I have always wondered why a thread isn't made yearly but maybe we can start this thread. I am going to rent on the 17th of april on the beach and just wanted to get an idea how your experiences were. I see the Penguin, Clay, Astor and Whitelaw as possible options. What most interests me is 1. The room 2. Resort fees/hidden fees 3. Valet parking 4. Breakfast 5. your overall impression.

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Originally posted by lost in forests I have always wondered why a thread isn't made yearly but maybe we can start this thread. I am going to rent on the 17th of april on the beach and just wanted to get an idea how your experiences were. I see the Penguin, Clay, Astor and Whitelaw as possible options. What most interests me is 1. The room 2. Resort fees/hidden fees 3. Valet parking 4. Breakfast 5. your overall impression.

ok, the Clay is a pit, its tolerable during WMC b/c of two factors--price and location. And the fact you won't be spending nearly as much time in your room during WMC than other times you travel to Miami.
Its on my DO NOT RECOMMEND list as far as regular trips.

Don't know anything about Penguin or Astor, but Whitelaw is an overrated boutique hotel. If you want a boutique hotel at a good price with great location I highly recommend THE DELORES. I've stayed there 4 times, 2 for WMC, 2 for just random fun trips to Miami. I've converted several friends to this place as well. Its clean, relatively quiet, close to everything and priced right.
Have no clue on their valet parking services and theres no breakfast, but why worry about hotel breakfast when you're on south beach!? you have limitless options for awesome breakfast 10x better than the crap at a hotel.

My favorite hotel, which does offer parking (around $20-30 off peak travel times) is the Courtyard by Marriott on south beach (washington ave) Its incredibly nice, clean, service is great, and prices are great during off-peak travel times (maybe $150-200 a night tops)
You'll be close to everything and have the Marriott name behind you to feel safe and comfortable (no worries about someone digging through your stuff when you're out of the room unlike A LOT of boutique hotels).

I would also stay at the Doubletree (surfcomber) and Loews for oceanfront hotels off-peak (non-WMC) to get the more luxury SoBe feel.

Hope that helps, SoBe is like my second home at this point...

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stayed @ the tides this @ 12th + ocean year and I LOOOOOOOOVED IT!!! seriously one of my fav places I have stayed at anywhere.

- very good attentive and helpful service from the staff.

- perfect location ... it's right in the middle of everything and yet quiet enough to get some rest / relaxation.

- the nice little pool behind the hotel in addition to their beach area with chairs / towels for hotel guests was nice too.

- rooms are pretty big especially for a sobe hotel (something like 550 sq ft). and in terms of aesthetics / decor they are done up really nicely ...

i would def recommend it to anyone ... we booked it based on the reviews on tripadvisor ... most of the reviews were so positive I was actually a little skeptical about staying there for some reason but it really is a great spot to stay at.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/HACSearc...ntion_centers:S

there was a thread made last yr. got a decent response...
http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...threadid=517908

quote:

Originally posted by lost in forests I have always wondered why a thread isn't made yearly but maybe we can start this thread. I am going to rent on the 17th of april on the beach and just wanted to get an idea how your experiences were. I see the Penguin, Clay, Astor and Whitelaw as possible options. What most interests me is 1. The room 2. Resort fees/hidden fees 3. Valet parking 4. Breakfast 5. your overall impression.

Not to toot my own horn but i started one last year too, good stuff came out of it.

well might as well throw in my 2 cents - we stayed at The Continental South Beach this year (despite all the awful reviews) and it was great. No problems whatsoever. The room was clean, it didn't smell, everything was great. We were on the top floor, so maybe that floor gets used less?

continental downtown miami

$120/night + $20/night parking

room was good enough, cheap, $10 cab ride from the downtown clubs

would reccomend

i stayed at the chesterfield / lily leon. decent at best. in my opinion south beach is run down from south of 17th street (this hotel is on 12th & collins). Eden Rock was beautiful, a bit north but i'll be staying up that way next year. I paid $300 a night at chesterfield for a 2 bed. Hotel outside and lounge is crap, rooms are actually pretty decent but VERY VERY small.

Stay at a private condo. They're almost always less expensive than hotels and some of them come with free parking. You won't be able to have breakfast served to you, but you can cook your own in your private kitchen. It's a much more relaxing way to stay during WMC. If you book early enough, you can get nice places in great locations for less than $1000 for a week. The condo I rented this year was @ 5th and Ocean with an amazing view of the beach/ocean and Ocean Drive. It was a decent sized studio with a functional kitchen, a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, a 32" lcd tv, a computer with interwebs access, and a balcony. 6 nights for $600 out the door. Parking spot included.

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quote:

Originally posted by Brian Scott Stay at a private condo. They're almost always less expensive than hotels and some of them come with free parking. You won't be able to have breakfast served to you, but you can cook your own in your private kitchen. It's a much more relaxing way to stay during WMC. If you book early enough, you can get nice places in great locations for less than $1000 for a week. The condo I rented this year was @ 5th and Ocean with an amazing view of the beach/ocean and Ocean Drive. It was a decent sized studio with a functional kitchen, a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, a 32" lcd tv, a computer with interwebs access, and a balcony. 6 nights for $600 out the door. Parking spot included.

yea you really found a sweet deal for a sweet place. thats a diamond in the rough for south beach!

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there comes a time when the operation of the machine is so odious that you cannot even tacitly participate. you've got to place your bodies on the gears, the wheels, all the mechanism. you've got to indicate to those who own it and those who run it, that unless you are free, the machine will be prevented from working at all.

Condo route is totally the way to go. Thanks to my amazing friend, we stayed at Lincoln & Pennsylavania. Lincoln was pretty much at our doorstep. This made the trip soooo much better and there is no way I can stay somewhere different when I come back from now on. Having your own kitchen, living room and party pad makes the trip that much better.

1st year stayed at a condo/studio. It was whatever.

2nd year - Eden Roc. Nice/clean spot, only con is it is 44th and Collins.

This year - South Beach Marriott w/ Ocean View. Actually got really lucky! I originally booked Eden Roc again, WMC bought out the Eden Roc, so they moved me to SoBe Marriott for same rate. Ocean & 2nd, near Nikki Beach. No complaints at all!

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