Downtown Miami Hotels

[vski21]

For several weeks now I have been reading about Priceline, Hotwire and Last Minute Travel. Last year when I cruised I used Last Minute Travel and got the Intercontinental for $166 and loved it "as it was next to Bayside Marketplace". Last year I learned how to tell what hotel I was getting on cruisecritic. I also keep reading the sticky listed above on winning bids and I have been reading betterbidding. This year, I don't see anyone winning the Intercontinental. I am posting to see if anyone has had any success or if you have another suggestions by Bayside Marketplace (like the Holiday Inn...Port of Miami). My travel date is 2/22 - 2/23/12.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have never used Priceline or Hotwire either..so if you have any tips, I would love to hear them!!

[aurelius180]

I don't have any experience with Priceline or Hotwire as I've always been successful with LMT. I will say that it is still pretty early to be looking on LMT.

 

Good luck in finding a hotel! :)

[parrotfeathers]

I got Intercontinental on Chopin St. yesterday for $122 plus taxes on LMT. I am too scared to try priceline.

[ORV]

I got Intercontinental on Chopin St. yesterday for $122 plus taxes on LMT. I am too scared to try priceline.

 

That sounds like a great rate. When are you going? That seems to have a huge impact on the price.

[parrotfeathers]

Mid October this year. Sunday night.

 

 

That sounds like a great rate. When are you going? That seems to have a huge impact on the price.

[JohninDC]

. My travel date is 2/22 - 2/23/12. !!

 

You are travelling 4 months ago? Or did you mean February 2013? :confused:

 

Feb is a high demand month and, assuming you meant 2013, you are too early for good deals on those bidding sites. I suggest that you book something NOW that can be cancelled without penalty, and then keep shopping! Good luck! :)

[eandj]

A Friday-Sat night in February is definitely going to demand higher rates than a Sunday in October. :o

I would find something cancellable in a price that you can live with if you really want to book now. Then weekly start checking the discount sites come Sept. A few rooms might be put out early.

 

Keep an eye too on betterbidding.com where you'll find "wins" reported. Just make sure you are looking at the exact date you need. There is no use comparing rates for other dates. Inventory changes day to day.

[corkyanige]

I say keep looking! It's never to early to look. I thought I was way to early when I found a fantastic price ($139w/taxes) for the IC for December cruise. And that was back in February!! That's a Friday night (pre-cruise) and Saturday night (post-cruise). I realize the time of year is big factor as well.

[vski21]

Thank you so much for all your reply's and suggestions. My travel dates are in February of 2013. I will keep reading and looking. If you come across any helpful hints in the future...please let me know. Thank you again...you are all wonderful!!

[youngestof9]

February is a nightmare! I got the same IC deal last year (January 2011) but nothing for my travel dates (I'm sailing a week before you). Holiday Inn PoM (right by Bayside also) is completely sold out - I even called to double check (sometimes the internet lies ;) ) IC is over $300. Yikes!!!

 

I ended up using last minute travel and booking the Mariott Courtyard Downtown for $126 plus tax ($142 and change total) for our date. I didn't want to risk not being able to get anything.

[LynnAnne]

Tell me about the Mariot please!! Can you walk to Bayside from it?? We are also looking for a place in Feb. I called LMT and they said it was to early to get a room at IC. Thanks

[deschoolie]

Hi Vski21,

some options that I am using:

1) Booked the Holiday Inn downtown (Dec16th cruise on the Pearl) for $40 by using some built up priority club points and paying the remainder in cash.

 

2) signed up for the Priority Club rewards Chase Visa card. $49 annual fee (1st year free). Includes annual hotel free stay voucher and after 1st use use get 60,000 points. Given the date of your cruise, you could get the CC and have time for the points to post to your account, then reserve a room for free. Just an idea...

[miamiyogi]

Tell me about the Mariot please!! Can you walk to Bayside from it??

 

Its an older hotel in downtown proper. The area is getting better all the time, there are now some pretty neat places to eat near it.

 

You could walk to Bayside but why? Walk one block west from your hotel and go up to Knight Center station. Get on the free Metromover, and take it to the next station (Bayfront) or to the station after (College/Bayside).

[calliopecruiser]

I came to this board looking for experiences with Casa Moderna in Miami as a day-before-departure hotel (didn't find any), but read this thread.....I'd never heard of Last Minute Travel until now but took a look. I discovered that looking at the photos can sometimes tell me the name of the hotel. Even if I don't recognize it, I can try and save one of the images, and the name of the file often has the hotel name in it. If it doesn't, I upload the image to http://www.tineye.com, and that search engine will find that image on the internet and tell me what hotel it belongs to.

 

I don't know if I'm the last one to figure this out (wouldn't surprise me, I can be a bit of a Luddite some times), but I thought I'd mention it.

[deschoolie]

Another tool to use (website) is bookingbuddy.com Ths site will search and provide seperate tabs for up to seven websites (expedia, cheapotravel, etc. Works for hotels and airfare. I ended up going this route for booking my flights in December as I had used up all my frequent flyer miles on the last three cruises.

