Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club

We previously stayed here just as the hotel was getting somewhat back to normal earlier in the pandemic. Our experience wasn't the greatest but because the Cadillac had been so highly recommended by friends we decided to give it a second chance when in Florida around Easter. For comparison when we previously stayed here it was maybe 35-40% busy. This time it was basically 100% sold-out. This caused a lot of problems because despite being reopen for months and despite us coming at the end of spring break the hotel was still not staffed properly. The Front Desk is horrible. Just incompetent. Our room wasn't ready to 5:30 pm and Front Desk staff blamed Housekeeping. Housekeeping said it wasn't ready because the previous occupants made a mess and they needed additional time to clean the room. There were so many high school and college kids just partying away, causing problems. We couldn't even imagine what it must have been like earlier in spring break. Our biggest complaints were the complete lack of value for the resort fee. Towels were basically never available after 10 or 11 am. Both at the pool and the beach. The complimentary bicycles were similarly almost never available. Meanwhile daily housekeeping is no longer provided and most of the amenities advertised as being included with rooms were long ago removed. We understand that hotels have made changes because of the pandemic but the Cadillac has had months (almost a year!) to figure things out. You can tell what competent staff and managers they do have are completely overworked and are few and far between. The only good staff were in the restaurant, which runs very well. We would not return again for a third time unless we 100% knew that Cadillac had brought back its old standards and amenities ... the things our friends raved about after staying here before. There are many good hotels in Miami and Miami Beach. The Cadillac at least right now isn't one of them. Save your money and save your vacation by staying somewhere else. Read less

