bgriff

Those are all "Studio" suites meaning they are just one big room, not a "proper" suite with a separate bedroom and living room; the Fantastic suite is the first "proper" suite. I don't know the exact differences among them but it looks like the wonderful and fabulous are on lower floors while the spectacular are on higher floors, and the fabulous also specifies "oceanfront" which at this hotel typically means it's on the east end of the building facing the ocean and overlooking the pool, whereas "ocean views" refers to all the rooms on the sides with balconies angled toward the ocean. IIRC there may also be different square footage mentioned in the room details page on the mobile app.

joachimm

I just returned from a 5 night points stay. Got upgraded from a Wonderful to a Fabulous Suite I guess because I'm a Plat, not that they mentioned it on check in. It was on the 8th floor, with a very nice angled view of the beach and ocean to the south east. The balcony is pretty large, with two very comfortable cushioned chairs. My wife said "new rule: only stay in hotels with balconies". The room itself is quite large relative to other Miami Beach locations I've stayed (non-suite rooms at The Betsy and Kimpton Surfcomber). While it is not a true suite with separate bedroom, the living area does have two comfortable chairs and a sofa which gives you a lot of room to spread out. There's a bar area with good sized fridge and a microwave. The bathroom is luxurious and a very good size.

Just be sure if you are staying Friday-Sunday that you are ok with extremely loud house music during the day at the pool. I wasn't sure how bad it would be and it was really inescapable. Even the separate smaller Adults-only pool with limited seating had 5-6 speakers turned up to 11. That said, everyone seemed to be really blasting the music up and down miami beach this weekend, even the Surfcomber, which I remember as a slightly chiller vibe.

Chocobanana

I’m a current Marriott Ambassador and probably will still be one next year as well.

Honestly one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve ever had, basically all due to the front desk. Had a terrible attitude toward me for no reason, tried to charge a 7k deposit despite me pre-paying for the stay, completely lying to me about the possibility of late checkout (said they had high occupancy, reserving on the website says a different story). Cleaning service was also always at the wrong time (different time than requested).

Will say some people were nice, I got upgraded to fabulous suites using suite night awards but manager said we were “VIP” and was going to upgrade us further (honestly don’t know what happened to that), W Insiders did their best to help with everything.

Just can’t get over how poor the check in and check out are.

ElevatorEnthusiast

I booked a Spectacular Studio on points for Saturday night - the hotel was mostly sold out upon check-in. Not shockingly, my room was not ready until 3:10 PM. Despite that, I had a good time at the beach and pool while I was waiting.

I ended up being upgraded to a Fabulous Studio over on the low-rise wing in the corner. Very spacious! The living room furniture was very nice. Bed was pretty comfortable - wish the linens were thicker like new style W linens, but it is Miami. TV had Internet TV OS. Bathroom was pretty - shower had good pressure. Did not use the large hot tub-style tub. Clean and plush towels!

Some minor maintenance issues - prong stuck in one of the bathroom outlets, wonky automatic blackout curtain on one of the windows, and a dirty outside side window. Sound proofing from the outside wasn't amazing, but I slept fine.

Elite Continental breakfast was definitely heavy on the carbs - toast and a pastry basket seemed a bit much. Still, the food wasn't terrible for a light breakfast (if you don't eat it all), delivery happened in like 10 minutes, and there was no bill to sign. Free coffee was also served in the lobby restaurant.

Service was a big highlight - front desk was uniformly nice and remembered my name thoughtout the stay, my W Insider texted me updates as I was waiting for my room, pool staff was very friendly and remembered my name, I received a nice welcome gift of a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a white chocolate shell full of assorted candies, and Housekeeping came for turndown service and to leave chocolates.

The pool was wonderful - a small wait for lounge chairs on Saturday, but the large and warm pool was great for swimming.

The beach seemed a bit disorganized - no towels at 10:30 AM, and I was asked to move seats twice (first was for Residents, and second was a reserved row - no signs for either). Still, it was nice to get in the ocean, despite it being quite cold.

