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Holiday Inn POM or Mayfair Hotel?


willow0325

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I've been researching hotels (ad nauseum!) for our upcoming cruise. We'll likely stay 1-2 nights pre-cruise. Which hotel would you chose (Holiday Inn POM or the Mayfair Hotel) and why?

Thanks so much and happy cruising!

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For one night in downtown Miami I would choose the Doubletree Biscayne Bay over either hotel you mentioned - wonderful rooms, some with a view of POM, very nice pool area, and several good local dining options within walking distance. For more than one night I would skip downtown Miami and choose Miami Beach or maybe Coconut Grove.

 

Good luck! :)

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We stayed at the Mayfair for a week a year ago and were happy with our stay, which was at a great rate much reduced from normal rates. Coconut Grove area was convenient enough with our rental car. I really don't think your 2 choices are comparable, more like apples to oranges. HI POM is a convenient pre-cruise hotel. The Mayfair Hotel & Spa is cut from a little more luxurious cloth, although priced higher also and everything cost extra.

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We stayed at the Mayfair for a week a year ago and were happy with our stay, which was at a great rate much reduced from normal rates. Coconut Grove area was convenient enough with our rental car. I really don't think your 2 choices are comparable, more like apples to oranges. HI POM is a convenient pre-cruise hotel. The Mayfair Hotel & Spa is cut from a little more luxurious cloth, although priced higher also and everything cost extra.

 

Thanks for your help but I'm seeing rates much lower at Mayfair both directly at the hotel and using Priceline. Are you saying that HI POM is "ordinary" and Mayfair is more luxury? If so - I think I'd take luxury over ordinary. Some reviews are that the pool area is loud - was that your finding? We are just going for a day or two pre-cruise but still like to being our vacation in a nice hotel.

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For one night in downtown Miami I would choose the Doubletree Biscayne Bay over either hotel you mentioned - wonderful rooms, some with a view of POM, very nice pool area, and several good local dining options within walking distance. For more than one night I would skip downtown Miami and choose Miami Beach or maybe Coconut Grove.

 

Good luck! :)

 

Thank you! What can you tell me about the Doubletree? Why would you chose that area over the other two? I also have to consider taxi fares (from airport and then to cruise port). Isn't the Doubletree in the same vicinity as

the Holiday Inn? Thanks again so much for your help!

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Hmmm ... I'm seeing very high rates for the Doubletree directly through the hotel and on priceline too. Close to $500 for one night for a 2 bedroom, and close to $300/night for a 1 bedroom. Is that close to the rate you paid? Too expensive for me, unfortunately.

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Thanks for your help but I'm seeing rates much lower at Mayfair both directly at the hotel and using Priceline. Are you saying that HI POM is "ordinary" and Mayfair is more luxury? If so - I think I'd take luxury over ordinary. Some reviews are that the pool area is loud - was that your finding? We are just going for a day or two pre-cruise but still like to being our vacation in a nice hotel.

 

The Holiday Inn is very ordinary so if you want a nice hotel pick something different. It is a popular place with cruisers because it is across the street from the port but to me this doesn't matter. I think the Mayfair looks lovely although I have not stayed there. I would stay there any day over the Holiday Inn.

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Thanks for your help but I'm seeing rates much lower at Mayfair both directly at the hotel and using Priceline. Are you saying that HI POM is "ordinary" and Mayfair is more luxury? If so - I think I'd take luxury over ordinary. Some reviews are that the pool area is loud - was that your finding? We are just going for a day or two pre-cruise but still like to being our vacation in a nice hotel.

Yes, I'd almost forgotten about that. The pool is closed in the evening (6:00PM?) and they use the outdoor area as an outdoor party area with the bar setup and music. Their prices really vary a lot depending on the season, more than a hundred dollar swing. There were mixed reviews before my visit and I thought the great price was too good to pass up. We had a good trip. There was a nice complex adjacent to Mayfair that had dining and shopping, even more options in the very walkable neighborhood.

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The Mayfair is leagues above the Double Tree, and the HI downtown doesn't come close to either.

 

Coconut Grove has kinda of a bohemian feel to it, and its much fun to explore the tree lined streets near the hotel. Its a fairly safe area, but don't go further west than the block after the Cocowalk mall.

 

Many more things to do and see in downtown, but you could do far worse than booking the Mayfair. Make sure you get a room with the jacuzzi on the balcony...very cool.

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The Mayfair is leagues above the Double Tree, and the HI downtown doesn't come close to either.

 

Coconut Grove has kinda of a bohemian feel to it, and its much fun to explore the tree lined streets near the hotel. Its a fairly safe area, but don't go further west than the block after the Cocowalk mall.

 

Many more things to do and see in downtown, but you could do far worse than booking the Mayfair. Make sure you get a room with the jacuzzi on the balcony...very cool.

 

Ditto this.

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We recently stayed at the HI POM. It was rated 3 1/2 stars but it is probably more like 2 - 2 1/2 stars. It wasn't horrible but it is rather funky and the pool leaves a lot to be desired. We could not get the wifi to work in our room and had to take the laptop downstairs to the lobby in order for it to work. Breakfast was fairly expensive but we went across the street to the Bayside Market Place and ate dinner there.

 

We are going back to Miami in December for a 10 day Christmas cruise. We just recently booked the Hyatt Regency for $115 a night. It is 4 1/2 stars. The Intercontinental was available for $141. Have you tried wwwdotlastminutetraveldotcom? Great deals are to be had there. Good luck.

