delraybusinesstraveler

I have stayed at this property a few times in the last 3 months.
The service has gone downhill. Just today checked in and the room had no remote control, no toilet paper in the bathroom, and no glasses.

Let's not even mention no fridge per my or Concierge floor room per my Platinum preferences.

Took me over an hour just to get a remote control so I might relax for a few minutes at 9pm at at night after traveling and working all day.

And they recently had a supposed multi million dollar renovation but neglected to put something simple like WiFi in the rooms like even Faifield inns have.

This is no doubt my last stay at this property and I really need to start considering Hilton.

OU812

Was it just this one incident or have things built up over your past couple of stays? As far as getting your Plat preferences, if there is not a frig in your room when you arrive a call to AYS, usually takes care of it. I agree, an hour to get your remote, is insane, but it is a large hotel and at the time of night there probably is only one guy in engineering addressing all the calls.

I used to stay at this hotel all the time for business and got some amazing upgrades to huge suites overlooking the bay. But it really depends on who was working the front desk. The biggest problem was that the hotel caters to cruise ship passengers and some weeks the hotel really was sold out.

I would let the GM know about your issues. Also, before leaving for another chain, I would consider the numerous other Marriotts & Rens in Miami, including the JW downtown, the Eden Roc Miami Beach, the Marriott South Beach to name a few. Also, this is off-season for Miami/Miami Beach, so you may be able to negotiate a rate at one of those properties that is close to what you are getting at the Biscayne Bay Marriott.

Regards,

RIP...

delraybusinesstraveler

Last couple of stays have not been great but this was the far worst at any property I've stayed at. So much I've never written anything bad about a property on FT.

As far as upgrades, 4 stays here in 3 months and no upgrades

libuser

I got a huge suite last time I was there, and not to mention their nice lounge. I enjoyed their bfast, evening snacks kind of sucked though. They also gave me an option of having the brekkie in their restaurant which I thought was real nice as well...

And last time I was there 5 months ago they let me chose of a bunch of fortune cookies, and I picked one with 15,000 MR points. So that was a nice surprice there... Sorry you had a bad stay. I would certainly follow it up with upper management.

moman

bienvenidos a miamě!

To be fair, I've had normally very good experiences at this property. it is very dependent on who is working the check in, as previously noted. one time I was there I had to trek from the lobby to the 31st floor four times because the room key reader didn't work at 1 am. I requested breakfast in comp and was told to go pound sand. which I promptly did the next day at the Hyatt down the road, which is a very nice property as well.

jpmardini

You should check out the new JW Marriott Marquis, which I believe is close by to the Marriott Biscayne Bay. It was excellent! ^

jjnv

DH stayed there late June with a friend. They arrived at 1am due to flight delay. We had reservation for two rooms for nights. Desperate showing the front desk clerk both reservations, they were told there was only one reservation. They finally got two rooms but only one room for two nights. Received the invoice for one room in the morning. DH went to front desk trying to extend that room, was told they were completely booked. I went online and made a reservation for one night, no problem at all, even got a lower rate with AAA discount. He used that reservation to extend his room.

I am platinum member with almost 100 night this year, never had this kind of problem with another Marriott.

AATrout

I'm in Miami on biz 12-14 November but our booking folks could not get me into the JW which is not far from Brickell and easily walkable to where I have business.

Interested in current experiences at the BB Marriott in general, the CL situation and your experiences, TIA/Dave

moman

Still a great property - lounge is wonderful with a great view. Lobby is nice and the lobby bar is great too. Depending on the time (generally whether a cruise leaves the next day) the lobby will either be way over packed or just "busy".

AATrout

THX for the follow-up. I'll update after my stay//

SkiAdcock

Please do. Your fellow FTers will appreciate it.

Cheers. Sharon

AATrout

This was an interesting stay - only 2 nights. Uneven performance by management and those at the desk but the front-line folks were great.

A 2-day (check in 12 Nov, check out 14 Nov) biz trip, I booked 2 rooms - one for me, one for other guy on the trip. I get in to MIA as sked around 1900, get the car and check in around 2000. The other guy was coming in from BWI with an ETA like mine but was delayed so he cabbed it , checking in around 2115. I had told the elite check in employee he needed to split the reservation once the other guy checked in and repeated it it when he arrived. He checked in and assumed the reservation with his own AMEX.

My AMEX was billed for his "no show" on 13 Nov. That was Wednesday. Made 3 calls to accounting - no credit. Called the manager from MIA on 14 Nov (Julie) - she didn't bother to return my call and as of 17 Nov I have no indication a credit is on the way.


The good:
- Great valet guys, friendly and efficient.
- FITCEN still overlooks the bay, modern treadmills/ellipticals. Good free weights and a bench, and a rack.
- Pool and jacuzzi, but it is basically a 4-person hot tub. Jets are weak.
- CL: Key here is that the hot and cold evening setup goes to CLOSING - 2 hot choices ( spinach pockets/jalapeno poppers 1 night, egg rolls/mini hot dog rolls the next. Plus cold cuts & cheese, rustic bread and the same fruit setup for breakfast ) pineapple, melon, strawberries). Each night they have a mini cup - one night it was gazpacho, the next was a mini caesar. The attendant serves the alcohol. Like the FITCEN the CL overlooks the Bay.

Breakfast has the fruit mentioned above, scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon, yogurt, oatmeal w/raisins and brown sugar, cold cereal, and orange, cranberry and pink grapefruit juices. Coffee includes espresso and cappuccino.

-Rooms were updated and modern but w/tubs -vs- walk-in showers. I had a good bay view on the 26th floor a short walk from the CL.

The bad: In addition to the billing flail-ex and snub from the manager, on check-out I got zero help from the front desk breaking a $20 to tip the valets. None of the stations had change except for $1 bills so they told me to stand in line at the store, jammed with some check-ins from a cruise liner dropoff.

The guy with me dug around & had some $1 bills so he handled it.

Takeways: Great CL with the extended hours for hot snacks. FITCEN is excellent, rooms are good.

Excellent line employees. Unsatisfactory to indifferent at the front desk, manager obviously could care not less about their billing mistakes. JW for me the next time.

blast00

Staying here over christmas! Any recommendations of things to do or see? Places to eat?

AATrout

You can probably check out TripAdvisor for dining also but there are two places I like.

1) Believe it or not a great Italian place is a mile away @10th & Brickell near one of the Fed bdlgs I'm in frequently. I love the place for anything from a fast sandwich at lunch to a great dinner. Check it out:

http://www.perricones.com/

2) I would try Davids Cafe on the beach for Cuban/American, not far from the hotel:

http://www.davidscafe.com/

njcommodore

Good choice with Perricone's. There's a shopping area right behind that with a lot of other restaurants and shops. I would head there early in your trip and decide if you want to go back. I'm not a big South Beach fan and enjoy the areas such as where Perricone's is at.