I will never go back to this hotel. They have lots of hidden charges, including parking $30 a day plus $8 in tax on top of that a day! Then they charge you $10 per person a night for chair rentals, towels (which half the time they didnt have and if they did they looked like they were from the 80's and very small and ragged. And they taxed that also each day! We ended up paying over $200 more than we expected in hidden charges. Very unprofessional management!

Just like many of the other negative reviewers here, when I booked this hotel I couldn't quite believe that the hotel experience could be that horrible. I read many negative posts just as you are doing now, but I figured these people were just expecting too much. Boy, was I wrong.

Let me clarify, I have stayed at many different hotels throughout my lifetime. I have splurged on some nice ones, and then when the money is tight, I have gone for the budget ones. The times I have stayed in budget hotels I've always known not to expect much. The experience always ended up being close to what I expected. Not in this case. If I were to put a price and my experience the rate should have been $2 dollars a night. I am not kidding.

First off the people at the front desk are the rudest, unfriendliness people ever. I was traveling with friends and we arrived at 6pm to check in, WAY after the normal check in time. We were informed that there was no room ready for us and that we just had to wait. I should clarify that there were approximately 10-15 other people waiting for a room as we were attempting to check in. One would imagine that any hotel staff would at least apologize when they're guests are having to wait hours to get a room. However,they were the rudest people ever and basically proceeded to say that if we didn't like to wait we just might as well leave. After 2 and a1/2 hours of waiting in the lobby (during which we went to other hotels close to the Sovereign to check if there was anything else available but everything was booked so we had no choice) they proceeded to check us in. The whole time this person was checking us in he treated us horrible. He never once apologized for making us wait. Oh and by the way, as we were waiting we encountered two very nice women who were furious because when they had finally been checked in and were given a room, they opened the door to their room to discover that someone was already staying in it!!!!

The room. This was the most depressing, smelliest room I had stayed in my life. There was a leak on the roof which had one corner of the room completely soaked and the room smelled musty and disgusting. The bathroom, although quite big, had no place in which to put bottles or anything. Any women out there understands how important this is. There was just a sink and all our creams, bottles etc had to placed on the floor. On the second night, the toilet clogged for no reason. We were brought a plunger and we actually had to unclog it ourselves.

The service. Every time we ordered towels, or anything basic, it could take up to an hour to have them brought to us. Calling the lobby to ask questions was just torture. One day we left to spend some time at the beach. We got back at 6pm to get ready to go out to dinner and to the clubs and our room still hadn't been cleaned. We called and informed them that the cleaning staff had yet to come to our room. They said they would come later. We left at 8pm and when we returned at 2am our room was still NOT clean, Our beds were just as we left them that morning, our towels had not been changed .....NOTHING! It was truly pathetic.

In all, this had been the WORST hotel experience of my life. Please do no make the same mistake we did and believe all the negative comments are merely the result of exaggeration. They are NOT. I have traveled budget before and although I never expect the greatest service or rooms in the world, this was just outrageous. I'd rater put a up a tent on the beach than stay here ever again.

I've stayed at over 100 hotels (for business and personal vacations) and this was the worst hotel I've ever stayed at. This is not a 2.5 to 3 star hotel, as it is reported. Somewhere between 1 and 2 stars. If it weren't for the beach view and proximity to the boardwalk, it would be difficult to find something good about this place.

My fiance and I had just gotten engaged and wanted to celebrate.
When we checked in and headed up to the room, I noticed we didn't have any towels, washrags, or toiletries in the bathroom. We were heading out for a walk, so I told the front desk on the way out that we needed towels (I had packed toiletries). When we returned a few hours later, we still didn't have towels, so I called the front desk and they said they would send some up. No towels ever arrived. We were heading out again to eat dinner, so I went to the front desk. Finally, on the 3rd time we asked for towels, they told us that they didn't have any clean towels since they send towels out for cleaning. Apparently, the company picked up the old dirty towels in the morning, but never sent the clean ones. The front desk told us we would have new towels tomorrow... gee thanks. I needed to shower anyway so I ended up using a previously worn t-shirt in my suitcase from the last stop on our trip.
I do not run a hotel, but I think I'm smart enough to have extra towels on hand or a contingency plan should something like that happen. When I stay at a hotel, I expect 2 basic things- a bed to sleep in and clean towels in the bathroom. Anything else (refrig in room, ironing board, premium cable channels, etc.) is just a bonus. Clean towels is something people have a right to expect from a hotel. Not only did the hotel not have towels, they didn't offer to do anything to compensate us for our inconvience. I would have never paid over $110 a night for a room with no towels (even with an oceanview).

The room was in need of a update. The ceiling was chipped, the bedspread had a hole in it, and the rug by the bathroom toilet was so gross you wouldn't dare step on it barefoot.

When I returned home from vacation, my sister asked if we received the champagne she had sent to our room to celebrate our engagement. I told her that we did not receive it. She said that when she called before we checked in, the front desk told her our room was already assigned and that the champagne would be in the room waiting for us. Either they never sent the champagne, or if they did, they left it in another room.

This has nothing to do with the hotel- but be forewarned... if you want to stay in Miami Beach, you should stay between 5th and 20th streets to experience South Beach. This hotel is at 4385, so you either need to be prepared to drive or walk several miles if you want restaurants, a conveinence store, shops, etc.

I may return to Miami Beach someday, but I will never stay at this hotel again.

My husband and I stayed at the Sovereign for two weeks through the Holiday Club Timeshare and we feel the hotel received a bum rap on the internet. Yes, the hotel is old but very clean, we never saw one bug in or around the hotel and never in our room, which was cleaned daily by very nice maids. Yes the staff is limited, but they were very helpful, very pleasant and the manager was always pitching in where she could help. Yes the elevator is old, but worked the entire time we were there with no problems. Yes the breakfast was limited, but there was always enough, was hot and the chef did his best to keep up with the amount of people he was trying to feed. The complaints we have are strickly to Holiday Club only because this hotel and its facilities are not the caliber expected from Holiday Club, but has nothing to do with Sovereign Hotel who did their best to accommodate us in all ways possible under the circumstances. There were some instances not in the control of the hotel - one being the construction next door, it was going on 6 days a week, but it never really intruded on our fun. We were told the hotel will be closing in February to be rebuilt as a condo, which is why, we believe, there were limited supplies such as the kitchens were not supplied and the outdoor furniture should have been replaced and/or repainted. But, on the whole it was a very nice hotel and we did have a good time.