miami hotels airport vs port??

[drpmr1]

hi everyone. am leaving miami on cruise in a few months. question is. should my family and i stay in hotel at airport(looking for hotel less than 75$) and shuttle to port(any suggestions of how to get to port or hotels that offer shuttles) or stay at port of miami(any hotels less than 75$ that are not dumps????)

thanks:cool:

[TrentS]

Sorry, but Miami is far from the cheapest city to rent a hotel room in... Anything you can book directly for less than $75 per night most of the year IS going to be a dump. People seem to get the Hyatt downtown on Priceline for very low rates at times though, you may wish to go that route if you want a "non-dump" for a low rate. That's a okay hotel, and only a 10 minute cab ride to the Port of Miami.

[kathy7558]

I just got the Sheraton Biscayne Bay for $50 on Priceline.

[Bequia]

I just got the Sheraton Biscayne Bay for $50 on Priceline.

 

Congratulations, thats a great price for a decent hotel. ;)

[jewlrybabe]

We got the Holiday Inn Airport for $37.00 Priceline for this week. It includes transportation to and from the airport and pier.

I'll let you know how it was when we get back. Oh, by the way got it bidding 2 stars airport area.

Gotta get back to packing.......

[dkort]

hi.

 

we just wanted to comment on the other person's comment about "anything under $75 being a dump" and also about the hyatt on 2d ave as being "okay." have you personally stayed at the hyatt? just curious. we've stayed there on several occasions, and it's definitely more than "just okay."

 

first of all, please define dump. Forget the brochure. Anyone can take a web picture. Personal, first hand, professional reviewing, and then an amateur's review is always the best.

 

here's our definition of a dump, plain and simple. we define dump as any hotel that is not rated in the triple A book or cannot be found in any traveler's guide. these type of hotels have no guideline established.

 

once we have found a hotel that is rated or professionally reviewed, then we look for a hotel that is at least a 2-5 star, depending on the reason of our travel. once that has been established, we then seek out amateur guides, such as the cruise critic board, or other web sources.

 

with this criteria in mind, there are hotels that are less than $75 for one night in the miami area that are not "dumps."

[TrentS]

Yes, I HAVE been in the rooms at the Hyatt, and many other hotels in South Florida... Perhaps I'm a little pickier than most, but I'm very particular about where I sleep, and while the Hyatt is IMO "okay", it's NOT 4 or 5 star! Sorry if you disagree, JUST MY OPINION!!!

 

And I stated to the OP that if he wants a decent hotel for $75 he should try Priceline as he couldn't book the Hyatt or anything comparable directly for that price (their rack rate is something like $159/night), but people regularly get it for much less than $75 using Priceline.

 

And I would consider anything 2 star or less a DUMP. I'm sure there are some exceptions, but I have seen more than my share of 2 star rated hotels that are filthy, disgusting, unsafe places!

[dkort]

hi trent:

 

are you a travel agent or something? involved in the business in any way? sales maybe? disgruntled former employee? you seem to have an absolutely incredible knowledge of the cruise industry and hotels.

 

according to you, the hyatt is "okay." the marriott biscayne is "okay." uh. say what? excuse me? yes, these are not 4 or 5 star hotels, but the MAJORITY of people coming in for one night pre cruise are not looking for 4 or 5 star hotels. people are just looking for a nice place to stay precruise.

 

you say it's your opinion. however, a friend of mine who has never traveled to south florida before and was looking for a hotel precruise emailed me and said she would NEVER stay at the hyatt or marriott based on what you wrote. she decided that the only place to stay was lowes sobe because of what you said. i had to call her directly and explain what you wrote.

 

your opinion is definitely not indicative of the thousands of cruise passengers that stay at the sheraton, marriott or hyatt. i mean, come on. you definitely have to agree that both of those hotels offer a LOT MORE than just a place to put your head and take a shower.

 

i have never stayed at the marriott biscayne, but i've stayed at the hyatt on several occasions. it is a very, very nice hotel. i am sure it is not as nice as the lowes, but the hyatt was very, very nice. i've also stayed at the sheraton which i thought was also a very, very nice hotel.

[TrentS]

I have nothing to do with the travel industry or ANY hotels whatsoever, and never have. I merely travel a lot, cruise a lot, and have several friends who do the same... I've stayed in all types of hotels all over the world, and been on a great deal of ships from mainstream to high end. I MERELY STATE MY OWN PERSONAL OPINIONS, which is all ANYONE does on here, and I think most people are smart enough to know that... I never said anything BAD about the Marriott, Hyatt or Sheraton. They are AVERAGE hotels, they're 3 star hotels, not 4 or 5, THREE... That's AVERAGE. I had nothing at all to do with those hotels receiving that rating, but I would agree with it. I guess we just have different standards regarding what's "very, very nice", and we'll have to agree to disagree.

[dkort]

trent:

 

spoke to spouse regarding this. looks like we were both wrong re hyatt! it's not that your opinion is wrong, of course, but you must be a very, very, VERY discriminating traveler!!

 

hyatt regency miami, 4 diamond rating in the triple A book. also 4 stars according to the mobil travel guide.

 

just thought you'd like to know - - -

[TrentS]

Well it says "Four-Diamond, Three-Star" right on the Hyatt's website...

 

http://miamiregency.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml

 

Yes, I AM very picky. I've never made any secret of that... But because I say a hotel is "average", "okay" or "fine" doesn't mean it's BAD. If I thought a particular hotel was bad, or was a dump, I would say it's bad, or a dump, and I would say to stay away... I've NEVER said that about the Hyatt, Marriott, or Sheraton.

 

I sent this threat to a friend of mine who's company sends him down here for a meeting about every 2-3 months and always books him at that Hyatt. He called me back laughing and said he thought "Hyatts, Hiltons, Marriotts, and Sheratons are all just average hotels". He also said he thought that particular Hyatt is "alright, but it's not one of their better hotels". But the only opinion that matters is yours... Everyone has different tastes, different standards. If we all had the same opinion of everything it would be a pretty bizarre world!

 

That Hyatt has been around about 20 years, and it's been the subject of many threads on here. As with ANY hotel, some think it's wonderful, a few have said it's horrible... They're all just opinions... Many people on here say they've gotten it for $50-55 on Priceline and it's certainly a much better hotel than that price would reflect. At $50-55 it's a heck of a bargain!

[Cruisin Dave]

We got the Hyat Regency downtown for $57 thru Priceline. You can get a good 3* for less than $75. Good luck.

Dave