South Beach regulars: Cool hotel I found...
 

Hey there SoBe frequenters...

I just got back from 10 days in South Beach. Loved it. Great time to go. Sure, it's a little humid, but the crowds aren't too big and the price is right...

Just a tip for you: My husband and I checked out the St. Augustine hotel at 347 Washington Ave. It was FANTASTIC.

Very small, cute, clean. And the rooms were incredibly designed!! We didn't stay there, but on the next trip, we just might. All marble bathroom, clean carpets (in SoBe, that can be challenge), and overall just nice clean, fresh design.

Just a tip, for your next trip!


-Darvy

Hey, Darvy, did you take that long train trip you've planned?

Faina, although your questoin is "off topic", I'll asnwer it anyway.

We haven't taken our European Trip yet. But we can't wait. We've planned it for Winter '03. Stay tuned for the details. The nitty, gritty, details. We're talking hygeine and all.

-Darvy, the travel gal

Darvy.......
Where's the bio?We've been waiting......

BeachBoi, what are you talking about? Bio? Huh?

I posted a small bio when this site started the dreaded "registration" process. Didn't you catch that? Oh it was a doozy.

What, praytell, would you like to know?

-Darvy, the travel gal.

Hiya Darvy! I'm still curious: Where did you end up staying in South Beach? The Delano? The National? Shore Club? Do tell...! :)

Darvy.....it's the message probly aroun #55-60,the one titeld"ATTN Big_Daddy,etcetc.." Gotta sine in,OGO.
S

rjw_lgb_ca: Thanks for asking! You're always such a dear.

We checked in at "The Hotel" (also known as "The Hotel of South Beach")...BIG MISTAKE. BIG BIG BIG MISTAKE.

Lobby was great. Our room was clean. Small, but that wasn't a problem. Fun design. Fun bathroom. Cute!

Problem was: the noise from the neighboring room. We could hear them having a plain, quiet conversation. They could hear us. Then the HVAC system made this abrupt noise every 5 minutes.

We thought the pool, which is touted by many to be one of the best in Miami, would be the saving grace. WRONG.

The pool, being over the 24/7 News Cafe, spews garlic infused grill smoke over the pool area. The air smells like garlic curly fries. After swimming, YOU smell like garlic curly fries. The pool deck was dirty and needed a mopping.

Since the pool is a major part of our vacation, we checked out the next day and went to the NATIONAL. LOVED IT.

-Darvy, the travel gal

Sorry to hear about The Hotel. Did you get dinner in at Wish? That's on my list for my July visit (with my new Main Squeeze!). The noise thing is not uncommon with those li'l Deco hotels. You know I'm a freak for the Cardozo, and goodness knows I heard way too many mid-morning conversations in the next room when I was still sleeping off a hangover....!!

Also good to hear about the National. Nice rooms? Any sightings of Rich and/or Famous...?

Testing...testing...Fodor's isn't letting me post...trying to test...

Yes! Mike Tyson was staying at the National the same time we were. He was there with a tall gal. Rumor has it Don King was there too - although we didn't see him. And apparently those two split up a few years ago, so that didn't make a lot of sense to us.

A waiter told us that someone else checked in as "George Washington." Apparently this is a sign that there was some other celebrity there, but we didn't see anyone that we could recognize.

The rooms are fab at The National! But I will warn you: You absolutely MUST shop around the hotel for a good room. Ask to see the room BEFORE you move your luggage in. This is critical because some of the rooms, particularly ocean front rooms, are very worn. Yes, they're old vintage style rooms, but they've also seen some traffic in recent years.

So, it pays to shop around and ask to see other rooms if your initial one isn't up to snuff.

The Fodors review of The National is a little outdated. It says the poolside rooms are "generic Holiday Inn" but that's an outdated comment. The poolside rooms were the most recently renovated. We looked at one, and it was very nice. Would probably try to stay in one of those the next time we go.

We ended up in a city view room, which, while noisy from the street (big deal, you're in Miami!), it was a much better value. Not as worn down. The bathroom was recently renovated, and much cleaner than some of the ocean view rooms we saw. Try to get a corner room at no extra charge. They seemed to be better insulated from neighboring room noise. They're also bigger and have windows on both sides.

WARNING: The front desk is snobby and cold. Just be firm and ask to see another room no matter how many tries it takes.

And remember that at The National, you've got two pools, a poolside bar, palm trees with hammocks, and the beach at your disposal. Now that's my kind of hotel. (The pools are open 24/7 - NOW THAT'S MY KIND OF HOTEL!)

Sounds fantastic, Darvy! It hit just about everything you were looking for. Congrats!

Did you do the walk-through of any other properties besides the St. Augustine? I imagine you must have. They go from mild to wild, don't they?

You said it, rjw! (Can I call you rjw?)

Some faves at the top of my list:

* St. Augustine
* Winterhaven
* Lowe's (if you want a mainstream experience)
* The Tides (if you can afford it!)
* The Impala

I'm just itching to see how The Ritz turns out!!!!!!!

-Darvy

Darvy, rjw is just fine with me. And I'm with you-- can't wait to see the "new" hotels in the District (the Victor, the Ritz-Carlton)! And I'm looking forward to sipping a mojito in my treasured li'l Cardozo Hotel bar in a scant five weeks!! Whoo-HOO!