Had difficulty in choosing Miami Beach hotel and spent considerable time looking on TA before selecting Viscay.
Room was large, very clean (except for the hairdryer in the bathroom) and bed comfortable. Microwave and fridge was bonus. Free wireless internet access.
Main downside was noise at night. This continued until around 5am and meant very disturbed sleep. Have stayed in NYC and been disturbed by police/fire sirens but in Miami we were also troubled by noisy revellers presumably making their way home from nearby hotels with nightclubs (eg Cavendish).
Breakfast was very poor - OJ, coffee, bread rolls, sweet pastry, jam and cream cheese. Limited supply so need to be early.
Not suitable for disabled/limited mobility as no lift.
No outdoor space so unable to sit outside and relax.
Realise that US no longer the bargain it used to be but still pricey (around £125/$185 per night incl taxes) for what was on offer.

We stayed there for 4 nights.Very good choice, much better than expected, considering the price The room was large, very clean, the beds comortable. The staff were friendly. The position is excellent. Breakfast is small, with little choice. Airconditioning is a bit noisy.

Had a couple of days to kill prior to boarding a cruise ship, decided to spend it in South Beach, but didn't want to drop hundreds per night on a local hotel. A thorough search led us to the Viscay, which is just one block off Ocean Avenue yet within the art-deco area of town. Very easy walk to the Ocean Avenue restaurants and hotels and reasonably priced.

One thing to note, this hotel would not work for someone with a mobility issue, such as those who are wheelchair-bound or have trouble with stairs. There are no elevators/escalators in the property. You must ascend at least a short flight of stairs just to reach the hotel lobby, and still more stairs to access the rooms.

That being said, for our purposes the hotel was all we needed. We didn't expect glamour, but the place is nonetheless quite nice, with a definite art-deco and 50's flavor to its decor. I thought the room was quite adequate, the bed comfortable, and the bathroom sufficient for our short (two-night) stay. The continental breakfast provided by the hotel was also adequate, although they didn't serve for very long. Typical serving was between 8:30-10:00 AM, and included eclairs, croissants, Danish, and bagels, with coffee and juice to wash it down. Enough to get us going every day without being excessive or heavy.

The biggest drawback to the stay was the noise from the street that we experienced on the second night. We arrived on a Thursday, and noticed no particularly annoying sounds that night. But the second night, a Friday, was quite the different story. Our window overlooked 10th Street, which appears to be rather heavily traveled on the party nights of Friday and Saturday. We got little sleep that night due to the noise, even with our windows shut tight. My advice when you book here is to try to get a room that doesn't look out onto either Collins Avenue or 10th Street. My brother and his wife had a room further back in the hotel, and on the opposite side of the hallway as ours, and they had a rather uneventful night regarding noise because their room was not adjacent to either street.

On the whole, I would recommend the hotel to others, with the caveat to try to get an interior room, and to expect some stair climbing/descending as part of the experience. I'd say you can't beat the location for the price, so overall, I give it relatively high marks.

But the Viscay turned out to be a real nice surprise. We usually stay in upper end hotels like you would find on Ocean Ave so we weren't expecting much from the Viscay. (FWIW-we are Florida residents) We were wrong in our assumptions. Friendly, courteous staff; CLEAN and surprising large rooms; truly centrally located in SoBe. About a block west of Ocean Ave, as said, right behind the Clevelander and Essex House. (Be forewarned if you stay in either of these motels as the Clevelander tends to crank up the beats from 11:00 AM till late nite, every nite. You are going to hear it.)

SMALLEST toilet I have ever seen. If you are a person of "size"...I don't know what to tell you. You have been warned.

Tips:

Crank up the fan on the AC unit so it runs continuously and you won't hear the street noise. (One of the quietest AC units ever) Our room faced Collins Ave at the front of the building. No problems with the noise. There is about a one hour period of quietness about 5:30 AM before the trucks start running.

Park in the parking garage one block N., adjacent to the Essex House if traveling by car. Pay at the kiosk before you attempt to leave.

There is no ice machine in the hotel. If you go a block west and then south, there is a liquor store and a 7-11.

One block north is David's Cafe. Must have cuban coffee to be had here. Good breakfast, open 24 hours, sit down or go to the street window. Cuban toast is nothing more than a Cuban bread roll that has been buttered and pressed on a flat top to "toast" the outside of the bread...still good.

Look around if drinking, there is no reason to pay $30 for a cocktail on Ocean Ave or a ridiculous cover charge because some chick is dancing in a skimpy outfit.

Lincoln Ave is within walking distance, north from the motel if you are into shopping.