markus

Has anyone stayed at the Embassy Suite Miami Airport? From the website it sounds like a nice property - any reports?
What can I expect as a Gold Member? This is my first stay at an Embassy Suite Hotel.

Lpas

Does anyone here have any experience with this property? I'm trying to squeeze 2 separate stays out of my next trip to Miami. One will be at the airport Hilton but not sure where to go for the second. All of the Doubletrees seem to get poor reviews and I'd prefer more of a business hotel to a resort like the Fontainebleau.

Thanks

Lpas

Well, no one seems to know much of anything about this ES so I thought I'd post my thoughts. It actually isn't a bad property. The location is pretty high-traffic (so close to the airport I watched planes taking off from my room) yet there was less noise than I expected. It's not an attractive area or a neighborhood I'd walk around in (I've noticed that seems to be true of most airport locations) but the property itself is quite nice, with gated access.

I am a Gold and when I got to my room there was an envelope w/ a personalized welcome letter and a box with 2 bottled waters, a bag of popcorn, a granola bar and some Pepperidge Farm cookies. As you probably know, ES provides a free breakfast buffet with both hot and cold items (no need for coupons) as well as nightly Manager's receptions with free drinks.

I thought my room here--particularly the bathroom--was actually nicer and better-maintained than the one I had the previous night at the Airport Hilton. You can tell the building isn't brand new, but it seems to be well-kept. My only beef was that the living area seemed a bit short on lighting--particularly since the only outside window is in the bedroom.

This location seems to make customer satisfaction a high priority. My room had lots of little signs sitting around about who to call if anything in your room wasn't satisfactory and how they strive for "A's" ("B's aren't acceptable"). When I checked out, I even was given a small chocolate "A" with a note from the manager thanking me for my business. I don't stay often at Embassy Suites, so I'm not sure how common this is across the chain.

By the way, I also ordered room service here, which I often do while traveling and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food (mostly Cuban). I had the roasted half chicken w/ rice and veggies--much better than the filet mignon I had at the Airport Hilton the night before.

Bottom line--a lot of Hilton's Miami properties leave something to be desired, but I'd stay here again. With the added space, I might actually choose it over the Hilton down the road.


[This message has been edited by Lpas (edited Dec 05, 2003).]

Americanada

Thanks for the review. I was considering staying at an Embassy Suites in Miami next month (to use up a certificate) and your information is very beneficial.

Thanks again.

dragonmp11a10

Another great thing about the ES here is that they have wireless access points all throughout the hotel, if you don't have a wifi card then they will provide you w/ one to use free of charge, $10 for 24 hrs is very reasonable.
Free drinks are nice before going out for the evening, ask them to make you a Cuban P***y.

BIGTRAVLR

I would recommend the Homewood Suites, which is about a 9 iron form the Airport Hilton (you will pass it on your right as you go to the MIA Hilton). The Airport Hilton is under construction right now, and is a mess. My experiences there have been mixed, but most of the rooms either have a heavy mildew smell, or the phone doesn't work...even when upgraded to a suite.

The Homewood Suites you get a great breakfast and a manager's recption at night that can include everything from burgers they actually grill out for you to meat loaf to roasted chicken. Salads, sides and free soft drinks included as well.

Relatively new, so all rooms are still in great shape...and you can literally roll your roll-on the block and a half from one to the other.

BIGTRAVLR

and I forgot, if you like pizza, call Jerry & Joe's. They will deliver right to your room and they take credit card if you don't have cash handy...will even bring you a pint of Ben & Jerry's too!

ORDDoug

I stayed last week at the Embassy Suites at MIA and at checkout, I asked what exactly had distinguished my Diamond stay from any other person's stay at the same property. I had no snack box, no robe, had to pay for parking and Internet access and breakfast is free for everyone. I was told by the desk clerk "Oh, Hilton has stopped doing that. They stopped putting the robes and the snack boxes in the rooms at all their properties." I was in a hurry, so I didn't pursue the issue, but I did log onto the Hilton HHonors site later just to confirm that the Diamond benefits have not been amended or reduced. I'm not sure if this is the local operator perpetrating a lie, or just lazy staff, but removing the little benefits further reduces the value of the program and gives me more incentive to start paying more attention to competitive pricing. I recently spent a night at a Wyndham in Newark because it was half the cost of the Hilton.

