My son (aged 20) and I (aged "old") stayed one night pre-cruise (Friday, Jan 4, 08) at the Courtyard by Marriott South Beach (located on Washington Avenue) in the heart of South Beach prior to our Liberty of the Seas sailing.

We originally had the Holiday Inn Port of Miami booked, but changed it because my son loves South Beach and had a number of places he wanted to visit on our short stay. I choose the Courtyard by Marriott because I noticed they are now marketing a "pre-cruise package" available at that location and thought I'd give it a try.

The pre-cruise package included:

- either a queen double or king-sized room (different pricing),
- buffet breakfast for two and,
- transportation to the Port of Miami

Why We Choose A Hotel So Far From the Port of Miami

Discount/inexpensive rates at Miami hotels were very hard to come by for this period. I have, in the past, been successful in obtaining great prices at Miami port hotels through Priceline, never paying more than $100 per night. My favorite "wins" are always those at the Intercontinental. As I mentioned, I originally was booked at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami for $209.00/night (w/o taxes). There was nothing included in the Holiday Inn's rate except the room.

Since I knew we would be taking cab rides to South Beach (at least one roundtrip), two breakfasts on Saturday morning, and a short cab ride to the Port while staying at the Holiday Inn, the additional $$ I ended up paying at the Courtyard ($329/night) didn't really bother me (yes, I'm a bit indulgent as a MOM

We always enjoy our time in South Beach. There are many "hip" stores and cafes to visit; our list included two skate shops as well as two independent record stores (some of you might know that record stores are few and far between nowadays). The Lincoln Road Mall is also attractive to someone my son's age -- people watching is fun!

On this trip, however, I noticed far far more homeless people sleeping just about everywhere we walked. Now, I had been down to South Beach very recently -- both in June for a business meeting and last March for the Seatrade Convention, and really didn't notice it too much. The Courtyard's location on Washington Ave is convenient; there is both a Walgreens and CVS Drugstore within two block to pick up any items you may need for the cruise.

On to the Courtyard. Service at the front desk was very attentive and helpful. We arrived at 1:45pm and our king room w/ sofabed was ready for us. The lobby is stylishly decorated in that new "south beach style". There is a coffee bar available, as well as a computer for use in the lobby. The rooms here are small; the Courtyard is an older hotel that has been refurbished for its new life as a Marriott. Our room was at the back of the building, where we overlooked neighborhood "homes and garden apartments", all of which had bars on the windows and doors. There are windows that open at this hotel, which I like. However, there is also a club next door. The deep bass music pounding made me close that window.

The room was clean and well maintained, as I have come to expect from all Courtyards. There was no mold anywhere; although it had that "motel smell" from some type of deodorizer/air freshener that is so prevalent in waterside accommodations. There is free Internet access for your first night's stay, which is a plus. There are toiletries stocked in the bathroom, a one-cup coffeemaker plus the fixings. There was no refrigerator.

Buffet Breakfast: I'm very used to the offerings at Courtyard for their breakfast. It is fine, there is plenty to eat....coffee/juice, continental offers of donuts, rolls, danish, boxed cereals. Trays of bacon, sausage, eggs, etc. You an also opt for some freshly made omelets. There was a "make your own waffle station" available. As with every other Courtyard, the breakfast buffet station is severely understaffed. Many of the items on the buffet were empty, and staff was no where to be found. They could use some additional help in this area.

Transportation to the Port: This was to be a simple cab ride paid for by the hotel. They arranged for a cab to pick us up; we told them what time we wanted and the cab was waiting. I clearly heard the Concierge tell the Bell Services folks that she would be picking up the tab for the cab. Obviously no one told the poor cab driver. When we arrived at the port, I handed him a "tip" only and clearly mentioned that the hotel was responsible for the fare. He was fine with what I said; but it did necessitate him returning back to the hotel to obtain his fare. I do not know the outcome, I hope it went well for him

I think this would be a good choice if you had some Marriott Rewards points to spend and you've always wanted to visit South Beach.

