This is a rather nice hotel that appears brand new. We stayed here for two nights prior to taking a cruise from Port of Miami and for one night after our cruise ended.
Upon arriving in Miami, we took their shuttle from the terminal to the hotel. The shuttles runs every half an hour on the hour. When you get outside, it’s best to call the hotel to figure out when the next one will come along. There are tons of airport hotels in Miami, and more than one Best Western, so keep a sharp eye out for the van.
When we arrived at the hotel, we were checked in very quickly. The lobby area is a bit small and it doesn’t take much for it to get full. The check-in staff was very polite and professional as were all of the staff members that we encountered.
Our room was outstanding. It was brand new! The room was spotless and the beds very comfortable. The flat screen television was a nice touch. The room was a nice size and the bathroom large and very clean. The rooms have climate control and it cooled down or warmed up pretty quickly.
The hotel has done away with its complimentary breakfast. However, if you had booked your room when it was still offered, as we did, you still got it. If not, you’ll have to pay for it.
The breakfast was buffet style and served in the lobby restaurant with excellent omelets made to order. There was also bacon and sausage as well as danish, breads and cereals. Service was decent but sometimes it took servers a little while to refill coffee cups or to return with requested items. They seemed to be a bit understaffed but they did their best.
The restaurant also had a bar and was open for lunch and dinner. It seemed to be doing a rather good business.
The hotel is in a very Latino part of the city and is perfectly safe. There are not a whole lot of restaurants but there was a 24 hour IHOP a few blocks away. A quick taxi ride can take you to many good places to eat. The front desk had many good recommendations.
We used the workout room but the weather was a bit cold for us to use the pool. The pool is of decent size and is almost out on the street! However, it is surrounded by shrubs and bushes that conceal it from view. It was clean and it’s too bad that the water was too cold for swimming.
One of the two elevators here broke down on the second night. This caused issues as it took a lot longer for guests to get up and down. The situation was even more complicated in the morning as it was still broken. It was a cruise ship sailing day and guests were having a hard time getting an elevator with all of their luggage to the lobby. We noticed this and got there early.
If you are going on a cruise, the hotel can arrange transportation to the port for $10 a person. That was a good deal. You can also make arrangements to be taken back to the hotel if you are staying there after your cruise as we did. It was quite busy on sailing day but the people in charge of the vans and buses knew what they were doing and it everything well organized.
If you are taking their shuttle to the airport after checking out, give yourself extra time to get to the airport. We arrived for the 5:00 a.m. shuttle with 15 minutes to spare to find it already full. There were other people in the same predicament who also had early flights. The staff on duty called taxis but given the time of the day, it was not easy to get many. Luckily, the shuttle van returned quickly and we were able to get to the airport in time. We saw a bus that the hotel owns in the parking lot but for some reason it wasn’t being used for the airport trips and seemed to be reserved for the port shuttles. The driver was a bit miffed about that himself.
Overall, a nice stay prior and after our cruise. Recommended. My compliments to the hotel on honoring the free breakfast offer that existed when we made our reservations.
