I was alone and needed somewhere where i could relax and feel i was on vacation. I stayed for six nights from Tuesday to Monday. The hotel was 80% full until the weekend when it filled up completely mainly with people fron NY.
The hotel exudes class and sophistication and it attracts this kind of person.
The pool and the pool area are superb. At all times there was a more than adequate choice of seating and towels, and constant food and bar service.
Found all of the key staff to be very friendly and helpfull.......the food and cocktails are very good and expertly prepared.
Found both the room and houskeeping to be excellent......one has to accept that you are staying in a restored 1940s built hotel. Did not however find the rooms noisy or cramped.
This hotel is an oassis of calm amongst the madness of the south beach scene.

Flew into Miami from England just as Hurricane Dennis was hitting Key West and it was being evacuated. Decided to stay in South Beach for 2 nights till our destinatiion resort was reopened and so booked into The Raleigh after recommendations on Trip Advisor. Was very pleased overall . Great location within easy walking distance of Ocean Drive and all the nightlife . We got a 6th floor room facing Collins Avenue with an interconnecting room for our 2 kids. Was generally quiet except for 'banging' doors late at night and people walking and talking loudly in the corridors at 3am !!! Very comfortable if smallish rooms with great flat TV screen and hi-fi. Kiehls toiletries in the bathroom . Nice touch ! . Great decor in the Hotel and fabulous pool leading to private beach. Very helpful and polite staff who helped us to get info on the Interent about our resort in Key West because we couldnt get through on the telephone.

Great Esther Williams pool, stylish and comfy rooms, cozy beds, cool media center (flat-screen TV, DVD player), incredible service and even better people watching. Our only complaint was the lack of towels at the pool and the beach. At a luxury hotel like this, one should never have to ask for something like a towel. I agree with the reviewer who noted the poor beach service-- the Raleigh should really run the towel/chair/umbrella provisions itself. Still, we had a blast and enjoyed all that this art deco gem has to offer. Oh, one more thing: the inner tubes in the pool are tacky and a bad idea-- they will stain your bathing suit and skin!

I chose the Raleigh based upon recommendations from friends. My girlfriend and I wanted to see South Beach but didn't want be part of a 24/7 party atmosphere. At the same, we didn't want to be someplace without any atmosphere. (You don't go to South Beach seeking peace and quiet.) We both thought The Raleigh fit the bill and are glad we stayed there. If I returned to South Beach, I would stay there again.

We spent four nights in April at The Raleigh after making reservations via the hotel's website. A front-desk staff member was highly professional in dealing with a mistake made regarding the room I booked (confirmed by the reservation printout I brought with me) and quickly upgraded us to a swank suite facing the ocean on a high floor. Noise--from other rooms--was not a problem. We had a terrific room but I point out two flaws that could easily be remedied. First, there was no light in the closet. And two, while the rooms are furnished with flat screen tvs and dvd players, the hotel does not have a dvd library. The staff suggested renting a dvd from a local video store. We didn't bother.

The original art deco interior spaces of the hotel have been beautifully preserved. By contrast, inside the Delano you could be in an Ian Shrager hotel anywhere in the world. The Raleigh, understated and low-key, is faithful to its origins. It's classy, not crass. The pool, too, deserves its reputation. Its fun and beautiful. Even the pool bathrooms (accessed via a circular stairwell by the pool bar) are humorous and original. I only wish the owner had had the guts to reinstall a diving board. Where there was once a diving board there is now a waterfall.

There is no shortage of chaise lounges poolside. The volume of music at the pool varies. It can be louder than is comfortable if you're reading a serious book but it is never at an unreasonable level, i.e., you don't feel as if you're in a nightclub. During the day, the essentially unused sandy area behind the pool had no piped-in music at all.

We enjoyed poolside breakfasts, poolside lunches, and one night a casual meal of excellent appetizers. As reputed, the drinks are excellent. The service throughout our stay was professional, friendly, and generally very good.

A few other things to know. First, there is now a popular party held on the hotel grounds on Sunday afternoons/evenings. This didn't affect us, since we left that day. The weekly event seems to have a good reputation among partygoers. Second, the enclosed beach area was used Friday and Saturday nights for private parties with DJs. If you have a room facing the ocean/pool, you will hear the music (unless you bring earplugs). Third, there is no gym and the hotel has no arrangement with another gym. I enjoyed runs on the flat, packed beach or on the boardwalk. Fourth, unlike most of the top hotels on the beach, The Raleigh does not offer its guests umbrellas/chaise lounges/bar on the actual beach. If you want to sit on the beach, you have to rent equipment. To its credit, most guests (like us) found it hard to tear ourselves away from the relaxing pool area.