We stayed at the hotel with our teenage daughter over Christmas. The service was excellent. We had a one-bedroom suite with an ocean view. It was very spacious and the settee in the living area converted into a bed at night. The kitchen area was well equipped and the suite also had a washer and dryer. Housekeeping was good and came immediately when we rang. The suite was clean and airy.

The breakfast buffet (which was included in our rate) was very good. There was a bit of a wait for the elevators when the hotel got full but nothing too awful. The two pool areas were crowded and noisy but the beach was wide with chairs and umbrellas available from the beach boys. Lunch at the pools and beach was fine if you kept it simple. We only had dinner in the hotel once – Christmas Day evening – and it took three hours and was disappointing. They appeared unprepared for the numbers who wanted dinner.

The hotel seems to appeal to families with young children and the kids club seemed active with plenty going on. The fitness centre looked a little small but never appeared crowded and the spa area was well equipped with showers and lockers. The treatments in the spa were good.

The Aventura and Bal Harbor malls are only a short cab ride away.

We had poor meals at Bice, China Grill and Shojisushi but a good meal at La Laconda in South Beach. The Rascal House is close to the hotel and is a dependable traditional deli.

We enjoyed our stay and would return.

I am just returning from a 4 night stay over the New Year's holiday that was booked through Orbitz. My wife and I both found the hotel to be so-so. We are both in our early 30's.

The hotel was strange in many ways: The lobby was very nice, but the hotel entrance is Holiday Inn Express at best, consisting of 2 small sliding doors that could barely allow for patrons to exit and enter at the same time. We arrived on a Friday night at 11PM and there was noone insight to take our bags, so I carried them up the front steps myself. The lobby was on Floor L, the pool and beach were on Floor 2, but to get to the Beach you had to walk through the pool then down 3 flights of stairs to below the Lobby level. We were on the 18th floor, and this is not an exaggeration, it would take 15 minutes to go from our room to the beach. The elevators were good for one thing, toning up! As we took the stairs more then 10 times from the pool to the 18th floor.

Kid Friendly: This would be great for us if we had kids, as the hotel was jammed packed with them. The main pool was impossible to use because of all of the screaming children. The best part is, when we arrived poolside at 10am on Day 1, we were told that no seats were available at the Main pool, but they could seat us at the "Kid Pool" down stairs. Um, exactly where was the adult pool?

WiFi: Cost $9:95/day, but does not work on the beach, head back up 3 flights of stairs to sit at the Kid Bar.

Food: We had a fantastic meal at Il Mulino at the Aqualina Hotel just a few blocks down. The meal was paced and spread out perfectly, and lasted 3.5 hours! Felt like I was back in Italy. Meal for a group of 4 ran us $600 and we only had a few glasses of wine, so it is not cheap, but worth every cent. Rascal House was awesome for lunch. If you like Corn Beef and Pastrami, this place is a must. I think it is better then Katz'sDeli in NYC.

Misc Help:
Publix super market- Walk out door, turn right, walk 2 blocks and cross the street. They have all NY newspapers.
Walgreens- Turn left out of the door and walk about 8 blocks and cross the street. (Keep going 1 more block to find Rascals)
Starbucks- Turn left, about 10 blocks down

Taxi to heart of South Beach runs $30 + Tip.

I will be back to Sunny Isles, but not to Trump. Aqualina or Diplomat will be next. Hoped this helps

I was slightly disappointed when I arrived at the Trump Sonesta. Having been a fan of Trump's show I guess I expected more. I thought the decor could have been a bit more tropical. Our room was not tip top clean. There were stains on the carpets and chairs. I almost fell going out to the deck. Very poor construction. The room was small and had no counter space except by the sink. The staff was really nice however and wanted to always help if needed. Did not eat there because it was way overpriced for what it was. I do not think I would stay here again. Beach was beautiful and it was away from the craziness of South Beach. For the price I would skip it.

I booked a stay on Travelocity and stayed at this hotel in December, 2007. I booked an all-inclusive price and was astonished during my trip to discover that the hotel was also charging me a $15/day "resort fee". The hotel claims the fee is for "extra" amenities such as a shuttle bus, beach services, and the like. However, these amenities are listed in the hotel's advertising and internet listings as being features of the hotel itself, rather than extras you need to pay for. Unlike a parking charge which you can avoid by parking somewhere else, you can't really choose not to avail yourself of the beach location. If the hotel wants an extra $15 a night, it should be up front and include it in the price. The "shuttle" to a local mall and South Beach is a joke -- it only makes a couple of trips a day and therefore is pretty useless unless you are willing to abide by its particular schedule. "Shuttle" implies that the service runs frequently during the day.

Also, the hotel uses a particular company for local tours. It took a full 90 minutes after the pick up at the hotel for me to even arrive at the bus transfer point in downtown Miami where I boarded the bus for my actual selected tour. This happened two days in a row. The buses were in poor condition and provided a very bumpy ride. They badly need both new shock absorbers and repair of their suspensions.