We stayed for one night in June 2009 and, on a 14-day Florida vacation this was our most expensive hotel... and, unfortunately, it was a 'miss'. To be fair, we were refunded in full by Expedia and give full credit there.

Valet parking in Sunny Isles (town) is mandatory for some reason and at $24 a night it adds up. The valet parking was chaos when we arrived. After a long wait we went into the hotel to find out what was happening and our car was subsequently parked, complete with our luggage, and 'lost'!

When we got into our room (2308/2) we were really disappointed. Seasoned travellers we realise that not every time do you get the best room. But this was (hopefully for other guests) the worst. It just looked dilapidated. Blinds hung d0wn at faulty angles. There was (in a hotel where "every room is a suite" and 99% have balconies) no balcony and decidedly no 'suite' feeling. It was a standard room and as such not absolutely guaranteed a balcony but - the hotel's website is hyperbolic about the splendiferousness of the hotel so - this was a fall!

The maintenance engineer was sent up to fix the wi-fi which was broken. The coffee machine, which was broken. The hook on the bathroom door - broken. He was unable to fix the headboards half-broken off the beds (bolts missing) or the blinds. Reception forgot to issue us with breakfast vouchers which we paid for - as we had paid top dollar.

Breakfast was actually very good with generous choice of fruit, healthy products, hot dishes and even smoked salmon. Staff in the morning were very friendly and cheered us up after the night before... the sleepless night, lying at an angle on dodgy beds.

And then there was the issue of the pool bar and pool cafe - "open daily until 10pm". When we went down at 7pm for a light meal and a beer we were met with a sign on the cafe door saying "new hours - close 6pm"! No poolside beer or frozen drink here. Just an abandoned feel.

The hotel does indeed have some nice public areas. There is an oudoor terrace deck area where 'real flame' woodfires burn and seating is comfortable. Views can be superb. And I'm sure that if you got a good room, with a balcony, then your experience might be quite different.

The story for this hotel here is - don't expect to palm guests off with a room that is simply not up to what you promise. And don't expect guests paying hundreds of dollars a night to be chuffed when you close key facilities 4 hours earlier than advertised.

The pictures of this hotel do not do it justice. The lobby was immaculate and the rooms were sufficiently well maintained. The views from our rooms were the real show-stopper. The patios were large enough for a few people and the amenities were good. Most of the staff were very friendly at this hotel but we did run across a few problems but its hard to fault an entire organization for someone's bad day. Overall our stay at this hotel was spectacular.

There were so many bad things about the hotel...I will just stick with the worst!!
Bugs....the room was full of little bugs!! My legs were covered in BITES!! We told the front desk and they said that they would send someone up...nobody ever came!
We told them that our tv wasn't working---this time they did send someone up. At first the man seemed accomodating to us, he even brought us the extra patio chair that we were promised the day before. But then he asked us if we wanted to buy DRUGS from him!! When we told him no, he said that he would be back later then for an ORGY!!
So basically we were offeneded by the DRUGS and then SEXUALLY HARRASSED! All By a man that works at the hotel so he had a KEY TO OUR ROOM!! We were frightened that he would indeed come back, or follow us if we tried to go anywhere.
The hotel management gave us a comp for a late check out. THATS IT!! Not what we had in mind!!!!
Also, we had gone to the beach one day and paid $50 to rent chairs ($45 with a $5 tip) and an umbrella. It started to rain, we were reassured by the man at the beach that we could come back once the storm had passed and our chairs are "ours for the day"......so that we did, we went back but the chairs were all locked up. Went to the hotel management-- "Nothing we can do about that....they are a seperate business" So needless to say, nothing was done about that either.
There was a very high level of UNPROFESSIONALISM between the staff members. Example...waitress would bring us a drink (when and if the pool bar was open) and complain about the bartender. We were in an elevator and another woman (that worked there) was complaining about the manager at the front desk. She wanted to buy him a coffee...he didn't want to go with her, so she said to us, "Good, I hope he gets fired then!"

We booked this hotel direct with Doubletree and got a great value rate for our three-night stay in March. The room (or rather suite) was on the top floor and boasts two balconies, giant bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and large lounge area. The room was clean and well presented with plenty of towels. The bed was really comfortable. The only downside is that some of the fixtures look a little old and slightly tiered. The hotel reception and Bar staff were really great, friendly and obliging as were the valet parking attendants. Unfortunately the only downside (in line with most Miami Hotels) is the parking charges.
The hotel has a great pool that is situated directly next to the beach. The beach is great – it is clean and relatively quite. There are several good restaurants in the complex opposite – including a great brewpub and a Denny’s for a cheep good value breakfast. We would definitely recommend staying in this hotel!