Miami Port Hotel Assistance Needed.

[MikePowers]

We've never sailed from Miami and need assistance in the choice of a hotel near the port area. Some friends have suggested the Doubletree Key Biscane. Anyone been there? We're looking for a clean property that might be near an outdoor restaurant.

 

It's a special trip for and we are seeking a nice property without breaking the bank. Thanks and we appreciate your input.

 

Mike

[chuly]

We've never sailed from Miami and need assistance in the choice of a hotel near the port area. Some friends have suggested the Doubletree Key Biscane. Anyone been there? We're looking for a clean property that might be near an outdoor restaurant.

 

It's a special trip for and we are seeking a nice property without breaking the bank. Thanks and we appreciate your input.

 

Mike

 

Hello Mike:

 

Your friends probably meant the Doubletree Biscayne Bay (not Key Biscayne). The Doubletree is next door to the Biscayne Bay Marriott. I don't think there any any outdoor restaurants within walking distance although they are both near the port and are both nice hotels. The Intercontinental Hotel is also an excellent choice and you can walk to Bayside Marketplace where there are different choices of restaurants. You could also stay in South Beach which is not far from the Port and there you can find tons of great outdoor restaurants both in Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road. It's also great to "people watch" in South Beach!

[2SeaWithMe]

We stayed at Doubletree Biscayne Bay and thought it was a gorgeous hotel. I did a booking online for cruise, park and stay, the hotel will let you park up to 14 days I believe. There is a free shuttle to the port, but make sure to sign up for a time slot the day before. ($149 per evening- cheaper than parking alone)

 

The room was very large, and we had a balcony facing the bay and you could see the cruise ships at the port from the room. The room had a separate double sink outside of the bathroom that's perfect for a gal to do her makeup or a man to shave without standing in a steamy bathroom. The bathroom also had a bidet.

 

Downstairs below the hotel, there are several restaurants, coffee shops, beauty salon, mini-mart type store, etc. I wish I had known that, because I would have scheduled my mani-pedi there instead of rushing to do it before I left or paying onboard spa prices.

 

If you don't need parking, there's a hotel, breakfast and port transportation package as well. Before we knew there were restaurants downstairs, we ordered room service breakfast...which was nice and it was prepared well, but expensive. I think around $30-40 for breakfast.

 

The downsides of the room...the furniture was old, visibly worn and dated. The tv is not a flat screen. However, for a one night stay at a wonderful rate, the room was clean, the beds were extremely comfortable, and the service was top notch. At check in they give you warm cookies. There's also a stocked mini-bar in the room.

 

Let me know if you would like to see pictures of our room. I'm a fan of the hilton brand but seeing as I booked this sight unseen on the internet, I was really pleased with the room. We met others on board who also booked without knowing the property and were ecstatic with their balcony.

[masonpips]

We Pricelined and have stayed at the Intercontinental (nice), Hilton (great view of the port/Liberty coming in that year in the very early dawn hours, my son and I were both up watching!) and have the Marriott Biscayne for this trip. I would be fine w/all via Priceline.

 

I've done a lot of research lately on yelp.com looking at restaurants, they seem to always have the most "real people/recent" reviews. We walked from the Hilton to Bayside Marketplace and it was a bit of a hike, but doable. A cab ride would be maybe $5?

 

Hope this helps!

[MikePowers]

We stayed at Doubletree Biscayne Bay and thought it was a gorgeous hotel. I did a booking online for cruise, park and stay, the hotel will let you park up to 14 days I believe. There is a free shuttle to the port, but make sure to sign up for a time slot the day before. ($149 per evening- cheaper than parking alone)

 

Let me know if you would like to see pictures of our room. I'm a fan of the hilton brand but seeing as I booked this sight unseen on the internet, I was really pleased with the room. We met others on board who also booked without knowing the property and were ecstatic with their balcony.

 

Thanks so much for your comments. Yes, please post a link to the room photo. Again we deeply appreciate your time.

 

Lucy

[bighairtexan]

The Intercontinental, as someone posted, is w/in an easy walk to the Bayside Marketplace. A nice hotel and you can usually get a good rate on lastminutetravel dot com. It's what you normally get on that site for "5 star hotel in Downtown Miami".

 

PS: you don't have to travel last minute to use that site.

[slugger44]

Just booked the Intercontinental for $170 on LMT

[2SeaWithMe]

 

If my husband only knew how much he ends up on the internet...

 

 

The closet also held an ironing board/iron.

 

 

 

above is the view from the balcony.

 

I'm sparing you the picture I took of the bathroom, LOL!

[jerseygirl3]

Here's another vote for Intercontinental Hotel downtown Miami. You can literally see your ship from the hotel...it's the closest hotel to the Port of Miami.

 

If you need help figuring out which hotel it is on lasteminutetravel.com just give a yell. Depending on your time of year, you can get a very good deal on this 5 star hotel.

 

Jo-Ann

[rhuntington3]

The Intercontinental, as someone posted, is w/in an easy walk to the Bayside Marketplace. A nice hotel and you can usually get a good rate on lastminutetravel dot com. It's what you normally get on that site for "5 star hotel in Downtown Miami".

 

PS: you don't have to travel last minute to use that site.

