Staying at this hotel for the 4th time. I first stayed back in 2010 and the experience was a little different. I consider myself bit of a south beach pro in terms of the amount of hotels I have experienced from 2 star to 5, and visited and seen many of the rooms in various hotels along Miami beach.
I first stayed in the catalina which is the main hotel for checking in etc but no longer the happy hour bar which i enjoyed a lot from 7-8, great for meeting people etc. I used to really like the bar staff but 3 years later they seemed to have changed for the worse, really unfriendly, arrogant and rude not sure what their problem is, mostly latin except for the boring Russian in the Dorset ? Why don't they have Friendly American staff, is it because the pay is low, this has happend in London.
The hotel is made up of 3, each next to each other but a little different in layout. Upon check in I requested a road facing room which they put me in the Dorset, definitely a better room than I had in the catalina, shower not that powerful but very comfy bed, big tv etc only niggle is no iPod dock which I think is a must these days. Roof top pool is nice but again crap staff. It seems this is the last priority for whoever runs the place these days. The maxine has a bigger ground floor pool, nice restaurant and a cool lounge for playing pool next to the bar.
It's my favourite hotel in south beach for many reasons, main one value, probably the best for the money you pay, a lot of hotels here are really good at ripping you off. It used to tick all my boxes but as I stated earlier the staff have really changed here, no longer friendly or engaging in any way, love to know the reason why this is the case. Also the location is very good.
The other thing which really bothered me is that you can't get a beach umbrella without paying 15 dollars up front which shouldn't be the case. Also there are 2 girls who stand in front of the restaurant menu who are great looking but so miserable and have as much charm as a snail.
Great value hotel but the staff really need sorting out !!!