Okay guys, I've been assigned to the task of booking a hotel in South Beach. I'm having trouble with picking a hotel on sites like Expedia and Hotels.com. We don't want to spend a lot of money on a hotel where we would just sleep and shower BUT we don't want to be sleeping with roaches! Any tips from you that have been to Miami, especially South Beach, would be appreciated! Thanks, guys!
How much are you looking to spend? Rates seem to be starting at around $75. If I were y'all, I'd definitely stay on South Beach. You can get a nice enough place for $140/night and up. The Clevelander is apparently doing some reconstruction, so you may just want to try South Beach Hotel. http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll/qscr=dspv/htid=879627
I've been to Miami only once but it was a very pleasant trip. Colony: Nice hotel on the beach with good view and decent accommodations. Nothing luxurious or 5 star so you won't empty your wallet, it is moderately priced and I like the art deco rooms.
Cheap as possible, I'd say around $100-120. I just don't know if I should take a chance with those boutique hotels instead of the brand hotels. I never had any experience with those type of hotels. We are going at the end of the month so South Beach Hotel is unavailable for that weekend. We are definitely staying in South Beach so we won't have to worry about transportation.
http://www.travelaxe.com/Information_Overview.asp I went to Vegas during Spring Break and this was a life saver. It basically uses all of the major sites (hotels.com, orbitz, etc...) and puts them in a graph with ratings and pricing for the given days stayed and whatnot.
South Beach is one of the few places where I'd definitely recommend a local hotel rather than a chain. Kind of a "When in Rome" thing.
i stayed at a dirt cheap place on south beach, the room was tiny, but the location was great. i found it on one of those tourists coupon books, you know "WELCOME TO FLORIDA" things you get at the truck stop.
I've done the expeida thing with crappy results...Then tried the hotels.com thing with good results... We stayed at the The Palms South Beach at it was nice...not sure when you're going, but may be in your price range...
I just left Miami Sunday (stayed 3 days) and am now in the Bahamas (3days) ....I stayed in a fairly cheap place but was an awesome one....here with the wife and had a blast in SB...email if you like and I will send details...mgtx1@yahoo.com. Ill post pics when I can...Miami over the Bahamas...just my opinion.
I run a bed and breakfast just off South Beach. And when I say 'just off', I mean 30-45 minutes away. Also, the bed and breakfast is more like my house and some pop tarts in the morning. Unfortunately, there's only 1 bed available, and I'll be using half of it. Seriously though, the boutique hotels are probably your best bet. I haven't stayed in any, but I've had friends try them out and they didn't have any complaints. I'm guessing most right on the beach aren't the 'roach motel' type.
if you have the cash, stay at the Delano. We hung out there when the VMA's were in town. Place is impressive.