The management at this spa is atrocious. And to top that off, the spa is VERY un-relaxing. The "waiting room" is located in the middle of the door to the pool and the gym. So, while one sits naked in a robe, kids are going by, men are jogging on treadmills, and anyone and everyone sees you in a robe. It is what I would call the opposite of relaxing. To top that off, the management is terrible and is NOT the same management as the JW Marriott hotel. I made 3 appointments for my mom, my sister, and myself. All appointments were made at the same time. When we all arrived, together and at the same time, we were told that the appointments were made an hour and a half apart from each other. Well, we could not physically stay that long nor did we want to wait 2.5 hours in the "relaxation" area. So, I asked to speak with management. The manager would not speak directly to me and instead, speaking through her employee, assured me that the person who made the appointment is very professional and didn't make a mistake. I finally was able to speak directly to the spa manager only after i asked for a refund AND to speak with her. She spoke to me in a disrespectful manner: not allowing me to finish what I was saying, raising her voice unprofessionally, and telling me to stop "yelling" at her. I then told her I was going to speak to someone above her since she cannot handle her own costumers. It wasn't until I spoke to someone directly with the hotel that the situation was dealt with. I later found out that JW Marriot does not manage their own spa, which is definitely the reason for the discrepancy. I do want to note that the non-management staff is very friendly and felt very bad. I took off time from work, waited 2.5 hours, and left very unhappy. There are better spas in the Brickell area. For example, I had a wonderful time at the Mandarin Oriental. Although a little more money, it is worth is when compared to the overpriced crap you get at the JW Marriot.

If you want to go Miami to enjoying the beach, I would not recommend this hotel. The taxi ride to get there is about $25 each way. There is a really cool bar nearby with live band and some other cool places downtown and the design district is kind of close but you will need to take a cab anyway. The hotel is okay, clean, the room looks a bit old, nobody helped me when I walked in, maybe because I was in jeans and t-shirt? Couldn't tell, but they looked friendly.
Overall is was okay. Definitely a business hotel.

I stayed at the JW Marriott for a quick business trip and it was excellent. I got the concierge package which includes food and beverages at the 21st floor. The service was excellent and the room was clean and comfortable. The only problem I had is the towels in the bathroom are really old and bout to fall apart.

We did a one night "staycation", with our goal to be in the downtown Miami area. As it was during Art Basel week, the options were limited. The hotel was nicely appointed but sterile and too quiet. In a town that is always buzzing, there was no atmosphere here. The pool was empty and there was no staff for service. The hotel gave us a nice room on the 7th floor that had a large balcony overlooking Brickell. Very nice touch. The bed was top notch. Otherwise, I would only recommend this hotel for business travel or a quiet stay.