accomodation in Miami
 

We are planning a trip to Miami in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions for a affordable (75-100 USD), clean and safe hotel in Miami. We will be visiting downtown Miami, the harbour and ofcourse south beach.

Also any suggestions for a family friendly cuban cusine restaurent?

Thanks!

You won't have much luck finding a hotel in Miami for that price if you're planning on going soon, as this is high season & even cheap hotels are over $125. You can try Priceline, I managed to get the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables for $48, but I'm going in late April.

You might be able to get that price range if you are willing to stay downtown or by the airport. One that may be good to check is the Summerfield Suites. Most hotels in South Beach are art deco & contain smaller than normal rooms. If you're going to have a car, I would suggest checking out Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, both nice areas and the Venetian Pool is there.

As for cuban restaurants, there is no shortage of these, the only one I went to was Puerto Sagua which was authentic and cheap, on 7th and Collins. There should be better suggestions on this board.

Since you are going with family, I would recommend Crandon Park Beach in Key Biscayne over Miami Beach, personally. The water was calm, shallow (you had to go pretty far out just to be waist deep) and the best part..no seaweed!! They also had these bicycles made for 2,3 or 4 people that you can rent for $10 an hour.

Try doing a search on here for "Miami" and you will see a lot of threads on hotels, things to do and the like.

we liked the Amerisuites Blue Lagoon- on a lake, request lakeside room w/view. heated pool (really, it's heated), 2beds, pullout sofa in living area, small kitchen w/microwave, fridge, sink, free airport transportation, 10 min to beaches. built in 2003. got $64 rate (AAA)a few months ago. Agree w/other posters on airport hotels- check those. crowne plaza at airport has good rates sometimes

I second Amerisuites as an affordable alternative to the larger hotels. That's where I stay when on business in MIA and having a small kitchnette, as well as the extra space, is a plus.

thanks for the input. Made reservations with the Clay IYH. It may be a bit noisy, but the location seems to be great. Keeping my fingers crossed!

The Clay Hostel is at the corner of Washington and Española Way, which is indeed a very busy intersection in South Beach. Lots of restaurants and nightclubs around it, but it's a youth hostel: bare-bones amenities, and you may be sharing a bathroom. Saying it might be a bit noisy is a severe understatement-- you should expect rowdiness. It wouldn't be my choice, however.

The problem is: You're so close to your travel date, in the middle of the High Season for Miami hotels, that you won't get much of a deal anywhere, as missjanna notes correctly. And $75-100 is pretty unrealistic for any desirable vacation destination, to be perfectly blunt.

Second vote for Puerto Sagua-- great Cuban joint, but note: no atmosphere. It's a diner, pure and simple. For more atmosphere (but it's more expensive), there's Lario's on the Beach. And if you're willing to go into Little Havana, Versailles is the classic choice on Calle Ocho.

Well, I survived Hotel Clay. As some of you have said before, its not for everyone. On Fridays and Saturdays, you can hear the music beats from the restaurent downstairs. Weekdays the place was nice and quite.

The room was resonably clean and the hotel staff was very helpful.

The location is unbeatable, and for those who have a sense of adventure, this place is a great deal. I would go here again.

Is anyone familiar with Best Western South Beach- part of Taft and a few others?

I'm familiar with the BW South Beach. It's on a very busy block of Washington, two blocks from the beach. It consists of four separate properties, three from the Deco era; the complex has a small pool, practically to sidewalk's edge. I haven't stayed there, but have walked by many times on the way to my bank (there's a Bank of America branch a block away). Frankly, the place was looking pretty run-down. Guest reviews on travelocity and tripadvisor haven't been too positive either, I've noticed.

There are better properties in that price range, I'm sure. When are you thinking of going, and what's your max rate?

Ran into some girls who were staying there on my last trip to Miami, and told me that the hotwl was "ghetto". When I asked them to elaborate, they said it was dirty, walls were thin, and the staff wasn't very friendly.

Depending on your price range and time of travel, I would say check tripadvisor.com for reviews first. The Holiday Inn is okay and around the same price with free parking if you can get it. You can also try Priceline.