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Heading there a couple of days with my son in Oct. – just
looking at the Bentley (with it’s slightly mixed reviews) as it
seems to be the best for beach location.Any experience/alternatives?
Thanks!
South Beach itself is OK durring the day but at night it’s a whole different game. Lots of young barely dress people shaking their moneymaker.
I might be getting old but it’s as far away from elegant and sophisticated as it’s possible to get.
Stayed in the Betsy on Ocean Drive which was an oasis in a sea of “spring break madness”…
South Beach itself is OK durring the day but at night it’s a whole different game. Lots of young barely dress people shaking their moneymaker.
I might be getting old but it’s as far away from elegant and sophisticated as it’s possible to get.
Stayed in the Betsy on Ocean Drive which was an oasis in a sea of “spring break madness”…
I can imagine, Roberto!
It’s just a couple of nights before a downtown conference, so yes, definitely
aimed at daytime and not nighttime! I guess bit of pool/beach/food…and an expensive
trip to the Nike flagship for someone’s b-day present…We recently stayed in the Kimpton Angler and would definitely recommend. It’s a couple of minutes to the beach but right in the historic district, rooftop pool, diamonds get $25 per person for breakfast along with free coffee and juice. The secret password also got us $50 free food or beverage credit. We were travelling to with my 4 year old daughter and she loved Miami even after getting stung by something in the sea.
We recently stayed in the Kimpton Angler and would definitely recommend. It’s a couple of minutes to the beach but right in the historic district, rooftop pool, diamonds get $25 per person for breakfast along with free coffee and juice. The secret password also got us $50 free food or beverage credit. We were travelling to with my 4 year old daughter and she loved Miami even after getting stung by something in the sea.
I’m afraid you’ve been had so. IHG Diamond breakfast T&Cs:
“Includes one main menu item with unlimited non-alcoholic beverages or full buffet with unlimited non-alcoholic beverages per person”Indeed – this is printed on the breakfast vouchers that most IHG hotels seem to hand out now when the option is selected at check-in. I’m assuming this didn’t happen at the Angler?! However, I’ve never seen a breakfast dish cost more than $25 (even at the Kimpton Seafire), so maybe not such a swizz and possibly covered more than one item?
Thanks all – will have a look at the IHGs. I giddily did the Diamond+Ambassador
sign-up which expires 30 Nov and have never used it! Pity no voucher extension options.Mainly looked at Hiltons here as I’m kindly tagged onto someone’s Team Member’s page,
and everything is on offer for that particular Mon/Tues! Bentley is USD290 (inc fees) for
a studio with “partial” ocean view—though we all know what that means!!!Then off to the very uninspiring-looking Hyatt Regency for the conference: at least the
cheap rate let me add my Hyatt number to it ;o))@Michael – you can get a 2 month extension on Ambassador if that would be any help to you? But what about one of the Miami ICs (if a weekend stay)? I think the main one isn’t that far from the beaches and looks pretty decent. As Ambassador of course you should get a decent upgrade and the other perks and Diamond will give you both breakfast.
Indeed – this is printed on the breakfast vouchers that most IHG hotels seem to hand out now when the option is selected at check-in. I’m assuming this didn’t happen at the Angler?! However, I’ve never seen a breakfast dish cost more than $25 (even at the Kimpton Seafire), so maybe not such a swizz and possibly covered more than one item?
The issue for me is once you get into dollar spend, the likelihood of being served with a bill for tip or extras shoots up. For me, the breakfast coupon is sacrosanct; I won’t sign or entertain any kind of bill once I’ve tabled a coupon.
@Michael – you can get a 2 month extension on Ambassador if that would be any help to you? But what about one of the Miami ICs (if a weekend stay)? I think the main one isn’t that far from the beaches and looks pretty decent. As Ambassador of course you should get a decent upgrade and the other perks and Diamond will give you both breakfast.
Thanks, Anna, will def. look into that!!
@Michael – you can get a 2 month extension on Ambassador if that would be any help to you? But what about one of the Miami ICs (if a weekend stay)? I think the main one isn’t that far from the beaches and looks pretty decent. As Ambassador of course you should get a decent upgrade and the other perks and Diamond will give you both breakfast.
Can recommend the IC Miami. 15 minutes to South Beach (as well as Little Havana and Wynwood) in cheap and plentiful Ubers and right on the free metro line and bus routes.
Club Lounge was closed while we were there so can’t comment on that, but as Diamond Ambassador we were upgraded 2 or 3 categories from the basic points Partial Bay View room to Ocean View which was great for waking up and seeing which cruise ships had arrived overnight.
The Diamond Amenity of breakfast was given to all 4 of the family and while I doubt we’d have eaten there if not free it ‘saved’ us around $150 a day and it was good. Not sure if it was a mistake but the tips for breakfast were comped as were a bottle of wine and bowl of fruit I asked to be in the room on arrival.
The only negative was the pool was smallish and the area around it under construction, but at 150k points for 5 nights I was impressed.
@Michael – you can get a 2 month extension on Ambassador if that would be any help to you? But what about one of the Miami ICs (if a weekend stay)? I think the main one isn’t that far from the beaches and looks pretty decent. As Ambassador of course you should get a decent upgrade and the other perks and Diamond will give you both breakfast.
Can recommend the IC Miami. 15 minutes to South Beach (as well as Little Havana and Wynwood) in cheap and plentiful Ubers and right on the free metro line and bus routes.
Club Lounge was closed while we were there so can’t comment on that, but as Diamond Ambassador we were upgraded 2 or 3 categories from the basic points Partial Bay View room to Ocean View which was great for waking up and seeing which cruise ships had arrived overnight.
The Diamond Amenity of breakfast was given to all 4 of the family and while I doubt we’d have eaten there if not free it ‘saved’ us around $150 a day and it was good. Not sure if it was a mistake but the tips for breakfast were comped as were a bottle of wine and bowl of fruit I asked to be in the room on arrival.
The only negative was the pool was smallish and the area around it under construction, but at 150k points for 5 nights I was impressed.
Does sound good and I believe club will be open!
Going back to Hiltons, the Gabriel South Beach Curio is worth considering. Welcome cocktail, fresh and comfortable room, and I thought breakfast was great. I didn’t get as far as the pool.
I’ve stayed in both the IC miami and the Bentley a few times, most recently was 2022.
Bentley was crazy cash price when we were there, I think around $700 a night. Unknown to me, we were their during springbreak. That year it got totally crazy, so much they curfewed the whole ocean drive the night after we moved over to the IC miami.
It’s never a $700 a night hotel, we stayed 5 nights on points. Not that there is anything wrong with it, its a decent hilton in a decent part of town. It’s at the very start of Ocean drive, 25 min walk or so gets you down to the busy end. So it’s nice and quiet. Room is a good size, it has it’s own area of the beach with beach service. You get beach loungers and a sun umbrella included.
That most recent time it was a credit for breakfast, as I recall the credit was enough for the buffet, but not the tip. Bentley has a small pool, and a decent greek restaurant that serves the breakfast. The restaurant is owned and run separately, but charges to the room.
IC miami is over the causeway in Miami itself. It has a really good lobby area with a nice vibe. Rooms are showing their age. Exec lounge provides very decent offerings as I recall, we stayed on points and paid for lounge access. We may have been unlucky, but each time we stayed at the IC, the pool (which is outside on 4th floor I thing) was really incredibly breezy.
We were previously in Miami in 2018, and stay in the same 2 hotels, and I was struck by how much things had increased in price. I think drinks at the bar had nearly doubled in price in the 4 years. The entire bar and hotel staff were all new, virtually everyone was let go during covid.
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