we stayed at the Intercontinental last Oct and it was awesome.. I got it off Priceline for $99 plus tax and it was worth every cent and more!! It is located downtown and on the Bay... You can walk to shopping and eating and if you get a Bay view room, you can wake up to see your ship in the am...

Have a great Cruise

[caribbeanchickie]

Hi we stayed at the Intercontinental last Oct and it was awesome.. I got it off Priceline for $99 plus tax and it was worth every cent and more!! It is located downtown and on the Bay... You can walk to shopping and eating and if you get a Bay view room, you can wake up to see your ship in the am...

Have a great Cruise

 

This IS the Hotel I REALLY want but, the price is around 150-170 a night for Oct 26...YIKES! Hoping the longer I wait, the price will drop. :cool:

[Smoke Fan]

Hi we stayed at the Intercontinental last Oct and it was awesome.. I got it off Priceline for $99 plus tax and it was worth every cent and more!! It is located downtown and on the Bay... You can walk to shopping and eating and if you get a Bay view room, you can wake up to see your ship in the am...

Have a great Cruise

Have never tried Priceline. How many stars and what location for Intercontinental? Thanks for any information.

Patty

[CarribbeanTina271]

Well I tried Priceline for the first time when I got that hotel... We were treated like Royalty! The staff were incredible!! And I met one of my now best friends waiting on our shuttle going to the same ship!! We spent the entire week together and now try to talk everyday and are going on another cruise together this Oct!!

Sorry I am rambleing, but I just get so excited talking cruise stuff!! LOL

HI Patty, I went for the 4 star and bid $99 right off the bat, my friend who also stayed the same time got it for like $20 cheaper..

[Smoke Fan]

Thank you Tina - wish me luck! I like the story about you and your friend, that's a nice way for friendships to start.

Patty

[jman_in_minnesota]

if you don't mind waiting about 3 weeks, I'll let ya know! :)

 

from what i've read on this forum and elsewhere, the reviews are mixed (and i'm really interested in seeing for it myself)...lots of expectations are not being met, i'm not sure if that's because of the clientele doing the review or if the service is indeed bad.

 

ok, the verdict is in...this was a really nice hotel. the public areas looked very sharp, the staff was friendly, the food at the breakfast buffet was tasty, the whole experience was great for the value. obviously, this isn't the intercontinental, but i'll take the $54 value of a hilton hotel anyday.

 

only complaint I had- air conditioning in the room didn't work the greatest, the room temp held steady around 72 degrees. i'll be honest, we thought it was party due to the hot, humid air outside and the fact that we were on the 20th floor (my 1st time in Miami) but in the evening the room was still warm. didn't change rooms because i'm not changing rooms at 11:45pm LOL!

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

Although I am prejudiced because my husband works for them and we get a discounted rate, I have never had a bad experience in any Marriott property.

[eandj]

I can get this one for 100 on easyclick travel. How far is it from the Port? What type of area is it in? Would you stay here again?

 

 

Check the recent reviews on tripadvisor.com

[eandj]

Have never tried Priceline. How many stars and what location for Intercontinental? Thanks for any information.

Patty

 

 

Four stars downtown.

 

If you are set on the IC, remember you aren't guaranteed it. Better off reserving the more conventional way if you will be disappointed. If you have never bid on PL, you MUST do your homework on biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com. Learn all the ins and outs of the process as you will not be able to cancel once booked blindly.

[eandj]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

I'm the fussy one when it comes to hotels. I need a clean room and comfortable bed that comes with no guests ( Cockroaches :cool:)

 

Since we are cruising out of Miami I would really like to have something in that area. From all that I've read, hotels in Downtown Miami don't offer free shuttle pick from the Airport? Does anyone know this for sure?

 

I checked Price line for Oct 25th but the prices are outrageous. Over 130.

Has anyone ever used Easyclick????

 

 

Correct. No free shuttles from downtown hotels. Cabs run only about $25 tho. Quick and easy.

