monitor

If there is any breeze outside as there has been for the last few days, many of the tables in that restaurant are unpleasantly blown about by the wind anytime a door to the outside is opened. The tables at the very end furthest from the door are much the worst since the doors to the pool are opened regularly and the whoosh will blow everything off your table every time.

I do enjoy the new restaurant's food offerings but have made it a practice to eat at the bar which is far enough from those doors so that there is no wind incursion. The new place has a Southern accent and we have tried and can recommend three of the main course entrees, the Nashville Hot Chicken, the Roast Duck, and the Crispy Skin Snapper. I would rate any of the three as very good to excellent and the bean soup is also very good.

Be aware that the menu is almost entirely a la carte, many of the mains come with little or no sides, and the check can mount fairly quickly. But the check here can't get too far out of hand since there are no interesting wines that can induce a splurge. The wine list is of little consequence and the draft beers are the same as they were in the prior incarnation. I do like the local (Broward made) Funky Buddha Hefeweizen that they have on tap.

However, I do not think that, although they are pretty good, the breakfast offerings are quite up to those that were served by the Sea Grape and can attest to the statement above that no room service can be had with the Diamond breakfast.

Astrophsx

I enjoyed the breakfast. We each had chicken and waffles, potatoes, bacon, coffee, and orange juice. The bill (including the mandatory 20% tip) was just over $100. The service was a bit slow and the food took a decent amount of time to get to the table, but it was fairly enjoyable.

We had dinner at Talde and it was an interesting asian fusion restaurant. I thought the menu was a little hit or miss, but the food that a hit really was great. The serving size is a bit small and it is pretty easy to rack up a large bill here. They suggest everything be served "family style" but the portions aren't really "family sized".

Astrophsx

Review:

Early January 2017
Crown Suite
Paid Rate: $209 + $26 resort fee + tax for base room (DSU used for Miami Suite)

Video:

Tips:

• Hyatt has this in their list of resorts, so technically the hotel does not have to extend a 4pm check out. So adjust your expectations accordingly as they do not have to accommodate you until 4pm.
• Seems there are two towers. The one closest to the beach (the west tour) will give you the best ocean views. The Crown Suite is one step up from the Miami Balcony Suite and they seem to be in the east tower. The non-balcony Miami Suite is the standard suite for Diamond suite upgrades. Someone pointed out that one of the deluxe balcony rooms will actually give you better views.
  
• They state that breakfast is $100 per day for the room for Diamonds, but I assume there is some wiggle room as the 20% tip is mandatory. They do not have a hot buffet. There may be wait times to be seated for breakfast, especially if you want to eat outside.
  
• There is no coffee maker in the room. Coffee is provided in the lobby and near the elevators in the morning.
  
• For some odd reason they don't have small bottles of shampoo or soap. They have a large pump bottle and there is a card in the bathroom saying they will charge you if you take it leaves the hotel room.
  
• $26 + tax for the resort fee is not waived for Diamond members.
  
• Talde, the other restaurant in the hotel also charges a mandatory 20% tip.
  
• Hotel does not offer points on alcohol purchased at its restaurants.

Pros:

• Beautiful room with large balcony
  
• 14th floor and did not hear too much street noise
  
• Talde, one of the two restaurants that served asian fusion was pretty good. There were a few dishes that were a miss, but overall the food is good. It is pricey for the quality and the portion sizes aren't very large. They state the food should be served family style, so we were expecting family sized portions for the price.
• Diamond breakfast for room is stated to be $100 per day. Though it was waived for us even though we went over $100. We had chicken and waffles, coffee, two sides each. All were excellent.
  
• Front desk manager (at least I think he was the FDM) was greeting guests in the lobby upon checkout. Very friendly and seemed to care about your stay.

Cons:

• Asked for a full ocean view. Had to wait 30-40 minutes at 8pm. Only partial view room given. Was not asked what I wanted for my Diamond amenity. Was only told about the Diamond breakfast after I asked. Was not told about the beach or what the resort fee covered until I asked. Even then they seemed like it was a pain to tell me.
  
• Even though there is a bathroom between the bedroom and elevator, you can hear the elevator all night long. There is a reason they give you free ear plugs next to the bed I guess.
  
• No coffee maker
  
• Room was missing corkscrew, took over an hour and three calls to get one to the room.
  
• 10-15 minute wait at 10am for breakfast on a week day. Service was slow and food took a long time to come out.
  
