This hotel (along w/ the Chesterfield, Whitelaw, Chelsea, Hotel Shelley, Riveira South Beach & the Posh South Beach Hostel) is run by the South Beach Hotel Group. EVERYTHING on their website is false!
From the 'hourly airport shuttle with wifi' which runs every 2-3 hours & has NO wifi. To the 'free breakfast' which is a 4 oz plastic glass of OJ, coffee so watered down it appeared to be tea served w/ powerdery white stuff as 'cream', & your "choice" of toast (the nastiest white bread ever!), 'croissant' (a crescent of rubbery boxed dough, worse than any fast food joint would serve), or bagel (can't comment on, because the bagels were not ever available, as they always 'just ran out' of bagels). Plus this travesty of a breakfast was delivered by a rude waitress & took more than a half hour to arrive, although there were only three other parties being served at the time. Coffee, i was told, 'could not be served until the meal came', meaning even a cup of coffee took a half hour to be delivered, & when the table next to mine asked for a second cup, they were told they'd be charged $2/cup for a refill!
Their 'complimentary happy hour' is tacked onto your room tab as a $15/night surcharge, whether you choose to have the 'free' drinks or not. Happy hour is pushed on all guests, continuously & broadly recommended by all staff. However, only gin, vodka or rum drinks are part of their two hour 'happy hour', though this is not mentioned until after you've drunk whatever else, & your 'free happy hour' bill arrives. The three beers I had were $7/ea, so my 'free happy hour' cost me $21.
There is a hostel associated with this hotel group, & 25% premium charged for a female only dorm, over the mixed dorm rate, but men are put in the 'female only' dorm. Desk clerk insisted there were no men in the room (there were 4 of them, one in the next bed over from me). Then Andrew, the desk clerk, said that they were let in by the women in the dorm. Another lie. They were let in by the front desk, & given room & locker keys to the 'female dorm' on check in. Andrew then offered to send up security 'at once' as I was being overheard by a lobby full of guests waiting to check in. Yet another lie, as naturally no one was sent up at all.
It's not safe, my cell phone was stolen & a bag taken from my locked space. The bathrooms were always dirty & out of toilet paper. The rooms always sweltering hot. I rarely write a bad review of anyplace, but this hotel chain is exceptionally deceptive, falsely advertises services they don't offer, the clerks completely untrustworthy, & the place just not worth staying at.
Go somewhere you'll be safe & made to feel like a guest in a hotel, not prey to a predator.
- Also Known As:
- Catalina Hotel And Beach Club
- Catalina Hotel Beach
- Catalina Hotel
- Catalina Hotel Miami
- Reservation Options:
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