This was our second visit to The Hotel. I usually don't like to go the same place twice on vacation, but our experience last year was so great that I didn't hesitate to book here again.

I booked directly through the hotel website this time and signed up for the free Gold card. The card got us a discount on our room, and it also got us a complimentary breakfast for two every morning.

We checked in around noon, and our room wasn't ready until 2 PM. 3 PM is the check-in time, so that was not a problem. It was well worth the wait, because we were upgraded from a queen bed with no view to a king bed that had a big bay window overlooking Ocean Drive and the beach. This is a pretty big deal, because as with most South Beach boutique hotels, most of the rooms in this hotel just face another hotel. We were very thankful to the staff for this upgrade, it made for a very romantic trip to have such a wonderful room.

The hotel staff was very friendly as usual, and the housekeeping staff did a great job. The public areas of the hotel are maintained beautifully, and are also very clean. We didn't use the elevator on our last visit because we were on the first floor. This time, we were on a higher floor. There is one elevator, and it is not state-of-the-art. We once spent nearly five minutes getting from the third floor to the lobby because it kept going back up and down for the hotel staff. I would recommend that if you are able bodied and not carrying luggage, use the stairs whenever you can. There's nothing the hotel can do about this, it's to be expected in an older building.

This hotel gives each guest a complimentary chair and towel on the beach. The company that provides the chairs gives great service, and this amenity is a major draw for me as well.

One blemish on the trip was when we tried to bring some sandwiches from the deli across the street up to the pool so we could eat outside. A waiter quickly approached us and told us that only food ordered from the hotel restaurant was allowed at the pool, and that we would have to return to our room or leave the hotel to eat. It's one thing not to allow any food at the pool, it's another to only allow food from the hotel. There's obviously no other reason for such a policy other than to make a few extra bucks. The funniest part is that the sandwiches were from a deli where the hotel gold card gives you a 10% discount. Why would you encourage guests to eat somewhere else if you want them to eat at the hotel restaurant so badly? Aside from that little tangent, this was still a five star trip, I'm not the type to let a grumpy waiter spoil my fun.

Beautiful hotel, great people, great location, great service.

The Hotel is a four-floor boutique hotel that gets by on location and an attentive staff more than opulence and flash.

- Rooms are tight but unique, limited views in many and not lush or overly comfy. Good value for the price thought.

- Pool area is small and can get congested. Nice set-up, good use of space however.

- Restaurant and bar are high-end and cool. Nice wine list, above average selection by the glass. Food is good+ with a creative menu and fine service.

- Location puts you right in the middle of it all on Ocean. If you want peace and quiet stay elsewhere. if you want to be where the action is, you're in a great spot.

- Staff cares, really works hard to greet you, take an interest and accommodate your requests. Top shelf people.

- I'd stay again if budget was a consideration (it was this time as I was with several people for multiple nights) and wanted to be in the middle of the entertainment.

Stayed for one night at the start of a two week tour of Florida
Classic Miami South Beach -
Small clean and comfortable rooms
Good service
Central location for all the happenings on South Beach
Highlight is the pool on the roof, great views and very warm, perfect to get rid of the jet lag
Would recommend at no more than 200 USD per night

Very well situated one over from Ocean (very busy) and one shy of Washington (slightly sleazy),a bijou, well appointed hotel with staff to complement the surroundings....Chef Luca and Esteban, take a bow!
The room was a good size, comfy bed and flyscreens as well as blinds, nice size bathroom and fantastic roof-top pool and bar!
Good value for money in an expensive part of the U.S.

Only downside was the toilet overflowing (once), got to the stopcock in time and the response from housekeeping (at 5am) was very swift!

p.s.all of SoBe seems to deem it ok to put a service charge of 18% on all your bills, with sales tax you need to add a quarter on to the listed price for, food, drink etc!!