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Other then being "overpriced", can you be more specific about why you think it's a "dump"? Thanks so much.

 

You can run a search here; this hotel has been discussed for years and for all that time, it's been described as a dump. It's old, it's run down, the food is expensive, the pool area is a joke, the elevators are slow, our room was dirty, the staff is indifferent....

 

Please do yourself a favor and stay elsewhere. I, and other who have commented in this thread, have stayed there and we wouldn't again. *shrug* I'm just not sure what else to say.

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In addition to the above I will make a comment about being overpriced. For the same dates I was in Miami the Holiday Inn was $170. I stayed at the Hyatt which is a much nicer hotel for $88.

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We stayed at the Holiday Inn last year for 1 night and it was fine. After reading all the reviews we were freaked out but had booked a non-refundable rate. Even the people on our roll call told us to 'expect to see chalk outlines of bodies'. All in all it was fine. I even met Joan Rivers in the elevator! It's fine for a pre-cruise stay. We needed a refrigerator for medication and it was brought up within 10 minutes and the staff were friendly. Our room had a view of the port, not an awesome view but we could see the ships!

 

Very clean, I ripped all the sheets off and checked the mattresses just to be safe!

 

IMG_3227.jpg

 

IMG_3229.jpg

 

No 'chalk lines' here!

 

IMG_3228.jpg

View from the room

 

IMG_3250.jpg

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My first thought is that perhaps it was an impersonator.

 

Didn't think of that. I have seen her at the Mandarin, but that makes sense, its a 5 star hotel in downtown Miami, she wasn't staying there--- just hanging out at M-bar.

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The voice and looks were identical. It's hard to impersonate the facelifts LOL. She was with a body guard and a photographer. They could have been there for 5 minutes or visiting someone? But the voice was identical.

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I just stayed at the Holiday inn last night and loved it. We were in room 911 which is the north east corner. One sides Windows over look Bayside and the port and the other side looked up past the arena. Staff was fantastic, made copies for me and scrounged up some office supplies I needed. Cabs for getting to the port are just outside and theirs a dormant there to help you get one and get your luggage in. There is Bayside across the street for shopping and food though we at in the hotels restaurant. Ribs had a good sauce but not the most tender while the wife's steak was fantastic.

 

Dumb as it sounds I like that there's a CVS 2 blocks away on the same side of the street that has saved my butt. I forgot a phone charger and they had one that worked. Also able to replace sunscreen we had to toss at the airport because we forgot to put it in checked baggage...live and learn. Able to buy some sodas for the boat as well.

 

Back to the room, it was spacious, had a sitting area with two chairs and a couch and table. Two big flat screen televisions, one in the bedroom and one in the sitting room. There was also a kitchenet with fridge/freezer microwave and sink. Room was clean.

 

Elevators? Somebody said they were slow? Never understand this complaint...maybe 10-15 seconds from the lobby to the 9th floor? Same going down, serious if it to 10 seconds or 25 who cares, how busy are you that it matters?

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I just stayed at the Holiday inn last night and loved it. We were in room 911 which is the north east corner. One sides Windows over look Bayside and the port and the other side looked up past the arena. Staff was fantastic, made copies for me and scrounged up some office supplies I needed. Cabs for getting to the port are just outside and theirs a dormant there to help you get one and get your luggage in. There is Bayside across the street for shopping and food though we at in the hotels restaurant. Ribs had a good sauce but not the most tender while the wife's steak was fantastic.

 

Dumb as it sounds I like that there's a CVS 2 blocks away on the same side of the street that has saved my butt. I forgot a phone charger and they had one that worked. Also able to replace sunscreen we had to toss at the airport because we forgot to put it in checked baggage...live and learn. Able to buy some sodas for the boat as well.

 

Back to the room, it was spacious, had a sitting area with two chairs and a couch and table. Two big flat screen televisions, one in the bedroom and one in the sitting room. There was also a kitchenet with fridge/freezer microwave and sink. Room was clean.

 

Elevators? Somebody said they were slow? Never understand this complaint...maybe 10-15 seconds from the lobby to the 9th floor? Same going down, serious if it to 10 seconds or 25 who cares, how busy are you that it matters?

 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn last year for 1 night and it was fine. After reading all the reviews we were freaked out but had booked a non-refundable rate. Even the people on our roll call told us to 'expect to see chalk outlines of bodies'. All in all it was fine. I even met Joan Rivers in the elevator! It's fine for a pre-cruise stay. We needed a refrigerator for medication and it was brought up within 10 minutes and the staff were friendly. Our room had a view of the port, not an awesome view but we could see the ships!

 

Very clean, I ripped all the sheets off and checked the mattresses just to be safe!

 

IMG_3227.jpg

 

IMG_3229.jpg

 

No 'chalk lines' here!

 

IMG_3228.jpg

View from the room

 

IMG_3250.jpg

 

We stayed here for the last cruise and I just booked here for the upcoming cruise.

 

The above 2 posts have it right on.

 

CVS right down the road is great for a couple 12 packs of soda, wine and any other last minute things you may have forgotten, also for small gits if you need something for someone.

Bayside right across the street is a neat place and if you get up early enough the day of your cruise walk over there and watch the ships come in, go up on the 2nd balcony of the store....pretty cool..

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