 

I looked last night and could not find it. I'll look again. $256 for one night is a bit much.

[bfork1]

Just booked the Intercontinental for $170 on LMT

 

kinda high dont ya think for LMT Deals. When are you sailing? the hyatt is $103 now for our apr 2 sailing.

[ccletzgo]

Love, love, loved the Intercontinental...:)

[travelingmom37]

duplicate post, sorry.

[travelingmom37]

Just booked the Hilton Airport West for this coming Sunday( Jan.30). The price was under $150 w/ taxes on travelocity, includes airport shuttle and breakfast. I am traveling alone and this was an easy choice. i will just take a cab to get around t Sunday. The hotel, while nothing special, is also close to the port.

 

Last time we pricelined a four star downtown and got the Hyatt .

The downtown area is not the greatest, but Bayside is quite nice.

[bfork1]

Just booked the Hilton Airport West for this coming Sunday( Jan.30). The price was under $150 w/ taxes on travelocity, includes airport shuttle and breakfast. I am traveling alone and this was an easy choice. i will just take a cab to get around t Sunday. The hotel, while nothing special, is also close to the port.

 

Last time we pricelined a four star downtown and got the Hyatt .

The downtown area is not the greatest, but Bayside is quite nice.

 

how was the hyatt?

[LouL]

Used Priceline twice for downtown hotels..got Hyatt once and

Intercontinental last time. Intercontinental was our favorite, paid

alittle extra at arrival to get beautiful bay view...but just had to

have that view of our ship coming in at dawn.

 

PS: Hyatt was good.

[bighairtexan]

RICHARD,

I sent you an email for the link. It's $102 for our Friday, the 2nd of December. I agree, I'm not willing to pay $256. That's a lot of drinks in the Molecular Bar!

[rhuntington3]

RICHARD,

I sent you an email for the link. It's $102 for our Friday, the 2nd of December. I agree, I'm not willing to pay $256. That's a lot of drinks in the Molecular Bar!

 

 

Got it, thank you!!!!

[chuly]

Just so you know that now not far from the Hyatt is Mary Brickell Village full of new and great restaurants. Very close to the Hyatt is also Capital Grille Restaurant and several new upscale hotels/condominiums that have very nice restaurants. :)

[chuly]

For those of you who like to try new cusine, there is a new Peruvian restaurant downtown not far from the entrance to the Port, Bayside, Intercontinental Hotel, Hyatt, etc. called Cvi.che 105 (Ceviche 105). You can check out their website, ceviche105.com. We went to celebrate our friend's 40th birthday and loved it!

[geojohn46]

We booked the Conrad Miami on LMT for 97 plus fees. Also, there is a free monorail/tram system connecting all of downtown Miami including Bayside Marketplace. Great shopping/entertainment/restaurant area. Don't waste your money on cabs, except to the pier.

[unforgettable]

We live in South Florida (Palm Beach County) and take frequent weekend trips to Miami. Our preferences include the Marriott Biscayne Bay (not sure about outdoor dining nearby though) and the Intercontinental Hotel. If you stay at the Intercontinental, you can walk to Bayside Marketplace via Bayfront Park. It's an enjoyable stroll along the waterfront and Bayside Marketplace has a wide variety of outdoor dining, shops, etc.

[Allis154]

Stayed at the InterContinental last week for one night pre cruise. I booked it through LMT a couple of days before we sailed.

 

The staff was fabulous and the location was good. The room was tired with broken drapes (wouldn't close properly and we faced condos) and the wallpaper was peeling off the walls in the bathroom.

 

The park and Bayside was a stroll away. There was a band playing in the park until late the night we were there. Even though we didn't face the park, we could clearly hear the music, keeping us up.

 

Overall, we wouldn't pay the rate we got from LMT to stay there again, and diffently wouldn't pay the rack rate!

[jerseygirl3]

Stayed at the InterContinental last week for one night pre cruise. I booked it through LMT a couple of days before we sailed.

 

The staff was fabulous and the location was good. The room was tired with broken drapes (wouldn't close properly and we faced condos) and the wallpaper was peeling off the walls in the bathroom.

 

The park and Bayside was a stroll away. There was a band playing in the park until late the night we were there. Even though we didn't face the park, we could clearly hear the music, keeping us up.

 

Overall, we wouldn't pay the rate we got from LMT to stay there again, and diffently wouldn't pay the rack rate!

 

Wow, can't believe you had a room facing the condos and you could hear the band playing at Bayside.

 

We always stay at IC and love it. For the price we can get on LMT, it can't be beat. We've had rooms both facing the condos and facing the bay, and although the band was playing when we walked over to Bayside, we've never heard it in our rooms. Now the one time we stayed at Holiday Inn across the street from Bayside, we did hear the bands playing late at night, but we were told by hotel mgtm that it wasn't the hired band. Apparently a lot of "street" bands go there after hours and play until they are chased away by the police, but they come right back.

[travelingmom37]

how was the hyatt?

The Hyatt was fine, nothing specail. It was hard to walk around at night due to the area ( and my hubby is a big guy and a New Yorker), Maybe the area is more developed now, this was 2-3 years ago.

For $100 I'd take it but we had hoped for the Intercontinental.