[calliopecruiser]

I came to this board looking for experiences with Casa Moderna in Miami as a day-before-departure hotel (didn't find any)

 

I now realize now it used to be the Tempo Miami.......I did find comments about that, though.

[ORV]

Its an older hotel in downtown proper. The area is getting better all the time, there are now some pretty neat places to eat near it.

 

You could walk to Bayside but why? Walk one block west from your hotel and go up to Knight Center station. Get on the free Metromover, and take it to the next station (Bayfront) or to the station after (College/Bayside).

 

Any tips on places to eat downtown on a Sunday night? Thanks

 

I came to this board looking for experiences with Casa Moderna in Miami as a day-before-departure hotel (didn't find any), but read this thread.....I'd never heard of Last Minute Travel until now but took a look. I discovered that looking at the photos can sometimes tell me the name of the hotel. Even if I don't recognize it, I can try and save one of the images, and the name of the file often has the hotel name in it. If it doesn't, I upload the image to http://www.tineye.com, and that search engine will find that image on the internet and tell me what hotel it belongs to.

 

I don't know if I'm the last one to figure this out (wouldn't surprise me, I can be a bit of a Luddite some times), but I thought I'd mention it.

 

There's an easier way thanks to info I found here, go to post #16 in this thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=33690912&highlight=lmt#post33690912

 

I got the Courtyard Marriott Downtown on the 3rd of Feb for $135 with all taxes and fees from LMT, call them and you will get a better rate than is posted. You don't have to be a member to book through them.

[Ontario cruise duo]

I came to this board looking for experiences with Casa Moderna in Miami as a day-before-departure hotel (didn't find any), but read this thread.....I'd never heard of Last Minute Travel until now but took a look. I discovered that looking at the photos can sometimes tell me the name of the hotel. Even if I don't recognize it, I can try and save one of the images, and the name of the file often has the hotel name in it. If it doesn't, I upload the image to www.tineye.com, and that search engine will find that image on the internet and tell me what hotel it belongs to.

 

I don't know if I'm the last one to figure this out (wouldn't surprise me, I can be a bit of a Luddite some times), but I thought I'd mention it.

 

Even easier, is to call the 1-888 or 1-800 number listed on their website.

They will confirm which hotel it is BEFORE you book and give you an even better rate than the one posted on their website!! Give it a try, you are still under no obligation to book the hotel when you call.

[elmoe663]

Casa Moderna in Miami

 

 

Casa Moderna in Miami seems to be a very nice hotel in downtown Miami. Checked out there website looks very nice. Really nice if you can get it for discounted rates.:D:D

 

http://www.casamodernamiami.com/#index

[miamiyogi]

Any tips on places to eat downtown on a Sunday night? Thanks

 

Sunday night in that part of downtown is tricky, the area is starting to flourish, so hours fluctuate as the new businesses start up call ahead before venturing out.

 

Walking distance

Burgers=Filling Station/Garage Bar (Have a Mike's Speed Racer- thank me later)

Italian=Fratelli Milano (simply the best Italian in town, sadly closed Sunday)

Indonesian=Bali Cafe (closes early Sunday cash only)

Natural/Organic=Bryan in the Kitchen

Brazilian=Camila's (personally I don't like this one-but my pals love it)

Latin=Roho Cuban Coffee (also closes early)

 

Fine Dining=Area 31

ChopHouse

 

A little further away:

BBQ=Sparky's

English=Elwoods Gastro Pub

Chinese=Miss Yip

Sports Bar=Hoops

Dive Bar=Pub One

 

Don't forget you have the free Metromover almost next door, this opens up Bayside and Mary Brickell Village. Brickell has more options on a Sunday night.

 

 

 

[ORV]

Sunday night in that part of downtown is tricky, the area is starting to flourish, so hours fluctuate as the new businesses start up call ahead before venturing out.

 

Walking distance

Burgers=Filling Station/Garage Bar (Have a Mike's Speed Racer- thank me later)

Italian=Fratelli Milano (simply the best Italian in town, sadly closed Sunday)

Indonesian=Bali Cafe (closes early Sunday cash only)

Natural/Organic=Bryan in the Kitchen

Brazilian=Camila's (personally I don't like this one-but my pals love it)

Latin=Roho Cuban Coffee (also closes early)

 

Fine Dining=Area 31

ChopHouse

 

A little further away:

BBQ=Sparky's

English=Elwoods Gastro Pub

Chinese=Miss Yip

Sports Bar=Hoops

Dive Bar=Pub One

 

Don't forget you have the free Metromover almost next door, this opens up Bayside and Mary Brickell Village. Brickell has more options on a Sunday night.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'd go for the burger place but we have one in our group that's a non meat eater and that might be an issue. I noticed on another thread you mentioned Delores/Lolita. This looked pretty good as we're a group of 8, the last 4 won't get in till around 7 or so and it stays open till 11 on Sunday. I was a bit worried about some of their reviews on Trip Advisor.