OB one

and uninformed staff. I usually ask "Are the waters in the room?" If the staff is on the ball, I get an answer of "Oh, yes, you are in our special Hhonors section." If they look confused, they usually follow up by going to the back room and coming out with a couple bottles of water. I can forgo the cookies (in fact I should forgo the cookies ) but dislike drinking tap water. The robe is nice, but I always hide a chuckle when I see people wearing it down to the pool None are deal breakers but together they set the tone of the stay, and yes there are options.

newcx12345

I am planning to stay there in Dec (because of an early morning dept to SFO).

Just want to know the quality of this hotel? Are all the rooms = suite?

Also they mentioned on the homepage, complimentary cooked breakfast? Is that a standard in all these Embassy Suite Properties?

Has anyone stayed in the property before? In terms of location is it OK?

JDiver

ES MIA is good - and ALL ES include a free two hour evening "reception" and cooked-to-order breakfasts, the MIA ES are fairly decent - and all suites, yes, here. I've used this hotel a number of times, especially now that the Doubletree Club is demolished (joke - the DC MIA was a huge, unabated dump!) and enjoyed it - usually at decent rates. It is on the south side of the airport, and has frequent airport shuttle service and friendly staff.

On the negative side, there is nothing nearby, so you are a bit of a captive with ony a (huge) private off-airport parking nearby. That hasn't deterred me one iota from staying here, and early departures for SFO have been one of the reasons.

newcx12345

Thanks. i will definitely consider that if I am getting the early morning flight to SFO!
I presume taxi is still available if I want to goto the South Beach from the hotel?

newcx12345

Also, does the hotel have a coin operated laundry facilities. Is it clean a usable?

Also I read somewhere that the rooms are dirty and old. Have they rennovated recently?
What views does the hotel have?

Compared to the Hilton MIA, which one is better?

UAORDFLYER

Stay from 11/17 – 11/20, for some reason all of the Hiltons were booked so this was my first time at an Embassy Suites. Also my first time posting a review, I am keeping it pretty simple based on what I have seen in other FT reviews:

Pro’s
Separate HHonors check-in line
Wi-Fi in Atrium
Pool hours 7am – 11pm
Every room in hotel a 2 room suite
Balcony w/ sliding glass door
Nice mini-kitchen w/ sink
Excellent complimentary buffet breakfast every morning
Free cocktails nightly (Manager's Reception)
Courtesy f/u call after check-in
User controllable Digital Thermostat

Con’s
As a Silver member - desk agent had to inquire as to what I was to receive at check-in (2 bottles of water and 1 microwaveable popcorn)
Internet $.20 per minute AND $.20 per page
Business Center located next to check-in desk – horrible location - very noisey and an employee entrance in same room
Small TV in bedroom area (main in other room)
No TV Guide available
Clock Radio on dresser (odd location)
Bad cellular reception in most of hotel
$7/day parking fee for registered guests
Elevators seemed to stop at every floor regardless
Bathroom in bad shape (peeling wallpaper/many loose tiles)
Dishes left on floor outside several rooms DAILY
30 minutes for guest svcs to answer wake-up call request
Last day’s stay I had to call by 3pm – room not made up yet

I guess you have to decide what’s important to you. Basically my rating on this hotel is good
amenities but lousy service. If anyone has other opinions please share!

Hope this info helps!

CLG

Your review is pretty spot-on. I have stayed at this hotel about 10 or so times in the last 12 months, as I have to overnight when connecting through MIA to my final destination. The only difference I would point out is the wake-up call time, as the few times I have used it I didn't need to wait a half hour to get through. YMMV, though.
-C