I did not book this hotel. My friend did and I met her down there. Now, I am not a picky traveler at all. I can certainly make the best of situations, and I did. We had a great time despite the rooms (multiple) that we were in at this hotel. The first room we were in was HOT. Apparently, one of the hotel compressors blew and the whole hotel was using two compressors. It was 100 degrees outside. Our room was stifling and extremely humid (I won't even go into the dirt, chipping paint, dirty carpet, bath, etc). We were moved to a higher floor since they were apparently cooler. It was A BIT cooler, but honestly, this room was just as dirty. The view was pretty great though, and the location was nice right on the beach. One thing that I will give this place is the service. Everyone that helped us, from the front desk, to the concierge, to our favorite waiter at the pool was great. The people working there is what made our stay tolerable. If there was bad service, this place would have been a complete dump! We still had a great time (how can you really have a bad time in SoBe??) but I wouldn't recommend staying here.

I stayed at the Royal Palm and it was horrible. The lobby is pretty but the rooms are a mess. Everything that everyone who has posted a comment about this dump is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY TRUE.... The rug is stained. The pull out couch didn't work and was badly stained. The bathroom had hairs in the tub and on the bathroom floor. The staff sucked. I went to the beach and there were no more clean towels so one of the hotel staff asked if we would like one of the dirty towel. Do yourself a favor and don't stay at this hotel. YUCK!!

Considering this was my first trip to South Beach (and not my last), I'm not sure how to Benchmark this hotel to its competitors. The entrance is nice, as well as the lobby. That's about it.

First, the rooms were good size however they were not cleaned. Our first room was in dire need of a paint job as the walls were scuffed and the bathroom dirty. We later left that room as the neighboors were up very late. The next room was better, but the bathroom was dirty and the blinds were rusted and filled with mildew. I would think for what they charge they could have put more effort into this. Also, there were no "privacy" door cards, so you were at the mercy of the housekeeping staff.

As other people have commented, I find their "resort fee" laughable. You get to pay an additional $20/day to get a newspaper, unlimited WiFi, lounge chairs at the beach, and use of the gym. Most of these "fees" are complementary at a Best Western or Courtyard, which are considerably cheaper and cleaner. We didn't get a newspaper one morning, and I didn't bring a laptop...oh well.

In general, you're paying for the location and that's about it. I would pay a little more and go to the Loews next door.

Stayed here for 2 nights. This hotel, or at least the suite we had was a dump. The bed was sinking in the middle, the bathroom was dirty, and the carpeting was stained all over. Also be advised that you have to pay a $19 fee for every night that you stay. It covers a few things including a newspaper, which we never received. It is a 2.5 star hotel at best. One positive is the location.