I called down about late checkout this morning - could only extend an hour to Noon.

Another highlight was the angsty guests yelling at the Front Desk for not giving them new keys without ID while the Front Desk smiled and winked at me during the guests' unintelligible ranting. Not sure why they were angry when the manager gave them their keys because they recognized them. I love a good show!

Overall, this was a fun time! On points, the STR is probably a better value (especially considering the breakfast), but the people watching here is sublime!

platbrownguy

Nice review -- I saw the property when I was at the Confidante last weekend and hadn't even realized it was there. Will consider it for next time -- your room looks awesome. And the location is great, closer to the south beach madness than the Confidante but still a few blocks from chaos.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Agreed - I'm not much of a partier, but I liked the proximity to good restaurants near Lincoln Road. I'm staying at The Confidante next time I'm in town in April because of my FNCs, and the location is a bit of a bummer on that end.

platbrownguy

It's not bad though! The Confidante's location is part of the draw for me, because I don't particularly want to stay within earshot of the Wet Willie's crowd. You can get in and out of it pretty easily but you're not stuck in it. And you can walk to Ceviches by Divino (or to Piola across the street for pizza).

The W seems like it's an even better compromise though, close to food, walkable to Lincoln Rd, etc., but still north of the Ocean Drive mayhem.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Thanks for the Piola recommendation - I found Mister 01 this trip for pizza - absolutely divine (and, thankfully, there's multiple across town).

And, yes, didn't seem to be much mayhem around the W (except for the drunk crowd yelling at their Uber at STK at the 1 next door) - the Beachwalk was nice at night. Definitely could hear some sirens throughout the night, and it did seem like we were pretty close to the descent flight path into MIA. Still, though, I think my room's abundance of windows contributed to that more than most of the rooms would experience.

rhg247

I hadn't seen this mentioned, but I'm just wrapping up a 3 night stay in a fantastic? fabulous? suite. SNA cleared (yay)

Trip has been great and the service is top notch,

The thing I hadn't seen mentioned was the surprise that they have a penthouse "club lounge" open from 10-6pm with snacks and free beer and soft drinks. It's like walking into someone's room with a bed and hot tub upstairs. Odd. But I certainly appreciate the effort ...and free drinks.

TerryK

.Were you advised at check-in regarding club lounge access? Was it for all guests or only elites?

rhg247

I’m titanium. And I was advised at check in. I remarked that I didn’t know the W even had such a thing. They handed me a little business card with the elite benefits on it.

The breakfast info was on there …room service carb and fruit and coffee or 40% off the real buffet downstairs ~$40-$16 per person , a free smoothie at the wet bar, and something else. I seem to have lost it or I’d have posted a picture.

i think the odd lounge is for titanium and ambassadors only but don’t quote me on that

rhg247

Found it. It doesn’t mention the PH “club” room accesss. So I’m still guessing it’s only for Plats and up.
Looks like all elite members enjoy:

Elite mix and mingle. Enjoy a bubbly at the Living Room Bar on Saturday 6pm-7pm

Dine with us at RWSB for a complimentary glass of Prosecco

Enjoy a complimentary daily smoothie at Wet

Plats and up also get:
Option of 1000 points
or 40% discount on Breakfast buffet at RWSB 7-11:30 or complimentary elite breakfast for two with in room dining

enhanced wifi

ElevatorEnthusiast

I had no idea about the "club" lounge when I was there a couple of months back. Interesting.

Eternity000

I booked a few point nights at W South Beach and was slightly annoyed to see a resort fee. Beyond the beach towels and chairs one of the items mentioned is premium internet. Isn’t this something that comes automatically as a Marriott gold? I recall reading somewhere that if they charge resort fees for something you already have they have to offer something else in exchange. Any clue on what we can ask for instead?

MSPeconomist

That was the old Starwood SPG rule, pre-merger. Good luck getting anything with Marriott Bonvoy.