bamakelly

My husband has a conference in March at the Fountainbleau Hotel. We both plan to attend so I can do some shopping and sun-soaking while he is in conference sessions. The conference is based in the Fountainebleau. For various reasons, we'd rather not stay at the same hotel as the conference. Any suggestions for places close by? We want to stay somewhere nice, maybe a step down from the Fountianebleau, for a comparable price or just a little less.

Any thoughts about issues this will raise as far as parking, etc? Not sure yet if we will rent a car.

And which airport is best to fly into? Ft Lauderdale or Miami?

Thanks in advance for your help.

GoTravel

The Eden Roc is next door and the Wyndham is a couple of doors down.

Both are comparable hotels to the Fountainbleu.

I like the South Beach area much better. The beach is wider and a little nicer.

The Fountainbleu is in Mid Beach about 20 blocks north of South Beach.

LilMsFoodie

Eden Roc is a smaller but very nice neighbor. I wrote this review last February:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34477838

bamakelly

Thanks so much! I do wish we could stay in South Beach, where it's more fun. We considered staying in one of the places on South Beach that we liked before, but we do want to be close to the convention (without being right there in the middle of it).

Thanks for the tip about Eden Roc. Anyone know anything about the Sovereign, the Sheraton, or the Courtyard hotels nearby? I've checked tripadvisor, but I'd like more input, espeically about how far these are from the Fountainebleau.

Also, any advice about airport, rental car, etc?

Patrick

While the Miami airport is closer, I'd consider flying into Ft. Lauderdale where you'll get your luggage in half the time, a rental car in one third the time, and probably end up at your hotel just about the same time!
The last time on arrival into Miami we taxied around the airport for over 45 minutes and still waited off the gates for another half hour. The pilot was having a hard time getting us a gate assigned -- so there we rode and sat. Then it was well over an hour to get our luggage. Next we waited over 30 minutes for the car rental shuttle -- which is supposed to be every 5 minutes but it got stranded in traffic. The Miami airport is a zoo.

What car rental? You just have to play the pricing game, but lately here in Florida I've had the best luck with Dollar or National. Unless your company has a super deal with Avis or Hertz or someone.

tcapp

Eden Roc looked nice and so you may want to stay there. I do have a piece of advice, though. Last year, my husband had a conference that was based at the Fountainbleau. We weren't sure if we wanted to stay there or not.
Finally, after the advice of a friend, we decided to stay there. We are so glad we did. It was a fabulous hotel, very beautiful and the views were georgous. I would go back again in a minute.

bamakelly

Thanks, Patrick, that's exactly what I was looking for as far as airport advice. My husband has NO tolerance for slow and hectic airports if we have another option.

As far as car rentals, if we take the shuttle to the hotel, do you think we even need a rental car? I'm thinking that most of the time we will be either at the conference, shopping (probably at Lincoln nearby) or on the beach. Are these hotels close enough together that we could walk from our hotel to the other pretty easily? I know what it's like in South Beach--this would be easy there, but I have never been this far north on the beach in Miami.

Also, anyone have any advice about other hotels in the area? I looked at Eden Roc and it looks fabulous, but my husband says if we are going to pay MORE for a roomt here than Fountainebleau (prices were about $20 more per night), we might as well stay at FB. We'd like to stay somewhere nice, maybe just a step down from FB, and maybe even save a little money if possible.

We have 2 objectives here: (1) getting a little privacy from the conference, while still being close enough for convenience, and (2) trying to shave a little off our total cost of the trip, if possible.

Thanks for the tips so far!

bamakelly

Thanks, Tcapp....maybe we should re-think this and just stay at the FB? Any thoughts from anyone else?

Patrick

Maybe I'm off base here, but I've stayed at the Fountainbleau and I think you're a little mixed up. It's huge and it's famous, but I thought it was a glorified dump. It may not be all you seem to think it is. My favorite is that's where the tray of room service food outside the door next to us was still there two days later when we left. We couldn't close our draperies because the rod was broken and they were falling off the rusty pins. It's too big and disorganized for spectacular service. I would suspect Eden Roc is worth way more than Fountainbleau.

It's a pretty long walk to Lincoln Road as I recall. And a shuttle from Ft. Lauderdale to South Beach round trip will probably cost you as much or more than four or five days rental car. I'd get the car myself.

bamakelly

Good info, Patrick, thanks. The reviews on tripadvisor are mainly good for FB but the negative ones are REALLY negative...like yours. Then, when I hear someone tell me I'll regret it, I DO get mixed up! I guess we have to take all of it into consideration.

