Need Help With South Beach Hotel
 

Hi All,

I have been trying to find a low priced hotel that is decent in the South Beach Area. I found the Miami South Beach Days Inn which is at 100 East 21st Street at Collins Avenue and 21st. The website says it's an oceanfront hotel with a pool and that it's a 10 minute walk to the Entertainment District and Nightlife as well as a 5 minute walk from the shopping at Lincoln Road. I have also looked at The Seville Beach Hotel (2901 Collins Ave) and The Radisson Deauville Resort (6701 Collins Ave)both sound close to nightlife, shopping, etc.

I was just wondering if anyone has ever stayed at any of these hotels? Are they decent? We don't need anything fancy just clean and well located as we would prefer to not have to rent a car while we are there. Is the location good?

Any help would be appreciated. Also, we are planning to be in SoBe and the Keys in mid May. What will the temps be like?

Thanks so much for the help!

Heidi

I have not stayed at any of these hotels, but I can comment on their location. The only property that could be considered "in" South Beach is the Days Inn. It's well north of the Action, but you can walk to Lincoln Road, and the best nightclubs and restaurants are a walk or cab ride away. It's not a luxury hotel by any means-- guest comments on the travel websites make it sound clean but worn-out and shabby-- and I wouldn't stay there (I prefer being right in the Action) myself. But if you're on a tight budget, May is the end of High Season in South Beach (at least at the better hotels), so it may be cheap.

The Seville and the Deauville are both out of South Beach. Of the two, I'd pick the Deauville, if I had no other choice. You will be taking cabs or buses to South Beach to do anything fun-- there's basically nothing in the way of nightlife or good restaurants in the immediate vicinity of either place.

I can think of two better budget choices right in the heart of South Beach: the Winterhaven and the Avalon Majestic. The Winterhaven is the better of the two, but the Avalon is just fine and usually really cheap. What's the max you want to spend per night?

I totally concur on the Winterhaven. It's very stylistic - the art deco architecture is very quintessential "SoBe." Also, it's in a great location.

hklukas, one thing to really keep in mind: The hotels in SoBe are very much like the hotels in NYC. For the most part, the standards are lower and the prices are higher. One might be so bold as to say that a 5 star hotel in Miami is the equivelant of a 3 star hotel in San Francisco. I chalk that up to everybody wanting to be in that small small area of SoBe.

But, buck that system by staying at a good small hotel like Winterhaven or Avalon.

Oh, I also forgot: check out the St. Augustine hotel at 347 Washington Ave.

Thanks for the great info! So are the Winterhaven and The Avalon both right in the action, that sounds like what we are looking for. Are either one of them on the beach or do they have a pool? If we stay at one of those can we get around fo 3-4 days witout a car? We just want to hang at the beach, shop, people watch, and go out at night.

If you have any suggestions on fun places to go at night I am all ears for that too. My husband and I are mid 30's and like to go out. Not huge dancers but like to be where the action is.

Thanks again and look forward to your replies! :-)

Heidi

The Winterhaven and Avalon Majestic are across the street from the beach on Ocean Drive. Since your goal is not "tour every square inch of southern Florida", you should be fine without a car. In fact, I try to avoid taking a car into South Beach (valet parking at the hotels is pretty expensive).

The club scene in South Beach seems to change from month to month. However, Nikki Beach Club is always a classy, popular place. Drinks at the Delano are always a good thing. The new Opium Garden has good buzz. I know a great website you can use to gauge the whole Scene and find the club(s) you want to visit:

www.southbeach-usa.com

Have fun choosing!!

Thanks so much, I will check out that website and see what's there. As far as temps go, what's it like Mid May?

Heidi

I went to Miami towards the end of April last year, so I can only assume the weather won't be much different in mid May. It was in the 80's and very balmy during that time, occasionally going into the 90's.

You could also look into the Wave Hotel, and the Bentley Suites. Both are on the beach or across the street. I stayed in the Blue Moon which I found to be a wonderful boutique hotel, however it's one block away from the beach.

Bear in mind that most of the hotels in South Beach have relatively small rooms.

Here's a link for Miami nightlife:
http://www.timeout.com/miami/index.html

Weather in South Florida mid May will be very hot, very humid, chance of afternoon thunderstorms daily.

rjw and Darvy have given you good advice and the only thing I can add to it would be the Fairwind. Mid May is going into off season so if you hold out, you should find great rates on otherwise expensive hotels. Book a cancelable backup and watch the rates.

Fun places to have a drink; Nikki Beach, Sky Bar at The Shore Club, The Clevelander Hotel (huge outdoor meca), BED (bottle service only on the beds), and Delano both inside and the outdoor pool bar.

Be very careful where you sit in clubs and bars. Some seats are bottle service only with a two drink minimum. This means you must buy a minimum of two bottles of booze and they start at about $250 and go up. If you are out to party hard with a bunch of friends, you can easily spend $$$$$.

The hip restaurants are also very expensive. Think Midtown Manhattan prices. You can easily spend $100+ per person for dinner.

Is that true about the two drink minimum meaning two bottles? Does that mean per person or can a group of four or six get two bottles?

Sorry if I was misleading. It is per table and not per person. Also, if you want to stand or not hang out in the VIP/table service area, the drink/bottle minimums do not apply.

I found a couple more hotel that have pools that I would love to have some input on before I make my final decision. How about The Dorchester Hotel & Suites, The Marseilles Hotel, The Riande Continental South Beach, or the Essex House Hotel? Good? bad? Location?

Thanks again so much for all of the great advice and input!

Heidi