 

Over $130 in Miami is by no means outrageous. They'll run you twice that in the winter. If you need a lower rate than that, you might want to look near the airport.

Have used Easy Click with no problem.

[caribbeanchickie]

ok, the verdict is in...this was a really nice hotel. the public areas looked very sharp, the staff was friendly, the food at the breakfast buffet was tasty, the whole experience was great for the value. obviously, this isn't the intercontinental, but i'll take the $54 value of a hilton hotel anyday.

 

only complaint I had- air conditioning in the room didn't work the greatest, the room temp held steady around 72 degrees. i'll be honest, we thought it was party due to the hot, humid air outside and the fact that we were on the 20th floor (my 1st time in Miami) but in the evening the room was still warm. didn't change rooms because i'm not changing rooms at 11:45pm LOL!

 

Thanks for posting back. I really appreciate it. :)

 

Was the outside area OK????

[jman_in_minnesota]

Thanks for posting back. I really appreciate it. :)

 

Was the outside area OK????

 

it's on a busy boulevard, not alot around in the immediate area (unless you count Burger King & Checkers) and since it was so hot/humid out, wasn't standing out there much :)

 

took a cab south to the Bayside Marketplace which was very nice, lots of shops and places to eat, live music, very touristy, it's about 12 blocks from the hotel on the same road

[floridacruiser63]

it's on a busy boulevard, not alot around in the immediate area (unless you count Burger King & Checkers) and since it was so hot/humid out, wasn't standing out there much :)

 

took a cab south to the Bayside Marketplace which was very nice, lots of shops and places to eat, live music, very touristy, it's about 12 blocks from the hotel on the same road

 

The outside area is ok as long as you are walking towards Bayside, however I would not recommend walking at night time. Take a taxi, it is a very short ride (1.5 miles) from Bayside Market Place.:)

[DPurcell58]

We just stayed at Downtown Miami Hilton, pre cruise. Very nice, got special prepaid rate of $89.00, asked for a room with view of port when we got there, great on high floor., floor to ceiling windows. Pool was nice, on the rooftop. Did have to pay $29.00 for parking our car for the night. Took the free shuttle to Bayside for dinner. Would really walk too far around outside, we did walk Sun. AM for a paper. Five minute ride to the pier. Clean room, oh elevators were slow, they're do renovations. Would stay there again though.

[sdirector77]

We just stayed at Downtown Miami Hilton, pre cruise. Very nice, got special prepaid rate of $89.00, asked for a room with view of port when we got there, great on high floor., floor to ceiling windows. Pool was nice, on the rooftop. Did have to pay $29.00 for parking our car for the night. Took the free shuttle to Bayside for dinner. Would really walk too far around outside, we did walk Sun. AM for a paper. Five minute ride to the pier. Clean room, oh elevators were slow, they're do renovations. Would stay there again though.

 

So glad to hear you enjoyed the Hilton, we are sailing in Oct and booked a suite to accomodate 6 people at the Hilton. We are flying into FLL the night before but wanted to stay downtown Miami. Thanks for the info.

[Jyllie63]

We just stayed at Downtown Miami Hilton, pre cruise. Very nice, got special prepaid rate of $89.00, asked for a room with view of port when we got there, great on high floor., floor to ceiling windows. Pool was nice, on the rooftop. Did have to pay $29.00 for parking our car for the night. Took the free shuttle to Bayside for dinner. Would really walk too far around outside, we did walk Sun. AM for a paper. Five minute ride to the pier. Clean room, oh elevators were slow, they're do renovations. Would stay there again though.

Thanks for the review. I'm staying there in October. What is the free shuttle to Bayside? Does the hotel provide this? Thanks!

[DPurcell58]

No, it's free through the city of Miami, like a people mover, or a monorail, it's right around the bend from the Hilton, we just asked and then asked someone as we were getting on where to get off for Bayside. I think it's called Bayside/(well I forget the other word). But it's really easy and it's free.