we stayed in late march 2005 also...it was overall a gre at place but the pool wasnt working...imsure once they get it up and running it will definatly be a 5 star....the inside is completely beautiful...........glad we stayed..might even go back in october!

Beware the Mayfair House Hotel in Coconut Grove, Florida.
This quaint boutique hotel promotes that all their rooms are suites with seperate sitting area, jacuzzis on the balcony and plush furnishings.

I can only say I was dissappointed on all counts and hope this review will encourage them to tell the truth and not dissappoint future travelers like myself who felt helpless once we had our reservations and checked in.

First of all the rooms are not suites but rooms. There are no seperate sitting areas. When we checked in I was told that all the suites had been given out and I was pretty much out of luck even though I had reserved one. My room had a bed, two night stands, a bureau which was unusable and a table and two chairs. No pictures on the walls, very spare, like a monastary. The area where there would have been a sofa or sitting area was vacant. They told me that the furniture had not been delivered as yet, so I was basically out of luck. We had a half furnished room.

The jacuzzi on the balcony is almost twenty years old, and to work it you must be an electrical engineer. Instructions tell you that it takes an hour and 1/2 to get it working. We never did and gave up out of fustration. In addition you can probably fit two small children in one.

Even though we told the hotel we were two people sharing the room their was only one robe, toiletries for one, and towels for one. Even though we requested amenities for two. After requesting two robes twice they finally brought another robe which was a worn out cotton one which had been laudered plenty. Not like the one nice plush robe which was in the room.

All in all a very dissappointing expereince!

Chose this hotel with guidance from this site --- and was glad we did. Stayed 1 night, in late March --- and am still talking about the place. The most unique place we've ever stayed.

Hotel IS under renovation - as others have written - but we knew that full well going in --- and were greatly surprised by the beauty and uniqueness of the place. Its open-air atrium is filled with lush plants and water features --- and beatiful, intricate tiling and wood carvings are everywhere in the hotel.

Our 600 square foot room was booked for just $159/night on the Kimpton Hotel site. In addition to marble tiled floor (no carpet!) - which kept us cool --- we had a 42" plasma TV - a hot tub on the balcony and a marble floored/walled bathroom of immense size and luxury.

One warning.... though situation worked out well for us... While at least two sides of the hotel look directly out on narrow side streets... at least one side of rooms of the hotel looks out directly on a wall of another building --- just some 10 or so feet away, Therefore, your balcony looks out on a blank wall... Not that great if you value your view --- but wonderful if, like us, you didn't have swimsuits with you to enjoy the hot tub --- and welcomed the privacy of not needing them... (you get the picture!)

Only slight disappointment was the adjacent CocoWalk retail/restaurant development --- just 50 ft or so from the front door... While it IS close ---- and looked, on paper, like a good place to while away a few afternoon hours, it was nearly deserted of both shoppers --- and tenants --- during our visit. Lots of 2nd rate retail stores mixed with a selection of well-known (Cheesecake Factory) and little known restaurants. Not the place I was hoping to find... I'm assuming it was once a step above this and has declined. (With that said, I found Coconut Grove less appealing than I'd hoped - though the location was great for getting other places we wished to go --- Key Biscayne, South Beach, etc...)

The hotel, on the other hand, was a steal at this price and just about the most interesting place we've stayed.

The hotel is very nice and different; atrium open to the sky, very South Pacific feel. The location is great for those wanting to party and shop at Cocowalk. However, around 3:30 AM, when the bars close, the street noise sounds like a riot, especially on Thursday nights! The Mayfair Hotel informed me they were undergoing renovations, due for completion March 2005 per the website. Since my stay was late February, I thought, okay, most renovations will be done. Not so. Although I was given a "renovated" room, some of the furniture, ie sofa, was not there. While the decor was very nice, the doors had not been refinished and were in dire need of attention, scratches on the mahogany, etc. Also the hot tub on the balcony was in very bad shape. Hopefully, all of these small problems will be remedied when renonvation is completed. The front desk response to calls and questions was poor and service is absent. The complimentary continental breakfast was very nice.