Let me just say that I would definitely stay here again.

South Beach hotels can be really old and this place has been renovated with new furniture & paint to look pretty nice even though the hotel bones (and things like fixtures, A/C, flooring, etc.) still look like they are from the 70's. The place grew on me because the rooms are HUGE -- actually they're 1 bedroom apartments -- with kitchens and this makes up for the somewhat tired surroundings. If you're staying with a small child like we were, the extra space is wonderful. We were able to have a babysitter sit in the living room in the evening while our baby slept in the bedroom.

The location is fabulous and access to the beach is across the street, but easy. Noise levels are low and the hotel is recessed from the street so there is also no traffic noise.

Finally, the price is great for what you get. This is ultimately what sold me and why I will come back. It's not the newest, fanciest hotel on the strip, but it's comfortable, clean and an amazing value for what you pay!

The hotel is located very close to the beach, a 5min walk and you are on the beach. The rooms were clean and nice. The lighting in the rooms weren't too great, but that was fine since we were out most of the time. Staying here, we were given free vouchers to beach chairs and umbrellas while we visited the beach. This was great, especially when it's so hot. Free beach towels were provided when went to the beach. Our room had a kitchen with all the necessary kitchen wear.
I would definitely stay here again.

Me and four friends decided to visit Miami after graduating. A friend had recommended The Dorchester and we followed suit. There is a main hotel area, then the suites. We had two suites booked. Two of my friends shared one, and myself and two other friends shared another. The suites were really lovely. Clean (cleaned every morning by the cleaners), really spacious living room area with a good interior, nice kitchen, and a smaller bathroom/bedroom. Out of the rooms, i didn't like the bathroom so much. The decor was a bit old, and the room was horribly ventilated - with only 1 little window.

The hotel had a decent bar and pool area. However, we didn't use this much as we would normally go to South Beach/Oceans Drive area. On arrival, the queue to check in was pretty long, they're reception could do with more staff/being bigger, but the staff were polite and helpful - no complaints there. There was a little concierge, and wi-fi was only avaliable in the reception area - not in the rooms.

We would normally eat at the hotel 'cafe' every morning (I wouldn't call it a restaurant, however, I think it was only open for breakfast/lunch anyway, not dinner) as we had a breakfast deal included when booking. It included a buffet style breakfast and it was ok. Nothing spectacular - but it did the job.

On arrival, you also get free bed vouchers for the beach, however, we never actually used these. This was silly as a bed and umbrella on the beach can come in really costly when bought from the beach people (or whatever they're called). The Dorchester section of the beach was quite far up and quiet. Which is fine if you prefer this, however, we wanted a more lively scenery - so we decided to walk further down the beach.

The Dorchester is situated on Collins Avenue, and is a pretty good location. You are not too far out, but far enough to be away from the South Beach lively life. First couple of days, we used to walk down to Oceans - it is probably a 20/30 minute walk, which in the humid, hot July weather is probably not the best move. We started getting taxis down to Oceans, which was only about $6, and split between us - it was like $1 dollar each. It could come in costly if you was solo though.

I would definitely recommend this hotel for couples, friends and family. We got a decent deal. Flights to/from London, 10day stay in The Dorchester, breakfast, all at around £1,300+.

All the cafes and restaurants on Oceans Drive will charge a lot more for food and drinks as it's the 'main' part. Check out restaurants on Collins or Washington, if you don't want to spend a lot on food everyday.

The Miami nightlife is expensive. As we were a group of girls, we were ok with general free entry into clubs, free drinks, etc but for guys - I can only imagine how much it might be. Talk to promoters walking around, but be cautious. Miami clubs are built around VIP/tables to be honest, so if you are going out - be prepared to spend big.

This was my second time visiting Miami, I had been before when really young with family. However, for a group of young girls to have fun, party but also relax - I would recommend The Dorchester.

When you have to cancel your reservation 2 months in advance because a Hotel droops the ball; NO BUENO!
Made a reservation for 3 nights in March. I was quoted a total price and gave my credit card.
Called back a few day laters because I had not received an e-mail confirmation and upon my inquiry, I was told thet the quoted prices were incorrect and the they couldn't honor them.
Unfortunately, I had already made plans with my friends, bought my flight and taken money from all my friends and deposited into my credit card account.
They pretended to feel bad for the mistake and said that the manager Juan Velara would call me back to see what could be done. Guess what? Yup, I never received a call back.
Called again. They said Juan Velara would call again. Guess what again? Yup he never called back. I finally called reservations and canceled my reservations (funny how they were still active) then I asked for an e-mail confirmation and they had my wrong e-mail address! At this point i figured if they had dropped the ball 2 months before, I wasn't comfortable in seeing what they had in store for me! I am in the Hotel industry and customer service is always the number one priority, regardless if it's the Hotel's fault or not. Don't you forget that Mr. Juan Velara.