Having spent the last decade travelling constantly for work (and personal), plus racking up over 3 million miles in my lifetime, I think it's fair to say I'm in a pretty good position to compare hotels and provide a fair review. That said, The Cadillac is absolutely deserving of a 4.5 of 5.0 rating! (TripAdvisor won't let me do a half number for a rating, but I'm scoring this a 4.5 which is pretty high) The highlights of the property: -Great location on the beach, with plenty of comfortable loungers and a team of attendants right there to help you get set up. -Pool areas are really nice -- one main pool for all, and then a smaller pool for adults only (where we spent our time) with cabanas available for rent. Food/Drinks available from dedicated servers who continuously serve the adult pool area. Comfortable loungers, umbrellas and attendants looking after you there. -Historical building, yet modern and sleek on the inside in both the guest rooms and public areas (for the Instragram crowd, you'll have plenty of photo ops here). -Guest rooms (ours was beachfront deluxe w/balcony) have comfortable bedding and L'Occitane toiletries, and a very good air conditioning system (which of course is important in this climate). -As this trip was during COVID, the protocols from the property and staff were very good - every staff member I saw wore a mask correctly, high-grade sanitizer was tastefully placed on modern metal trays near elevators, doors, and throughout the hotel and never observed to be empty. Signs are posted by the elevators and throughout the property disclosing the city regulations. -As a Platinum Bonvoy member, we had breakfast provided each day at the Donna Mare restaurant -- it was continental but for $7 p/p we could upgrade to the all-you-can-eat-buffet (but served to us by staff) which was a great deal. Breakfast was really good, staff were quick to serve (you tell servers exactly what items you want from the buffet and they prepare your plates, while eggs-to-order are cooked and brought to your table a few minutes later). -Location obviously is a bit of a tricky one to rate, because it depends on what YOU want out of your trip... if you want to be in the middle of 24/7 partying, this is not the location for it. If you want to be a short Uber ride/nice walk away from the nightlife in a bit of a quieter location, this hotel is great -- and that's what we loved. In 10 minutes, you could hop in an Uber and get to South Beach or Lincoln Road Mall or Wynwood/Design District. You can walk to South Beach/Lincoln Road Mall down A1A and it's about 20 blocks or so, but definitely a great walk to people watch. -WiFi service is stable, fast and reliable... was able to "work remote" on Friday a bit without anyone knowing I really wasn't at my real desk and looking out at the ocean instead! -Staff attitudes were friendly, helpful and positive. They definitely have some demanding guests to deal with at times, but every interaction I had was positive. -Bicycles are available for guests to use -- we didn't notice this until after we rented a local Citi bike for a scenic ride around the neighborhood Things to be aware of and plan accordingly: -Parking is $49 a day (valet) - can't really avoid this, so factor this into your planning so it's not a surprise when you arrive. Retrieving your car can also be a bit of a challenge because you need to give them about 20-30 minutes advance notice to have your car brought out. -Front Desk is a very popular place so at times, you'll see lines of quite a few people waiting, while at other times you won't see anyone. Give yourself some time to check-in and check-out - or if you can, use a self-check-out option from the app (we didn't use this so I can't comment on that, but I use it at other Marriott portfolio properties). -Housekeeping service -- during COVID -- is not daily. If you need it often, you'll need to give 24h notice for the hotel to plan for your request. COVID really changed things and made me realize perhaps I don't need daily housekeeping service - I can get by for a 2-night stay without it. But that's me... You can easily get extra soap or a change of towels just by calling Housekeeping any time. -Pool drink/food service is really dependent upon how many people are ordering items and how many servers are on duty... unfortunately it was really busy and our server needed to be cloned to keep up with demand. I felt bad for him and he was very apologetic about it, but they were short staffed. Sure I could have gotten up and walked to the bar myself, but hey, I was on vacation and it's pretty nice to not have to get out of the pool for a drink! Some Tips: -The hotel has bicycles - this is a GREAT way to get out and see the area... you'll see some really amazing houses and boats nearby. -If you're a pool person, get up early and get your pick of lounge chairs... the later in the day it is, the less choice you'll have where you can sit. Also, the hotel participates in RESORTPASS so you can buy day passes to the pool or cabanas which you can look at two ways... it's good if you're a local or at another hotel and want to spend the day at the Cadillac (or if you hotel pool isn't as nice), but it could make the pool more crowded, hence the need to get up early and reserve your pool lounge chair. -Go early for breakfast -- we went around 08:00 each day and beat the lines, and had a great table outside both days... yes this is Miami and people come here to go out at night and not wake up early, but hey, you can sleep at the beach or pool later in the day. -Get a room with a balcony if it's within your budget - you'll be happy you did. There are two towers in the hotel, so one tower is directly over the main pool and the other tower is beachfront (which was our room) - both have balconies, so be sure to check which tower you're in because that determines your view (the tower over the pool still has ocean views but is set back from the beach). A few other random points to keep your expectations in line... 1/ COVID - you will see some guests who totally disregard wearing a mask or wearing it correctly - and you might see guests who just pile into the elevator and disregard your personal space... totally annoying, but this happens everywhere so just wait for another elevator. (Confession: I started [fake] coughing into my arm and by some miracle, no one else wanted to take the elevator with us!!) 2/This is Miami Beach and people come here to have a good time... sometimes they don't realize how loud they are in their rooms and some have no concept of time, and some just have no manners at all. If you get a noisy neighbor, let the Front Desk know. It happens every so often but how a hotel responds is a different story... in our case, someone came up and knocked on the door of the guest who immediately turned down their music, problem solved. Read less

I finished a 4 night stay in this wonderful property two days ago. There was excellent Titanium recognition. The manager, Jacqueline, personally greeted me upon check-in and ensured I received an upgrade to an ocean view room with a balcony. The hotel itself, the grounds of the hotel, the pools, the restaurant (with a delicious breakfast included for those with status) and the tiki bar were all exceptional. I have stayed in other marriotts during the pandemic, and this was one of the few that seemed to have sufficient staff to deliver towels, coffee, and room supplies. The beach was also so convenient to the hotel, and there were enough chairs except for Saturday (so get there early on the weekends). The staff also went above and beyond. Florencia paid extra special attention to me and my guests and ensured we kept our room and original rate when we decided to extend our stay an extra two nights. Oscar ensured we were able to get taxis when there was ridiculous surge pricing and got me to the airport on time despite a lack of Ubers. Read less

Thankfully we only stayed here one night on points en route to the Caribbean. The “ocean” views are quite bad here as you will read in other reviews. The bed was fine and clean, but the bathroom was not clean enough- there was a small hair on the shower floor that grossed me out. We did stay during Covid in 2020 so I do give a lot of grace with service. Still, no one ever welcomed us to the hotel and the woman behind the desk displayed no effort at hospitality. The location of the hotel is quite good and everything was “ok,” but I would never recommend staying here. Read less