First, of all my friend and I wanted to experience Miami and a 5 star hotel ranked low because we didn't plan to be in our rooms (we weren't) except to sleep but we did want a nice comfortable hotel. No roach motels. Our priorities when booking a hotel in Miami was to be in walking distance to everything for a reasonable price. We found it at the Marriott.

Lobby

I reviewed all the travel websites and read numerous customer reviews and read a few bad reviews so I was a little worried that the room would be a little crummy, old and dirty. Well first, upon arrival, Stephanie (I believe) was so polite and nice as she greeted my friend and I. The lobby was super clean and everything looked fine. We received our keys quickly and went to our room.

Room

The hotel is a standard hotel which means it's clean and has your basic amenities. The room was average and I think the pictures shown by other guests are accurate. The room was clean and I was slightly relieved that the room was actually nice. No view but who comes to Miami to look out the room window? Plus we were on the 2nd floor and I'm absolutely certain that if we had asked, they would've moved us. No big deal. The only complaint I have is that there isn't a refridgerator.

Rooftop Pool

The pool was nice, only 4ft deep at it's deepest but it was more of a lounge pool and they had music playing and potted palms surrounded the pool. The view from the roof was neat and you could see the ocean in the distance. It was nice. Went up there to cool off from the hot sun. It was clean.

Employees

The absolute best part about this hotel was the employees. When I get a chance, I'd love to let Courtyard regional manager know that the employees, Stephanie & Diego, that they have at this location are SO polite and SO courteous and went out of their way to meet and EXCEED our needs. They gave passes to the venues we were interested in visiting, they had information on any activity we were interested in participating in. The concierge was GREAT! I wish I remembered that guys name cause we sat and talked to him every day and he gave us tons of info about Miami regarding what we were interested in. I am just so pleased to receive 5 star service from a standard hotel. LOVED the employees.

Location

We walked 2 blocks to Lincoln Rd and all the shopping and then we walked about 5-7 blocks down to Ocean Dr and all the restaurants and lounges they had down there. Beach was 2 blocks away. Everything was close which was great. We did take a cab to a few venues but even taking a trip to several spots (we couldn't decide where we wanted to go), the fare was still $13. Everything was close enough for a reasonable cab fare.

Overall, the hotel employees really upgraded this hotel. The rooms are average and clean and the shower pressure was great. The employees were so professional and sweet. We even had to check out late and since our flight was at 6:20, they let us keep our luggage at the hotel while we wandered around for the last few hours and when we returned they armed us with water, hailed a cab for us to airport, walked us to the door (the desk manager and concierge) and watched us ride off. I would recommend this hotel to all that want to enjoy Miami at a nice hotel within walking distance to everything.

Location:

Absolutely the best part of this Hotel is the location. And of course you can't beat that. Yes it's across the street from a strip club, and yes it's adjacent to another exclusive (maybe seedy) nightclub, and yes there maybe some homeless on the streets, but during the day-light hours you would never know it. It's two blocks from Lincoln avenue where great restaurants and shopping exist. It's about one block from CVS and other handy dandy needs stores and only about two blocks from the beautful beach. Don't rent a car because there's nowhere to park anyway and buses and taxis are convenient.

Price/Value:

Quite pricey for what you actually get. Put this hotel in Orlando or Tampa or the Carribean and it is rediculously overpriced. For the same price you get so much more hotel in those locations. Remember however, this is Miami Beach. There is nothing down here that is inexpensive or affordable for the average traveler. You can get more trendy, a better breakfast, or larger rooms with flat screen tv's for about $400 or $500 a night. But for Miami Beach this is quite a decent price ($150 to $300) for a mid level hotel.

Hotel:

The hotel is a worn building that was recently updated or renovated to meet the decor standards of the Sobe area. The lobby is very small but nicely decorated with that art deco style travelers expect. Once you pass the lobby things start going down hill fast. The two sometimes functioning elevators are slow and very dated, and better pose as freight elevators in a better facility.

The rooms are very small. I was traveling alone and I realize my king size room with no couch is smaller than my childrens rooms in our house. The bed is decorated nicely with clean sheets and linen and at the foot of the bed is barely enough room for the armoire to store cloths and luggage. Next to that is a small table with a small tube TV (I guess 27") with poor reception and few channels. Good news is that internet service is free in the room.

Pool:

The pool is located on the roof. I have been up there many times and have never seen more than 4 people at a time. If you like that solitary feeling then this is good. I was looking more for a social fun atmosphere and that it is not. Most times there's nothing going on and nothing to see except tops of other roofs. The pool itself is nothing to right home about and certainly not inviting.

Service:

Front desk service is of course excellent for smiles and answering questions and being just helpful. The breakfast buffet is average with warm good food around 7am but if you arrive 8am or later don't expect the area to be clean or stay restocked with warm fresh food. There are fresh water bottles everywhere and in your room. If you open one of them be prepared to be charges $2.50 for that water. Sometimes in the middle of the day they will put out complimentary lemonade with tiny cone shaped paper cups to sample a taste. How nice.

The exercise room is in the basement and like most hotels have old and out dated equipment. No treadmills or cardio machines. Just an old universal weight machine sold in the Sears catalogs from the 1970's.


Overall it's not the best deal in the world, but to save a little money and have a nice location this is as good as you'll get in South Beach. Cheers!

