We booked our trip through American Airlines Vacations. There were several choices of hotels in Miami. We chose the Royal Palm because it was located directly on the beach. After booking the trip, I would periodically check the reviews. I am so glad we didn't get spooked and change our reservation. By the reviews you would think this place was a total dive and almost inhabitable for humans. We found it to be lovely. We had booked a King Suite and upon check-in we were advised we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite. It was wonderful! It was bigger than some apartments I have been in. Yes, the carpet could use some updating but the room was clean and spacious. We had four of us (myself, my husband, my 17 year old daughter and her boyfriend). It was wonderful to have 2 full baths when it came time for everyone to get ready to go out to dinner. The area is very expensive to eat. Most restaurants say they are half price for dinner but the regular price is so high that half price is still expensive! The hotel has direct access to the beach. There are people there to get you beach chairs and set up umbrellas for you. They have towels you can take to the beach. They have 2 pools, a larger pool which was more active right by the bar and a smaller pool which was more quiet. They did have waiters and waitresses coming by to see if you wanted to order any drinks or food but they were not pushy. Overall, we had a great time. The hotel staff was very friendly also and very accomodating. Don't let a few bad reviews influence your decision to stay at the Royal Palm. We will probably not be visitng Miami Beach again just because there are lots of other places to visit but if we did, we would not hesitate to stay at the Royal Palm again!

DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL!

This was our first trip to South Beach and everything was great EXCEPT the hotel ... the Royal Palm ... AKA The Royal Pain!

First of all they get you in with a decent rate up front but then nickle and dime you for every possible charge they can ... $40 per day to park ... $20 per day for a "resort fee" ... minimum charges to get internet access ... you name it, they charged for it.

Second the rooms smelled like mold / mildew and had bugs. The shower itself was very odd! It was not enclosed on the bottom so the water would run all over the bathroom floor ... no joke! We stayed in a "suite" that overlooked the pool area. The size and set up was fine (except for the shower / bathroom previously mentioned) but it was very dingy and rundown...like the hotel overall.

The final problem was there were guests smoking funny stuff in the rooms around us so our room smelled like smoke...despite the no smoking rule...let alone those kind of "cigaretts" (and I am not talking about cloves). Also, the hotel itself had music with heavy base pumping loudly until 3 AM on the FRI and SAT nights we stayed there. I called each night to complain starting at 1AM and they just told me it would stop soon.

When I expressed my concern at check out I was told with a smile "that's South Beach". So needless to say I was not happy with the service from the hotel staff either. The only exception was the valets who were extremely nice. I can't say that the hotel staff was rude but I can say they were very laid back about everything! Not very service oriented.

Do yourself a favor and stay somewhere else ... especially if you go with kids or plan to sleep at night!

The Royal Palm told us 359.00 a night was a great deal! When we tried to check in we were told the room was almost ready. We then waited for over 4 hours for our room. We were told it was going to be worth the wait because it was 6 upgrades from the standard room. The nightmare begins... While we waited we had terrible service at the hotel pool. Guests held lounge chairs while they went shopping or to lunch. The bartender was rude and was upset with having to make a cuban coffee and refused to put sugar in it since another guest told him he had put too much in hers. When we finally got our room it was anything but 6 upgrades. Maybe the guy at the desk meant up 6 floors. The room was dirty, stained carpet, filthy bathroom, broken furniture. There were guests doing drugs in other rooms as the hallways took on the smell! The manager said the room was not 6 upgrades and said he would do something for us but when he told us to come see him, he seemed to have finished his shift. The other manager then said it was too late and we should have said something when we checked in, which we tried but since there were so many other complaining guests in the lobby checking out we waited and came back to the desk a couple of hours later. There was also topless sunbathers at the hotel pool and we were told that it was against hotel policy however that rule changed as well with the next manager, who was useless in dealing with our issues and our satisfaction was not met. This hotel set the disappointing tone for a vacation at South Beach. 359.00 a night - NO WAY !

Mold, filth, hard aging bed, smelly pillows and stained furniture will greet you when you enter your Royal Palm room for that special vacation. The front desk told us that 10% of the rooms have been renovated but the rest of us are out of luck. What amazes me is that management has not learned that customers are going to post their bad experiences on the internet.

There is a $19 per day "resort fee" added to your bill. (You are also taxed on the resort fee; I'm not making this up). Parking is $39 per day. But don't worry, rude front desk was free.