 

At any rate if I've followed the other threads right, if I'm going there(or anywhere else in the Brickell Village area) from the Courtyard go about a block west to the Knight Station, go south to the Mary Brickell station, get off there and walk about a block east to Dolores.

 

My question is;

 

Does the Metromover go in a one way loop? From the map it appears we would need to ride it north then back south. Or am I missing something? Being from the sticks we don't have these new fangled things and it gets a bit confusing when we go into the big city.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[miamiyogi]

Thanks for the suggestions

 

No worries, my goal is for you to have a good time and rave about this city I love so much.

 

I checked out some of the reviews on TA for Dolores But You Can Call Me Lolita, there just seemed to be one or two bad ones, there always has to be a malcontent you know. We love Dolores/Lolita and frequent it quite a bit.

 

You are right about the mover. What you probably want to do is go to Knight Center, take the Downtown Loop to Government Center. Transfer to the other platform (Omni/Brickell) On the platform above you there is a yellow LCD sign: when it reads "Next Train => Brickell" get on that and take it to Brickell Station. Walk east from there.

 

To get back, board any Northbound train to Knight Center, go downstairs and back to your hotel.

 

Its quicker to walk to Third street station, from your hotel but it does get a bit desolate at night which is why I am routing you this way. Government and Brickell stations are major transfer points and are well populated at most hours. Knight Station is located inside an office building and is well guarded.

 

Need to mention the mover shuts down just short of midnight. A taxi back would be $8.00+/- and are plentiful in the Mary Brickell Village area. They are used to short trips in downtown.

[linda stupke]

I was looking all over those sites for a hotel in Jan. 2013 and finally I got the Marriott downtown for $123. with all taxes. I used LMT and then I got a coupon online for another $20. off. I googled last minute travel coupons and found it on retailmenot website. The coupon is good until Jul 8th. I am very interested in going over to Bayside so the info on the metromover is very helpful. Thank you everyone for such great help!!

[ORV]

No worries, my goal is for you to have a good time and rave about this city I love so much.

 

I checked out some of the reviews on TA for Dolores But You Can Call Me Lolita, there just seemed to be one or two bad ones, there always has to be a malcontent you know. We love Dolores/Lolita and frequent it quite a bit.

 

You are right about the mover. What you probably want to do is go to Knight Center, take the Downtown Loop to Government Center. Transfer to the other platform (Omni/Brickell) On the platform above you there is a yellow LCD sign: when it reads "Next Train => Brickell" get on that and take it to Brickell Station. Walk east from there.

 

To get back, board any Northbound train to Knight Center, go downstairs and back to your hotel.

 

Its quicker to walk to Third street station, from your hotel but it does get a bit desolate at night which is why I am routing you this way. Government and Brickell stations are major transfer points and are well populated at most hours. Knight Station is located inside an office building and is well guarded.

 

Need to mention the mover shuts down just short of midnight. A taxi back would be $8.00+/- and are plentiful in the Mary Brickell Village area. They are used to short trips in downtown.

 

Thanks again for the info, I'm still not quite clear on the mover. I'm looking at this map;

 

http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/metromover-stations.asp

 

What I'm trying to understand is do the trains move in a counter clockwise direction, or both ways? Unless the Downtown Loop(the orange line) goes in both directions I'm not sure why it's not the same to get on the Brickell line (dark blue) and just stay on it until the destination. If the orange line goes both ways then I understand what you are saying would be better.

[miamiyogi]

For this example, and this might be useful to the lurkers on this forum, I want you to look at the map you linked to and imagine you are at College/Bayside.

 

The orange loop (Downtown Loop) always travels Clockwise. It never crosses into the blue lines. It always follows the orange circle clockwise. So if we boarded the downtown loop from College/Bayside our next stop would be First Street and the next would be Bayfront Park. Easy right?

 

Okay the hard part. If we look at the LCD sign and it announces "Next Train=>Brickell Loop" we board that one, our next stop would be College North, followed in order by Wilkie Furgeson, Gov't Center, third Street, Riverwalk, Fifth Street, etc.

 

If we look at the LCD sign and it announces "Next Train=>Omni Loop" our next stop would be Freedom Tower, followed in order by Park West, Eleventh Street, etc.

 

Once the Omni Train reaches School Board, it comes back to College North, and then becomes the Brickell Loop train. Same thing when a train reaches end of the line on Brickell Loop at Financial Station, it returns on the same path and becomes the Omni train when it reaches Knight Center. While not on the Omni or Brickell Spurs, it runs counterclockwise of the Downtown Loop path.

 

At all platforms (except for Gov't Center) the sign looks like this:

 

At Gov't center the sign is smaller and overhead (sorry dont have a shot... I'll take a photo of it sometime in the future).

 

If for some reason the LCD sign is out, stick your head in the train and look for the scrolling LCD sign inside the train, it will read "Dowtown Loop, Omni Loop, or Brickell Loop" or feel free to just yell inside "Is this Omni or Brickell?" if the train is occupied.... even residents do this on occasion.