Florida – Hotel Dilemma in Miami Beach

Hotel prices in Miami Beach are outrageously high during peak season. We were recommended by the travel agency (TUI) the Claremont Hotel in Southbeach, which charges reasonable prices compared to other hotels in the 3-star range (about 150 CHF/night for a double room). Of course, we wanted to know how the hotel was received by other travelers and looked at the reviews on tripadvisor. What we read there about this hotel made us a bit unsure if it was the right choice. From “worst hotel I ever stayed” to “overpriced, unfriendly staff, old and dirty” to “0 stars deserved”, most hotel guests felt that this hotel was inadequate. We were then prepared for anything when we entered this hotel.

The lobby is relatively modern and nicely bright, but the lady at the reception was actually not particularly motivated. The room we got was a bit gloomy, not the newest but it didn’t have any serious flaws. What bothers me about American hotels in general is that they always have a carpeted floor. I think that’s basically “creepy”, but I guess the Americans think it’s kind of great… Since we stayed at this hotel again for one night a week later, we had the opportunity to test a second room and this one was much, much better, cleaner and above all renovated. So you can definitely get lucky.

I think this hotel offers a reasonable price-performance ratio, as the location is really great and the rooms are not quite as horror as you might think from some reviews. In general, you are only in the hotel room to sleep. For much more than 2-3 nights I would not recommend it though.

Just one cross street from the hotel you can get to the super long sandy beach of Miami Beach. It is especially exciting in the morning and evening, when the beach path turns into a jogging track and you can watch the countless variants of the species “joggers” :-). Also within walking distance is Ocean Drive, which really comes to life in the evening. I’m a big burger fan and was accordingly pleased that there is an inexpensive Johnny Rockets in a prime location on Ocean Drive. Nice service, good location, delicious burgers – what more could you want, definitely recommended!

Addendum from May 2013: During our visit to Florida this year, we noticed that the Claremont Hotel is now empty. How relevant were the bad Tripadvisor reviews to the failure?…