KENNECTED

Interesting I see this more as a Luxury Collection property.

abk

Not to quibble but the Westin is on the Miracle Mile in downtown Coral Cables.

KosherKimchee

After Marriott merger who would actually choose this place over the (vastly superior) JW Marriott Marquis right across the drawbridge.

TravelinSperry

Anyone with Plat status at Starwood but no status at Marriott

bhrubin

Well, the Viceroy was always considered among the better luxury hotels in/near downtown. So is the JW Marriott Marquis Miami you reference. But the JW Marriott Miami property down Brickell is not in the same league. So depending on rates and availability, I'd say the JW Marriott Marquis and refurbished W Miami both will be excellent options. I wouldn't say the JW Marriott Marquis is vastly superior at all, but to each, their own.

After the W gets refurbished, who can say if it won't be better appointed and more luxe than the Marquis?

JW Marriotts are nice hotels...but they also can be antiseptic. W hotels are nice hotels...but they have a great youthful energy and social atmosphere, if you like that sort of thing. It isn't difficult to believe that I might prefer one over the other depending on the nature of my stay and with whom I may be traveling.

khabah

From what I made of all the press releases, the only renovations will be to the lobby on the fifteenth floor, the WET deck on the fiftieth and other small branding bits here and there. The rooms will probably only get W-branded bedding but they look great as they do.

Great to have another wonderful option from SPG in Miami!

khabah

Non-NonRev

Isn't the Viceroy/W a condo hotel?

dw

It's a development where there is a condo component with a branded affiliation with the hotel. However, I do not believe that it's a "condo hotel" in the sense that condos are put into the hotel's room inventory.

joeypore

This is a nice addition to Miami. The W South Beach is one of the best North American W Hotels, but the rates are too insane most of the time.

Would have been nicer if they took the Conrad and changed it to a W. The Conrad doesn't feel like a real Conrad, but could definitely work as a W. Oh well.

Cool to have this new option.

dtwdoc

Any word on what the platinum breakfast is?

Also, for people familiar with the property - I have an upcoming extended stay here (4 weeks). Called the hotel to see what their rate would be and they offered a studio in the residents portion. Is this the same building? Any downside?

MapleLeafss

A friend of mine used to live in the residential part, which is called Icon. I stayed with him a couple years ago when I was in Miami. The whole complex is three towers - two Icon, one the hotel - which I think are basically identical. They all share the same (awesome) main pool in the middle on the deck above the bay, and if I recall correctly residents also have access to all of the hotel amenities (you just have to walk across the pool deck to get to the hotel). The residential building had its own really nice gym with a spa area with steam room, hot tub, etc. The apartment was really nice, so if I were you I would definitely consider it as I would be happier in an apartment for a month as opposed to a hotel (but with access to all the same amenities).

dtwdoc

Just as a follow-up to my own questions:

Checked in last night. The W residences are directly on top of the hotel and share the same amenities. Studio is nice, has a modern kitchen, and a balcony. All in for 31 days including final cleaning fee and valet parking was 3100.

Platinum amenity is continental breakfast. However this morning I was told I can apply $17 towards a breakfast of my choice.

Pool is exceptionally nice

ucfjoe

Thanks for the follow up. I stayed there a few years back and it was a very nice place but comparatively quiet with yes a very nice pool. Clearly many of the condos weren't occupied often at least when I was there. I'd say you got a pretty good rate and I'd suspect it isn't repeatable or at least folks shouldn't expect it. A new downtown apartment, unfurnished, with a year lease, would put you at around $2k/mo. I don't recall the hotel rooms having a kitchen so that's another plus for you on the residence side.

jcamp028

I've stayed here. The pool is nice but that's about it. The Viceroy wasn't a 5 star hotel as advertised.

Unfortunately the hotel is but a small part of the massive condo complex. The pool area gets overrun by condo owners/renters and their guests. When I was there I also noticed that the security guards around the pool were completely overzealous. They weren't even allowing people to take photos on the pool deck of the surrounding canals/bay area. I would choose the Mandarin over this. It didn't feel like the experience of staying in a hotel. It felt like I was visiting a friend who had a condo with pool access.

ucfjoe

so 1, I'd say that Mandarin IS the nicest downtown hotel it's just that you can't walk to many places. I know I know Uber, but I love the ability to walk places. Second JW Marquis/Beau Arts is probably the best finish hotel and location isn't bad. That said I've only stayed at Veceroy twice and I thought everything was 5* but it wasn't crowded when I was them to the extent that a coworker brought girls up to the pool and they proceeded to smoke with no issue (which I'm not condoning).

I don't get what you said about security not allowing pictures of river/canal. Railings were pretty protective, so if they tried to stop me id have ignored them and kept on. I will say that it was not a party focused hotel and more about "luxury" non common folk but if expect that would be the first thing to change with W hosting some real blow out weekend parties with a DJ on hand. Not saying I want this but kind of expect it.