Miami, Florida - Accommodations

Sleep

Miami is known for its boutique hotels (especially found in South Beach). Designers such as Ian Schrager (the Delano, Shore Club), André Balazs (Raleigh, Standard on Belle Isle) and Todd Oldham (the Hotel) helped put South Beach on the map with their creative hotel designs. The downside of many of the boutique hotels is that rooms can be small, particularly if the building was built during the height of the Art Deco period in Miami. If you value space, a boutique hotel may not be the type of hotel for you. If you don't need to stay in a boutique hotel (and value space), Miami has several upscale high-rise hotels north and south of South Beach, as well as near the downtown area. Miami does have its share of less costly chain hotels for those who value space and/or money.

The high season for hotels is around Nov to Apr because of the lower temperatures. However, Miami's lower temperatures, in comparison to the majority of the United States around this time, are still warm. High season is also marked by the advent of many Miami events, such as the Winter Music Conference and Spring Break. If you wish to reserve a room during Miami’s high season, especially at a boutique hotel and/or a hotel on South Beach, you should book months in advance.

Be aware that hotels have a 12.5% room tax and some hotels may add a 15% service charge which may or may not be added if you reserve a room through the hotel, through a travel agent/agency (either in person or using an online site such as or similar to Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity) or through an opaque (prices are given, but the name and location of the hotel is unknown) travel site such as Priceline or Hotwire.

Some hotels offer garage and/or valet parking; check with your hotel about parking before booking a room if you wish to drive around Miami.

Budget

• El Palacio Boutique Hotel, 16805 NW 12th Ave, +1 305 624-8401 (fax +1 305 625-0022), [1]. El Palacio Boutique Miami Resort features luxury amenities and services with a wide variety of options to satisfy our business travelers, sightseers and every guest of the Miami area who settles for nothing short of the very best!

• Jazz on South Beach Hostel in Miami, 321 Collins Ave, +1 305 672-2137 (fax +1 305 672-4227), http://www.jazzhostels.com/jazzsouthbeach_new.html. Formerly the Hotel Atlantica. Free breakfasts, 24 hour security, lounge with television, internet kiosks and wireless internet in the lobby, air conditioning, ATM. No curfew/lockout and 24 hour security and reception desk service. $19-$35 per night (dorm rooms), $70-$120 (private rooms).

• Travel Inn Civic Center, 1050 NW 14th St, +1 305 324-0200 (fax +1 305 545-8482 or +1 305 324-6222, email: dayscivic@aol.com), [2]. This Inn has 208 rooms. Restaurant and room service, pool and spa, salon, Enterprise car rentals, fitness center, massage center, gift shop, free parking, 24-hour security, shuttle service (call to use in advance). Rooms have cable TV, microwave, refrigerator, coffee makers, safes and dataports. $71 per night (regular rooms, not apartments).

• South Beach Hostel in Miami, 235 Washington Ave, +1 305 407-9731, [3]. Bar, internet, telephone cards, ATM, pool table, lockers, cable TV. Call to book a private room. $15-$20 per night (dorm rooms).

• Miami Beach International Travelers Hostel , 236 9th St, +1 305 534-0268 (toll-free +1 800 978-6787). This hostel has 100 rooms. Dorm rooms have four beds. Half of the non-dorm rooms are private. Kitchen, internet access (on a dated computer), video rental library. $13-$15 per room (dorm rooms), $32-$59 per night (regular rooms, low season), $49-$89 per night (regular rooms, high season).

• Tropics Hotel & Hostel, 1550 Collins Ave, +1 305 531-0361 (fax +1 305 531-8676), [4]. Dorm rooms have four to eight beds per room. Private rooms have TV and phone. Barbecue, pool. $27-39 per night (dorm rooms), $90-$180 per night (private rooms. Prices vary by the number of people in the room).

• The Loft Hotel, 952 Collins Ave, +1 305 534-2244 (fax + 1 305 538-1509, e-mail: thelofthotel@cs.com), [5]. This hotel has 57 rooms. Air conditioning, TV and VCR, clock radio and kitchens in rooms. $99 per night (starting price for room rates).

• Villa Paradiso, 1415 Collins Ave, +1 305 532-0616 (fax + 1 305 673-5874), [6]. This hotel has 56 rooms. Rooms have queen sized beds, double beds or couch-beds. Air conditioning, TV, kitchen, refrigerator, coffeemaker. $99 per night (starting price for room rates).

Mid-range

• Amerisuites Extended Stay Hotel Suites, 3655 NW 82nd Ave, +1 305 718-8292, [7]. AmeriSuites Miami Airport West is a leading select service hotel offering great rates, attractively designed accommodations, upscale amenities, and a welcoming atmosphere with all the comforts of home.

• Beacon Hotel 720 Ocean Dr, +1 305 674-8200 (toll-free +1 877 674-8200, fax +1 305 674-8976), [8]. Rooms are equipped with flat panel LCD TVs, cable television, IP-phones with voicemail and dataport features, in-room mini-bar, and wireless high speed Internet access. $140-$460.

• The Mutiny Hotel, 2951 South Bayshore Dr (located in Coconut Grove), + 1 305 441-2100 (toll-free +1 888 868-8469, fax +1 305 441-2822), [9]. The hotel’s 12-story tower sits on Sailboat Bay. The hotel's 120, one and two-bedroom deluxe suites and penthouse suites all have bay or city views. $189-$279 per night.

