Situated on the edge of the Art Deco area the Dorchester is within easy walking distance of Ocean Drive and the beach as well as nearby Lincoln Rd with its pedestrian district of shops and pavement restaurants. We stayed in one of the suites which are situated at the back of the hotel so relatively quiet. The apartment was very spacious with a small outside sitting area.
In the front of the hotel set back from Collins Ave is a pleasant courtyard area for relaxing/drinks /breakfast, with a reasonable sized swimming pool nearby. There is a Happy Hour everyday when a limited range of free drinks are available. The hotel also provides an umbrella and 2 chairs on the beach. Parking is expensive but that is true of the area generally.
The breakfast was average and the service poor mainly because one girl was expected to do virtually everything except the cooking! ( it was too much for one person.)
Overall we enjoyed our stay here and the location was good
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BUT on checking out we signed and setled our bill in full, only for the hotel to take a further unauthorised charge from my credit card the next day after we had left!! I have emailed the hotel several times requesting details of this charge, but have failed to receive a response.
So Beware!!

Having stayed at variious Miami Beach hotels (Sagamore and Alexander All Suites) I can safely say this is the best deal on Collins avenue. Clean spacious one-bedroom suites await travellers at a reasonable cost. With umbrellas and chairs included in our stay, I would have to say this is the best kept secret on the strip. Yes the drinks are overpriced but they do offer drinks for 1$ during happy hour....so get your good wine at Publix! It would have been nice a heated pool, but we weren't in Miami for that!

Very good location and comfortable rooms but everything was extra - parking, breakfast, etc. The staff were able but not necessarily amiable. The location however was very good and we had a pleasant stay.

This October we stayed for 6 nights at Suites of Dorchester, having the 18th birthday of our daughter at Miami Beach! It was the first time we had chosen this hotel. We came down from NYC and continued our trip at the Keys, the Gulf of Mexico and Orlando.
We've read carefully all the (often negative) critics of this location, but we got a very good deal concerning the price back home in a travel agency. In overall, everything was satisfying us, we had no complaints.

Location:
Dorchester Hotel & Suites of Dorchester are located at Collins Ave. between 18th & 19th Street, so you are on the beach in only 5 minutes. Shops and restaurants at Lincoln Road Mall or famous Ocean Drive are only a few blocks away (15 minutes walk). This is a perfect location in my opinion.

Rooms:
We had a suite with a large living room (with a queensized sofabed), a bedroom (w 2 queens), small bathroom, fully equipped kitchen and dining area. A lot of space for the 4 of us! It was even larger as we expected it in advance, it's more like an apartment. The suite was well maintained, had 2 flat TVs, charming decors, good toiletries and everything was very clean. Housekeeping was very good. Fridge/freezer in the kitchen seems to have a problem with cooling the food/drinks. The suites are situated in separate buildings in the rear of the whole object, so there was no disturbing noise to be heard during the nights either of Collins Ave or the bar area/backyard of the hotel.

Dining:
We had a breakfast in the hotel the first morning after our arrival. They have 4 to 6 items on the menu, and we had chosen the Start your day right breakfast. It was okay for us and the prices are moderate (when you come down from NYC it seems to be cheap). The next days, we had a quick breakfast in our suite, just to earn some bucks for the shopping activities ;-)).

Service:
The staff at the desk, the concierge and the other employees are all very kind and extremely helpful (e.g. special wishes concerning the 18th birthday of our daughter; some little issues with broken lights or the hairdryer). Wireless internet was possible throughout the location at no extra cost and the wifi had a good connection in our suite. We couls even print out our driving directions and some coupons in the lobby, where they have an internet corner w printer. And finally, we weren't charged with a resort fee. Nice bar and a large pool for a SoBe hotel.

Overall we would definitely recommend this place and personally would stay at Suites of Dorchester again when coming back to Miami Beach.