My wife and I are frequent travelers for business and pleasure, Super Elite members with Air Canada and the Marriott hotels are our favourites. We just returned from working a few weeks in Miami, so for the last night we thought we'd stay in Miami Beach as she had never been there.

We booked into the Courtyard South Beach on Washington @ about $260 per night.

What a mistake.

Like all Marriott properties, the staff are superb... really make you feel welcome. Don't know how Marriott finds such folks but the staff at Marriott hotels is what differentiates the chain from all others in our experience.

So... nothing bad about the staff.

But the hotel! What a dump.

First of all, it is right across the road from the Madonna Strip Club. Big club. Loud and prostitutes and bums shouting until 4am Sunday morning. Our room overlooked the street on the 3rd floor.

No fridge, shopworn, bad worn out bed. Single pane windows with natural aluminum frames. Window cranks broken, so if you open one you can shut it without removing the screen and yanking it in by hand. Didn't seal out the street sounds. Weak air conditioning. Stained carpets.

The place is not worthy of the Courtyard name.

What a disappointment. Never got to sleep until 3am for the noise from the strip club.

I've seen better maintained whore houses in my other life in the navy. (Ok, ok... that was 40 years ago!)

Well, that's a lesson for me. I see several other like reviews of the property... should have checked Trip Advisor before I chose this hotel.

Never again.

My wife, my 18 year old daughter checked in to the Courtyard Marriott on 26 December for 9 superb nights. We stayed in one of the larger rooms with two queen beds (think they are bigger than that) and also a double sofa bed. The bathroom was always kept very clean by the staff, and there is a strangely placed little dressing area between the bathroom and the main room.

The tea and coffee, ironing stuff and free email were great. Surprisingly there are no in-room safes, but there are free safe deposit boxes at the front desk.

The whole staff are very friendly and very accommodating, especially Joe on the front desk, who turned a good holiday into a great one. The roof pool was never busy, there is also a sun deck on the roof with more than enough pool type furniture. For 200 degrees, the view is of the roofs of South Beach, but it is easy enough to orientate your sun-bed so that you can look at the Atlantic Ocean or the traffic on Washington Avenue – your call.

We never ate in the hotel, they only do breakfast anyway. There was nothing wrong with the food or the prices, but after flying 5500 miles for a Christmas break/ New Year we wanted to experience the outdoor life at every opportunity, especially for eating. Turn left out of the hotel and within 2 blocks (200 metres) you are at the West end of Lincoln Road with tens of restaurants and cafes and shops. Turn right out of the hotel and within 2 blocks (100 metres) you are at Espanola Way (6-10 bars and restaurants). Cross the busy street and head on to the parallel Collins, more bars and cafes. One more block and you are at the North end of Ocean Drive.

In other words, unless you want the sounds of the waves and the partying hoards until 5:30 in the morning, the location of this hotel is ideal. Yes there are homeless around, but in 10 days, they never approached anyone in our party whether we were together or the females were alone.

Some of the entertainment offered in a few of the neighbouring buildings may be a little risqué, but what do you expect in Miami Beach. Taxis are easy to get hold of; the buses are even easier and feel very safe, either travelling up and down the island or into Miami. Car parking costs seem expensive, so don’t rent a car until you need to.

I’ve stopped at two other hotels here in the last two years, but this is the one to which we will return.

Hotel way over priced for what was offered. The Hotel rooms are clean and large but the location is not on one of the nice streets of South Beach which is Collins or Ocean. It is located on Washington and is across the street from a strip club. Many bums and homeless people on the street and I didn't feel safe walking there at night.
The hotel Lobby is nothing special and smells a bit musty. The breakfast area was not inviting so we did not eat there.

Overall I did enjoy my stay but was shocked that they charge over $300 a night for that location and the way the hotel looks ! It is so not worth it. We were supposed to stay 6 nights but ended up staying only 2 and moving to a different hotel for the rest of the nights. We just felt like we were being ripped off!