js1993

From a 4 to an 8? Are they making the rooms a lot bigger?

platbrownguy

Did you look at the slides in post 772? They look substantially swankier. Seems like they're putting a new image on this place altogether. Rates have gone up regardless. So they'll ask for $500+/night and get a category to match.

Room size is only one factor that affects room rates... there are rooms of the same size that are $100 at a motel and $1000 at a 5* down the road...

coleslaw

It is a 5 right now.

js1993

It looks nice. It doesn't look anything like "double the price" nice.

Half the presentation talks about the pool area. Who goes to a beachfront hotel in Miami for the pool? And where's that waterfront lounge going to be? There's no waterfront view from the ground floor of the property.

platbrownguy

I've stayed here a dozen times or more. The pool was always a scene unless it was unseasonably cold. People like to hang out by the pool. People like to hang out on the beach. Idk.

theroz

If anyone is going before mid Nov would appreciate a heads up with how bad the noise is. We usually stay in an Ocean Room.

coleslaw

It looks like they're not accepting reservations from ~April next year. I would guess they're going to shut down over the summer for the heavy renovations/construction.

VegasGambler

I checked in today for a 4 night stay. I got a very cheap prepaid rate. I burned a SUA to upgrade to a Miami suite and was further upgraded to an oceanfront suite on the 15th floor. I probably would have been upgraded even without the SUA (though I'm not sure if I would have gotten the 2nd upgrade... maybe) but I never use all of them anyway so I'm fine with it.

Everything seems nice so far. They emailed me a week or two ago to inform me about the construction and pool closure, and offered to let me cancel even though the rate was non-refundable. I'm glad I kept it. I can't see myself choosing the pool over the beach under any circumstances anyway.

They let me check in at 8:30am, which is nice. I think that the hotel is kind of empty due to the construction, so I'm not sure if my upgrade and early check-in experience would be normal. They even let me have breakfast at check in, although in retrospect it was not clear if the FD agent meant it would be complimentary or if she was just pointing out that the restaurant was open for breakfast. I guess I'll find out. If the charges don't get removed it's fine.

theroz

we are thinking about staying a couple of nights next week, like you we dont care much that the pool/backyard is not available, but wed love to know much noise there is during the day due to the ripping up of the pool area. R U able to sit on your balcony and relax or is the noise that bad? TIA

VegasGambler

I mean, they are doing construction right below my balcony. The pool is between the hotel and and ocean so if you have an ocean view you will hear it from the balcony.

Honestly the balcony is kind of small and sad. I took a nap in my room (red-eye here) and now I'm at the beach. The balcony doors and windows are soundproofed enough that while I could hear the construction, it didn't really bother me. But I suspect it would be annoying on the balcony. I would suggest walking down to the beach instead of sitting on the balcony during the day. They give you a wristband and that allowed you to use their chairs, towels, umbrellas, etc. And they have drink and food service. Definitely much better and more comfortable than the balcony.

In the evening I'm thinking the balcony should be fine (since the construction will be over with for the day)

And the hotel being mostly empty is almost certainly great for upgrades. I may come back next month for a longer trip. I only paid $195/night before taxes (about $220 all-in as globalist -- more if you have to pay resort fee) so it's a great deal. The weather is great too. Warm, but a lot less humid than I thought it would be.

theroz

Thx, we usually hang on the beach or at the beach by friends who live a # of blocks North. We also usually get a room with a nice size balcony so wed hang there by morning as the sun rises, probably wont depending when they start up working. The days we are looking at were alot more then $195 so 17K will cover us.Its over $500 a night , goes down to $489 if we book Sun-Thurs a great time to use pts, but pts arent available unless we book Sun-Thurs so we have tom decide how to work it out, dont really want to be there for 4 nights as we wanted to go to Key West for 2 nights and MB for 2 nights

norcalfiend

It's Miami Beach and this specific property is very well-located next to the South Beach nightlife - the avg. luxury hotel rate in Miami in 2022 was $560/night at 67% occupancy (https://www.barrons.com/articles/mia...nd-01675274770) - given this is in a much better location look at its points comparables from Marriott:

- EDITION Miami Beach: ranges between $460 - $2k per night (71k-106k points per night)
- W South Beach: ranges between $465 - $1.5k per night (70k-106k points per night)
- The Confidante: currently ranges between $160-~$500 (17-23k points per night)

Category 7 would be fair imo (it doesn't look Park Hyatt / ultra-luxe caliber so not a Category 8). The Andaz's closest brand comparable is considered the W and given the "average" luxury hotel rate and alternatives, doubling the cash and points rate is a no-brainer (and if the renovation was even more upscale / ultra-luxe there may be opportunity for even more). There's a reason why they're undergoing a full-scale renovation (which the Ritz-Carlton South Beach and W have both done in the last couple years), but there's always the possibility of market saturation as there's a ton of new hotel inventory from the upscale to ultra-luxe rolling in the area in the next couple years (Thompson South Beach, Aman, Waldorf Astoria, Bulgari, etc.)

js1993

No, it isn't. There's almost nothing within walking distance. It's ~20 blocks from South Beach itself.

Category 7 for a closet-sized room with a 50-50 chance of getting a room overlooking the street? No, thanks.

VegasGambler

Yeah, as I said I'm here now. The location is not great if you want stuff to do (though it is good for a pretty quiet beach) and the hotel itself is ok but not anywhere near Cat 7 quality. The breakfast was very minimal and simple (though fine). A Cat 7 needs gourmet food.

Honestly Cat 5 is pushing it, probably too far

norcalfiend

We'll have to agree to disagree - the popular Miami Beach spots: Fontainebleau (where Club LIV and the Arkadia Day Club are) is a 9 minute walk, the Soho Beach House is a 5 minute walk, and Basement (in the EDITION) is a 12 minute walk - all of these spots are very popular. Mynt, Mr. Jones, Story, DNSF and most of the South Beach spots are a 10 minute Uber (the first 2 a 25-30 min. walk) while the Park West Spots (E11even, Club Space) are a 15-20 minute Uber. That's pretty well located imo.

We'll have to see what the post-renovation room sizes and categories are. They already mentioned doubling the number of suites and current base rooms are ~300-400 sq ft. If they can get it to ~400-500 that will be competitive for the market (and comparable to the W).