A Thanksgiving Retreat
Nov 30, 2023 1198877 Miami, Florida
A Diamond member, I have stayed at this property many times and always book a suite on the top floor. This trip, I added a second room for family as we were celebrating Thanksgiving on property.
First thing to mention, which the hotel does not share with guests, is the labor strike taking place at this property. Crossing a well justified picket…
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A Diamond member, I have stayed at this property many times and always book a suite on the top floor. This trip, I added a second room for family as we were celebrating Thanksgiving on property.
First thing to mention, which the hotel does not share with guests, is the labor strike taking place at this property. Crossing a well justified picket line is no way to begin a peaceful family vacation. There were loud demonstrations every day in and around the hotel main entrances. At a minimum, the hotel should post a disclosure notice on its website.
The hotel is well located if you're spending time in SM. It's directly across from the beach and many rooms have balconies. Rooms are older (stains on the carpet, dated fixtures), but clean. Housekeeping is attentive. Beds and linens are comfortable. Last time I stayed, there was some wet carpet from a leak that I elected to ignore in favor of the views. This time, the air conditioning was not working properly. Water pressure in the shower isn't great but the towels, robes and slippers all hit the mark. There is a small safe in the room.
At check-in, I was provided two (2) $50 coupons for the spa. Grateful, I tipped the front desk associate $100 for taking good care of me. Later that day, when I tried to book spa services for later in the week, the entire spa schedule was booked five days out. I later found out the spa had limited staff for that week. Why encourage guests use services the hotel does not have capacity to accommodate?
Quality of service and amenities seems to have decreased significantly since the pandemic or after 2021. Boxed water on check-in but none in the room. Even in-room dining didn't include the usual glass or pitcher of ice water. In room fridge remains empty, barely cold enough, and there are limited amenities in the room overall. First time I ever ordered groceries to the hotel, but it worked great for simple things like proper soap, bottled water, tea and coffee service items. I was able to request an electric tea kettle for my room. There's a lot of promotion of sustainability on property but the boxes of water, peeling paper cups with a chemical film inside, splinted bamboo stirrers and reusable soap and shampoo dispensers with who knows what inside just screams cheap and inappropriate for the cost of admission. The hotel can recycle glass water bottles, offer spoons and porcelain mugs while being super sustainable.
Over the last few years, as the hotel amenities and services disappoint, the hotel night club's footprint, relative to the overall hotel, has grown in scale, along with the noise (and in-view port-a-potties), sometimes until the wee hours of the morning. If you prefer the quiet, ask for a pool facing view. It's definitely more peaceful on that side of the hotel but you will miss the sight of striking workers circling the legendary fig tree at 7AM daily.
I called for the house car once, to no avail. Another time, it was a 10 min wait. In all the times I have stayed at the hotel, I have never been able to enjoy the courtesy car, but it looks efficient when I see staff using it.
In addition to the spa being fully booked as of 11/20, the property's sole restaurant was fully booked for Thanksgiving. I did try to pre-book, but never received a response until I inquired on property. There were also no meaningful vegan options and the hotel seemed overwhelmed by general menu substitutions. There was limited capacity for hotel guests, so it seems.
Normally, food at this property is appreciated for its fresh ingredients and abundance of delicious healthful options. Allergies, substitutions and preferences were historically catered. But recent menu changes in tandem with holiday related menu limitations (staff shortages?) made dining on property, even room service, less desirable. One meal was served alongside totally raw potatoes. Not undercooked, but raw, hard, and inedible mini-Yukon golds. The next evening, one of the menu's new items (gnocchi) came undercooked and waterlogged. The texture of a morning omelet was like rubber (a key staff member insured delivery of the perfect scrambled eggs the next day- thank you amazing Lou). There was undressed arugula piled high and treated like wasteful garnish, alongside an oversalted protein and atop a broken greasy sauce for $58. Hours of operation for dining options are limited. No overnight menu. For east coasters hoping to start early, they don't begin accepting orders until after 6AM, if they open on time to accept your order.
Another gating front desk item is the issue of applying credits at check-out. As a diamond member, I have available upgrades and don't utilize them so to insure my choice room. But I expect standard discounts to apply automatically, without prompt and a time-consuming phone call for an accurate accounting of my bill, post check-out. Management should have long ago automated this process for optimal transparency and efficiency. The in-room electronic check-out process was unavailable. Even calling ahead, I wasn't able to close my folio with the credit issue resolved. I still had to call the billing department after my trip. The same "glitch" as the last time was blamed.
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