Eden Roc looks fabulous but is still more expensive than FB...and one of our objectives is to shave a little off the cost if at all possible, while still staying in a nice place. We'll be there 5 nights at least, so it really does make a difference if it's even a little bit less per night. Of course, I know you get what you pay for, but in the case of the FB it sounds like you can pay a lot and not get very much!

Do you know anything about other surrounding hotels--the Four Points Sheraton, Courtyard Oceanfront, etc? these are $35-50 less per night and still look like good options. Not sure about the distance though. Addresses look close, but once we get there would it be hard to walk to the FB from any of these?

cdfev

I stayed at the Sheraton Four Points Miami Beach in Nov 2004. This is a hotel that is older, has a Greek theme (kinda out of place) and the rooms have a musty smell to them. The elevators are teeny and take forever. The hotel is right on the beach and the pool area is nice. There is no free parking in the area and the valet rates are around $18 per day. If you can get this hotel for less than $100, it is probably a good choice. Taking the bus to South Beach is easy and runs only $1.25 each way; I'd take a shuttle from the airport if there was only one person and take a cab if there was 2 or more.

Patrick

There's a great recommendation. I've been looking for a hotel with musty smelling rooms and tiny elevators that take forever. Geez.

GoTravel

The Fountainbleu is on a very very busy section of Collins Avenue and you really cannot walk anywhere. Not only is it too far but traffic is so heavy in that area, you would be taking your life in your hands. If you stay in Mid Beach you will have to rent a car.

The Four Points is a dump and I don't know about the Courtyard.

I don't know about the airport shuttles. For what it is worth, we've never had a problem getting a cab from MIA to the beach. We do fly into FLL when we go to Palm Beach and have never had a problem either.

The bottom line is the Fountainbleu is a very large convention hotel and you can find privacy from the conference.

If you stay in Mid Beach, a car is a necessity.

The area has too much car traffic and is too removed to make walking an option.

If you walk from one hotel to the next you must enter through the front and not the beach entrance. They will not let you in.

If you don't want to rent a car, stay in South Beach and have your husband take a cab to the Fountainbleu daily. Parking at those hotels will be around $20 per day in addition to the rental car fee.

bamakelly

Very, very helpful info. This is exactly what I needed. Thank you!

padams421

Husband goes to an annual conference in Jan. at Fountainbleau and complains every year that it is a total dump. He only stays there because he likes to be able to go back to his room between conference sessions to make business calls. Also, he gets to run into many people in his industry that he wouldn't see if he were staying elsewhere. It is a huge convention hotel. I am not that familiar with Miami hotels so I can't make any recommendations other than avoid the Fountainbleau if you can.

bamakelly

Hmmm...more confused now than ever.

Am I to assume that Eden Roc is the ONLY option, or are there other decent places to stay in Miami Beach (not South Beach)? Given the negatives on FB, not sure I want to consider that afterall...

Any suggestions that add clarity?

GoTravel

The Wyndham, a couple of doors down is an option.

Patrick

I'd check out Loews. Not sure what specials might be available. But it is at the north end of South Beach, giving you easy walking access to all the pleasures of South Beach, and yet as suggested above, you can easily take a taxi up to the FB for the conference. You wouldn't need a car at all that way. To me that makes more sense than staying near the FB and having to take taxis everywhere else. I guess the more I read all this I don't see why you would want to stay near the FB. That just seems so silly to me.
I might withdraw my original statement about flying into Lauderdale if you didn't want a car. Miami would enable you to take a shuttle or taxi to and from the hotel on the beach much easier.

mclaurie

I know nothing about it but the Sovereign seems to be in the same strip.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...h_Florida.html
I agree with Patrick on using Fll airport, Miami is a nightmare. I agree with GoTravel that if you stay in this stretch you absolutely positively need a car.

But I'd ask the question, if you're going for the convention and need to be networking, what's the point of staying elsewhere? And if you're gonna stay elsewhere, why not stay in a nicer area elsewhere??? I'd either go for Bal Harbour where you could go to the shops while hubby is conventioning or South Beach. That's my 2 cents.

mclaurie

I didn't read Patrick's last post before I posted. But I think he and I came more or less to the same conclusion. Although I'd still avoid Miami airport.