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

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.

Thanks. Booked Setai, even though a lot of people on Tripadvisor are not too happy about the place. Will report back.

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.

Note to Moderator: maybe this is more appropriate in the Luxury Hotels forum...please move if you agree.