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Miami luxury hotel advice please

Miami luxury hotel advice please

Old Jun 4, 2011, 5:23 am
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Miami luxury hotel advice please

I have a free night at a LHW hotel which I need to burn up by the end of next week. The only place where I can use it is in Miami where I am for meetings. My choice is between the following:

The Setai
Turnberry Isle
Biltmore
Aqualina

I won't really be able to do much more than sit by the beach and have dinner as I'm arriving in the mid-afternoon and have a 8am flight out the next day. I don't want to be surrounded by pretentious ......s, whether they are young or old. I am tending towards the Setai as I have spent a lot of time in GHM's Asian hotels (Chedi, Datai), but experienced input and views are greatly appreciated.

LE

Last edited by LondonElite; Jun 4, 2011 at 5:25 am Reason: I see I've been edited...the word rhymes with 'bankers' but starts with a 'w'
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Old Jun 4, 2011, 7:16 am
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Go with Setai or the Biltmore. If you want to be close to the beach, then definitely the Setai as the Biltmore is in Coral Gables. I would not go to Aqualina or Turnberry (they are a little bit north of Miami/Miami Beach and don't have as much going on close by.
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Old Jun 5, 2011, 2:22 am
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Thanks. Booked Setai, even though a lot of people on Tripadvisor are not too happy about the place. Will report back.
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Old Jun 15, 2011, 4:04 am
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Well, here are my views on the Setai, having admittedly spent only one afternoon and night there:

- very nice arrival experience, refreshing lemongrass iced tea and cold towel
- beautiful room (courtyard view), although the view of the adjacent hotel not that great and the beach really not visible
- beach experience terrible, principally because there is no way to stop non-guests from using the chairs/towels...the beach is not very clean and the crowds there are not really the sort to stay in the hotel
- pool area full of self-important w@nkers
- pool bar hopelessly overpriced and with terrible service
- dinner at the restaurant was excellent, if a little expensive...and the waiters could try to be a little less obvious about up selling the most expensive dishes
- room service breakfast was late in arriving, and charging $40 plus tax and tip for three croissants, a bowl of oatmeal, a pot of tea and orange juice is really a joke
- checkout quick and painless

A final gripe: automatically adding a 20% tip to everything is irritating and presumptuous, so is then adding a line for 'additional gratuity'.

I would go back if in the area, but at a minimum of $550 a night it is very expensive for what you get.
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Old Jun 16, 2011, 4:32 am
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Note to Moderator: maybe this is more appropriate in the Luxury Hotels forum...please move if you agree.
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