My wife, my 18 year old daughter checked in to the Courtyard Marriott on 26 December for 9 superb nights. We stayed in one of the larger rooms with two queen beds (think they are bigger than that) and also a double sofa bed. The bathroom was always kept very clean by the staff, and there is a strangely placed little dressing area between the bathroom and the main room.

The tea and coffee, ironing stuff and free email were great. Surprisingly there are no in-room safes, but there are free safe deposit boxes at the front desk.

The whole staff are very friendly and very accommodating, especially Joe on the front desk, who turned a good holiday into a great one. The roof pool was never busy, there is also a sun deck on the roof with more than enough pool type furniture. For 200 degrees, the view is of the roofs of South Beach, but it is easy enough to orientate your sun-bed so that you can look at the Atlantic Ocean or the traffic on Washington Avenue – your call.

We never ate in the hotel, they only do breakfast anyway. There was nothing wrong with the food or the prices, but after flying 5500 miles for a Christmas break/ New Year we wanted to experience the outdoor life at every opportunity, especially for eating. Turn left out of the hotel and within 2 blocks (200 metres) you are at the West end of Lincoln Road with tens of restaurants and cafes and shops. Turn right out of the hotel and within 2 blocks (100 metres) you are at Espanola Way (6-10 bars and restaurants). Cross the busy street and head on to the parallel Collins, more bars and cafes. One more block and you are at the North end of Ocean Drive.

In other words, unless you want the sounds of the waves and the partying hoards until 5:30 in the morning, the location of this hotel is ideal. Yes there are homeless around, but in 10 days, they never approached anyone in our party whether we were together or the females were alone.

Some of the entertainment offered in a few of the neighbouring buildings may be a little risqué, but what do you expect in Miami Beach. Taxis are easy to get hold of; the buses are even easier and feel very safe, either travelling up and down the island or into Miami. Car parking costs seem expensive, so don’t rent a car until you need to.

I’ve stopped at two other hotels here in the last two years, but this is the one to which we will return.

Hotel way over priced for what was offered. The Hotel rooms are clean and large but the location is not on one of the nice streets of South Beach which is Collins or Ocean. It is located on Washington and is across the street from a strip club. Many bums and homeless people on the street and I didn't feel safe walking there at night.
The hotel Lobby is nothing special and smells a bit musty. The breakfast area was not inviting so we did not eat there.

Overall I did enjoy my stay but was shocked that they charge over $300 a night for that location and the way the hotel looks ! It is so not worth it. We were supposed to stay 6 nights but ended up staying only 2 and moving to a different hotel for the rest of the nights. We just felt like we were being ripped off!

We spent a night in Miami on our way to the Keys and wanted to get a taste of South Beach, so we spent one night at the Courtyard. Their location is great for experiencing all the South Beach restaurants, shops etc., but without having to sleep in the midst of all the late night noise. It's a short walk to the beach. The rooftop pool is very nice. The breakfast buffet was fairly good, but there are other more interesting choices close by for the same money. The only parking is valet, $20/day if I remember right. However, there are also 2 public garages a half block away, which we used. I would stay here again.

My wife and I stayed here pre-cruise for one night, and wished we could stay longer! The staff were very helpful with everything we needed, including arranging a taxi to the pier for us. The room was on the small side, but completely adequate and very clean. Also, the hotel is within walking distance of everything you'd want to visit in South beach, including the beach itself, and the pedestrian mall. Breakfast was great also!