• The Clay Hotel and Hostel, 1438 Washington Ave, +1 305 534-2988 (toll-free +1 800 379-2529, fax +1 305 673-0346), [10]. 120 rooms. Member of the International Youth Hostel Federation. Dorm rooms are single sex and have four to eight beds per room. Some rooms have balconies, TVs, phones and baths. Kitchen, laundry, TV, refrigerator,air conditioning. $74-$133 per night (off-season, hotel rooms), $150-$240 per night (winter, hotel rooms).
• Marriott Biscayne Bay, 1633 North Bayshore Dr, +1 305 374-3900, (fax +1 305 536-6411), [11]. Amenities include waterfront accommodations, onsite dining/catering, a heated pool and event space. $249-$349 per night.

• The Hotel, 801 Collins Ave, +1 305 531-2222 (toll-free +1 877 843-4683, fax +1 305 531-3222), [12]. Formerly the Tiffany Hotel (as implied by its spire on the top of the building), it was renovated by clothing and home decorating designer Todd Oldham. The Hotel has a blank façade on the outside but a multi-colored space on the inside. The 53 rooms are decorated with mirrors rather than artwork and have plenty of storage space around the room to compensate for room size. There is also a gem-cut swimming pool and lounge on the upper decks, room service, air conditioning, TV, stereo, and Wish, The Hotel’s French-Brazilian restaurant which also has a bar. $245-$285 (winter rates), $144-$245 (off-season rates).

• Pelican Hotel, 826 Ocean Dr, + 1 305 673-3373 (toll-free +1 800 7-PELICAN, fax +1 305 673-3235) [13]. Pelican Hotel claims it is a “toy-hotel” rather than a hotel because every one of its 30 rooms and suites is designed around a theme rather than the hotel itself being designed around a theme. Magnus Ehrland, a Swedish designer, created rooms like the “Psychedelic(ate) Girl,” “Jesus Christ Megastar” and the “Best Whorehouse” (which is said to be the most popular, and hardest to score, room in the hotel). Ehrland used his imagination and a lot of flea market goodies to design the rooms. The hotel also has a restaurant that serves breakfast well into the day, a bar, a concierge, laundry service, air conditioning, TV, refrigerator, hair dryer, iron, safe, and a stereo. $180-$440 per night (winter rates), $155-$310 per night (off-season rates).

• Holiday Inn Hotels of Miami, [14] – Holiday Inn Hotels offer free high-speed Internet access in all guestrooms, full-service restaurants and room service, sparkling pools, comfortable work space, and meeting rooms.

• Hyatt Summerfield Suites Miami Airport, [15] – Located in the Waterford Corporate Park, Hyatt Summerfield Suites offers free shuttle service to and from Miami International Airport. You'll enjoy easy access to the area's hottest spots like Coral Gables, South Beach, Miami Beach Convention Center, American Airlines Arena, downtown Miami and more.

• Ramada MIAMI, 7600 N. Kendall Dr, +1 305-595-6000, [16].

Splurge

• Grove Isle Hotel & Spa, Four Grove Isle Dr (located on a private island in Coconut Grove), +1 305 858-8300, email: reservations@groveisle.com, [17]. A 49 room luxury boutique hotel located on a private island off the coast. The hotel features a Tennis Center with 11 Har-Tru courts and one U.S. Open hard tennis court and SpaTerre, a 6,000 square foot spa, featuring a full service salon, seven treatment rooms, fitness room with ocean views, couples treatment rooms and an outdoor, oceanfront Watsu hot tub. Home to Baleen, the romantic, award-winning waterfront restaurant.

• The Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave (located in Coral Gables), +1 305 445-1926 (fax +1 305 913-3159 for general inquiries, toll-free 1 800 915-1926 for room reservations and fax +1 305 913-3158 for room reservations) [18] – This hotel is known for itss outdoor swimming pool and attached 18-hole golf course. $294-$354 per night (winter rates), $254-$319 pernight (off-season rates), specialty suites $394-$2,850 per night all year. $20 charge per additional person.

• Four Seasons Hotel Miami, 1435 Brickell Ave (in the Brickell business district), +1 305 358-3535 (fax 1 305 358-7758) [19]. Has a large pool deck at the seventh-floor lobby level with a view of Biscayne Bay. $250-$3500 per night.

• The Shore Club Hotel, 1901 Collins Ave, +1 305 695-3100 (fax +1 305 695-3299, United States reservations toll-free number +1 800 697-1791 international reservations number 00800 4969 1780), [20] – Hotel has the Beach House (a private villa), two pools, a spa, the Skybar, Nobu & Ago restaurant, penthouse suites and meeting facilities. $450-$1500 per night.

• Delano, 1685 Collins Avenue, +1 305 672-2000 (fax +1 305 532-0099, United States reservations toll-free number 1 800 697-1791, international reservations number 00800 4969 1780) [21]. Hotel has poolside bungalows, the Blue Door restaurant, the Blue Sea restaurant, the Rose Bar, the Agua Spa, penthouse suites and meeting facilities. Known in the past for Madonna hanging around the hotel, but nowadays you may find the likes of Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis in the hotel whenever she's in town. $650-$925 per night for a standard room, $1,050-$2,100 per night for a suite, $2,000-$3,000 per night for bungalow/two bedroom, $2,900-$3,800 per night for a penthouse (winter rates); $315-$795 per night standard room, $950-$2,000 per night for a suite, $1,500-$3,000 per night for a bungalow/two bedroom, $2,400-$3,000 per night for a penthouse (off-season rates). $25 per additional person, per room.

• The Setai, 2001 Collins Ave, +1 305 520-6000 (fax +1 305 520-6600) [22]. Contemporary Asian style hotel in a reconstructed Deco building. Managed by GHM hotels, operator of the high-end Chedi chain. Quite possibly one of the most expensive boutique hotels in Miami (let alone South Beach). $950-$9000+ per night (ask about their prices for their four bedroom penthouse).