My son (aged 20) and I (aged "old") stayed one night pre-cruise (Friday, Jan 4, 08) at the Courtyard by Marriott South Beach (located on Washington Avenue) in the heart of South Beach prior to our Liberty of the Seas sailing.

We originally had the Holiday Inn Port of Miami booked, but changed it because my son loves South Beach and had a number of places he wanted to visit on our short stay. I choose the Courtyard by Marriott because I noticed they are now marketing a "pre-cruise package" available at that location and thought I'd give it a try.

The pre-cruise package included:

- either a queen double or king-sized room (different pricing),
- buffet breakfast for two and,
- transportation to the Port of Miami

Why We Choose A Hotel So Far From the Port of Miami

Discount/inexpensive rates at Miami hotels were very hard to come by for this period. I have, in the past, been successful in obtaining great prices at Miami port hotels through Priceline, never paying more than $100 per night. My favorite "wins" are always those at the Intercontinental. As I mentioned, I originally was booked at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami for $209.00/night (w/o taxes). There was nothing included in the Holiday Inn's rate except the room.

Since I knew we would be taking cab rides to South Beach (at least one roundtrip), two breakfasts on Saturday morning, and a short cab ride to the Port while staying at the Holiday Inn, the additional $$ I ended up paying at the Courtyard ($329/night) didn't really bother me (yes, I'm a bit indulgent as a MOM

We always enjoy our time in South Beach. There are many "hip" stores and cafes to visit; our list included two skate shops as well as two independent record stores (some of you might know that record stores are few and far between nowadays). The Lincoln Road Mall is also attractive to someone my son's age -- people watching is fun!

On this trip, however, I noticed far far more homeless people sleeping just about everywhere we walked. Now, I had been down to South Beach very recently -- both in June for a business meeting and last March for the Seatrade Convention, and really didn't notice it too much. The Courtyard's location on Washington Ave is convenient; there is both a Walgreens and CVS Drugstore within two block to pick up any items you may need for the cruise.

On to the Courtyard. Service at the front desk was very attentive and helpful. We arrived at 1:45pm and our king room w/ sofabed was ready for us. The lobby is stylishly decorated in that new "south beach style". There is a coffee bar available, as well as a computer for use in the lobby. The rooms here are small; the Courtyard is an older hotel that has been refurbished for its new life as a Marriott. Our room was at the back of the building, where we overlooked neighborhood "homes and garden apartments", all of which had bars on the windows and doors. There are windows that open at this hotel, which I like. However, there is also a club next door. The deep bass music pounding made me close that window.

The room was clean and well maintained, as I have come to expect from all Courtyards. There was no mold anywhere; although it had that "motel smell" from some type of deodorizer/air freshener that is so prevalent in waterside accommodations. There is free Internet access for your first night's stay, which is a plus. There are toiletries stocked in the bathroom, a one-cup coffeemaker plus the fixings. There was no refrigerator.

Buffet Breakfast: I'm very used to the offerings at Courtyard for their breakfast. It is fine, there is plenty to eat....coffee/juice, continental offers of donuts, rolls, danish, boxed cereals. Trays of bacon, sausage, eggs, etc. You an also opt for some freshly made omelets. There was a "make your own waffle station" available. As with every other Courtyard, the breakfast buffet station is severely understaffed. Many of the items on the buffet were empty, and staff was no where to be found. They could use some additional help in this area.

Transportation to the Port: This was to be a simple cab ride paid for by the hotel. They arranged for a cab to pick us up; we told them what time we wanted and the cab was waiting. I clearly heard the Concierge tell the Bell Services folks that she would be picking up the tab for the cab. Obviously no one told the poor cab driver. When we arrived at the port, I handed him a "tip" only and clearly mentioned that the hotel was responsible for the fare. He was fine with what I said; but it did necessitate him returning back to the hotel to obtain his fare. I do not know the outcome, I hope it went well for him

I think this would be a good choice if you had some Marriott Rewards points to spend and you've always wanted to visit South Beach.

My wife and I are frequent travelers for business and pleasure, Super Elite members with Air Canada and the Marriott hotels are our favourites. We just returned from working a few weeks in Miami, so for the last night we thought we'd stay in Miami Beach as she had never been there.

We booked into the Courtyard South Beach on Washington @ about $260 per night.

What a mistake.

Like all Marriott properties, the staff are superb... really make you feel welcome. Don't know how Marriott finds such folks but the staff at Marriott hotels is what differentiates the chain from all others in our experience.

So... nothing bad about the staff.

But the hotel! What a dump.

First of all, it is right across the road from the Madonna Strip Club. Big club. Loud and prostitutes and bums shouting until 4am Sunday morning. Our room overlooked the street on the 3rd floor.

No fridge, shopworn, bad worn out bed. Single pane windows with natural aluminum frames. Window cranks broken, so if you open one you can shut it without removing the screen and yanking it in by hand. Didn't seal out the street sounds. Weak air conditioning. Stained carpets.

The place is not worthy of the Courtyard name.

What a disappointment. Never got to sleep until 3am for the noise from the strip club.

I've seen better maintained whore houses in my other life in the navy. (Ok, ok... that was 40 years ago!)

Well, that's a lesson for me. I see several other like reviews of the property... should have checked Trip Advisor before I chose this hotel.

Never again.