• We went out to the beach after it had stopped raining. We were the only guests on the beach and we were scolded for sitting on the beach chairs. From a distance a hotel employee yelled at us and said those seats are for guests who pay for a package. He said I'll be right back. It took him 10 minutes to come back with two towels and point us to the chairs that the $26 resort fee "allows" us to use. 50+ chairs on the beach, the only guests there, and yet he felt it was necessary to yell at us.
  
• The beach was not very clean that day. Maybe it was due to being there on a rainy day, but there was a lot of plastic and degradable material near the water.
  
• At breakfast I had to use the restroom. I had to go three different restrooms before I found one that was clean. The first two restrooms were disturbingly dirty (urination all over the toilet seats in each of the stalls). I had to walk to one of the poolside restrooms.

Photos:

Astrophsx

More photos

monitor

I am very happy with the ordinary corner room with a wraparound balcony in the xx28 line which I got again this time as an ordinary Diamond upgrade. I am mostly all alone and do not need or want any more room than this.

BTW, the hamburger that I had this evening was quite good. I am thinking that this Bird & Bone place is quite OK. I will not go back to Tilde since, although the food was good, the nonstop rap music makes the place off-limits for me. OH well, I guess that others would be put off by nonstop Beethoven.

ETA: I will try that chicken and waffles for breakfast tomorrow or Saturday.

Astrophsx

The chicken and waffles are pretty good. The serving size is large. You could probably share one and try out some of the other items. I did like the potatoes.

Colin

P+C available next winter for $100/n

venste

Using a DSU which books into Miami Suite. Hotel does not have Ocean View Suite available, but is willing put me in the Oceanfront Balcony King instead. Should I take the offer?

monitor

The oceanfront balcony king room with which I am familiar is the xx28 line. I liked it a lot but it certainly does not have a modern layout since there are not many surfaces to put stuff and if one person is working at the desk (in the non-height adjustable chair), there is no passage for another to the front door and, more importantly, the bathroom. The person working will need to get up and move the chair. The TV is fixed right above the desk so if one person turns it on, it can be quite a distraction to someone working. I am alone in this room almost all of the time so that is not a factor to me but it might be to a couple. Otherwise, there is plenty of space and the wraparound balcony is marvelous with views to the north and east.

As an aside, I was upgraded to this room from a standard king reservation both times that I stayed at the Confidante. However, if I were with my wife the entire time that i was down there, I would opt for a suite since the ocean view, though pleasant, does not get the priority when you are not spending many daytime hours at the hotel. Note also that I live about 200 yards from the beach in PB County so the ocean is not much of a novelty to me.

venste

Really appreciate the quick response, thanks. I'm going with my wife, and we live in NY, so waking up to the ocean would be nice. Just seems strange that the square footage could be anywhere from 250-450.

monitor

I would guess that the xx28 line is closer to the 450.

I also have an apartment in NY and when they built the highrise across the street, I lost all views. But after a while, I got accustomed to it and nowadays I do not get upset even if I get an airshaft.

3rdworldresident

Guys,

i got a rate of 211$/nights plus taxes and resort fees at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach for a standard no view room and no club access.

my rate here is 165$/nights plus taxes (resort fees will be waived as Globalist members).

should i stay at the Ritz instead?

monitor

I defintely would save the nearly $100 a night since, having stayed at both of those hotels more than once, I prefer the unique ambiance of the Confidante over the cookie-cutter feel of the RC which is not a whole lot different from say, Tysons Corner.

That being said, there is much logic to staying at the RC if you really need to get work done with a minimum of disturbance There seem to be fewer completely lost novice travelers and large family groups which can create a lot of extra noise, sometimes in English. Also, should the extra plush pillows and the more gracefully configured room with deep closets, plenty of drawers, and an expansive bathroom be important to you, go for the Ritz.

Another factor in favor of the RC is that the immediate neighborhood is much more dense with restaurants and other attractions to which one can walk. This also is of minimal importance to me since when I am down there, I seldom have time for strolling and sightseeing.

And when in Miami Beach, always be cognizant of the 20% service charge that is put at the end of most restaurant bills.

3rdworldresident

Thank you very much for helpful info.

platbrownguy

Question about suites -- I see Miami Suite, Miami Suite Balcony, Crown, Miranda, and Penthouse... other than the Miami Suite Balcony, do any suites have an ocean view? Crown says "terrace" but I can't find much info on the suites online other than the one-sentence descriptions on the booking pages.