Am I delusional?!!?

[Saraphine]

We are flying into MIA for a cruise in January. At the risk of sounding naive or provincial (or downright stupid! :p) I sort of figured we would fly in a day early, grab a hotel for the night with a shuttle from the airport, and then cab/shuttle it to the port in the morning. I was figuring around $150 for a cheap, clean, safe, nothing fancy room that would take away the stress of flying in the day off (can't predict that Canadian weather!).

 

I just started looking into hotels today. Holy snap! :eek: $280 - $380 for a night in a two star hotel?!!? Is this really what I can expect to pay for a hotel in Miami for the night, or am I missing something here?!!?

Edited May 17, 2015 by Saraphine

[Orlando Vic]

Winter is high season in South Florida. That probably explains the prices. However, if I were you, I'd keep searching.

[eandj]

What is your exact date needed? That would help.

Jan. of course is high and $150 is kind of low for a nice place in Miami. Have you considered using a discount site?

 

La Quinta East is a hotel popular with budget minded cruisers. There is shuttle service, not sure if complimentary. This is nearer the airport. I've never stayed and not sure of rates.

[SMSACE6]

I know the feeling. I usually get quite discouraged early on in my hotel search, but do check out some of the discount websites. I used last minute travel club, for my upcoming cruise and got an excellent rate at my preferred hotel. there is a fee to join lmt club, but sometimes they have join for free which I did last year. I think it costs about 50.00 to join, but the discounts are very good. There are others that I have heard mentioned like value trips, but I have no experience with them.

 

Also there are some hotels near the airports with better rates, and they usually offer a good rate on shuttle to the cruise port, and many will have breakfast included in the rate.

 

you will get lots of great advice here on the Florida board. Good luck and have a great cruise:)

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Try the Courtyard Miami Airport. We booked one night in March, spring break time, for $236 US$ which includes tax.

[eandj]

Valuetrips.com, mentioned earlier, books the Hyatt Pl in Fort Lauderdale.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Valuetrips.com, mentioned earlier, books the Hyatt Pl in Fort Lauderdale.

 

Why Fort Lauderdale if they are flying into Miami and it sounds like cruising from here?!

[BlueHerons]

We are flying into MIA for a cruise in January. At the risk of sounding naive or provincial (or downright stupid! :p) I sort of figured we would fly in a day early, grab a hotel for the night with a shuttle from the airport, and then cab/shuttle it to the port in the morning. I was figuring around $150 for a cheap, clean, safe, nothing fancy room that would take away the stress of flying in the day off (can't predict that Canadian weather!).

 

I just started looking into hotels today. Holy snap! :eek: $280 - $380 for a night in a two star hotel?!!? Is this really what I can expect to pay for a hotel in Miami for the night, or am I missing something here?!!?

 

You must be looking at dates over the Miami Marathon or over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

 

A bit of advice, if you find a hotel for $150 when everything else is $280-$380, DON'T BOOK IT!

 

Bad motels here are dismal, in high crime areas, and rent by the hour.

[Saraphine]

Thanks guys for the advice.

 

We are cruising January 24, so figured we would just get a basic place for the night of the 23. Both the Intercontinental and the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon (lol...very different stars, I know!) seem to have great reviews and we would be happy staying somewhere like this.

 

I just joined Last Minute Travel tonight (yay for finding a promo code that worked for a free membership!). I am still trying to figure out how best to navigate/use the site. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! From reading this forum I think I remember people mentioning that they got the Intercontinental from LMT for under $200 which would be great. How and when did they snag it for such a price?!!?

 

I have used Priceline previously, but I worry about getting a hotel in an unsafe neighbourhood (I know nothing about Miami to tell the truth) or being stuck at a hotel that is crazy far from the port/airport with no good transportation options.

 

Can someone give me a ballpark on what I should expect to be paying and/or tips on getting the best rate at a clean, safe hotel? If $300 realistically is what it is going to cost, then better I come to terms with that now! However, I don't want to overpay if I can get the same hotel for less just by doing a bit of homework! ;)

[Saraphine]

 

Bad motels here are dismal, in high crime areas, and rent by the hour.

 

:eek:Oh my, that is one of my biggest fears!!!!

[BlueHerons]

I have used Priceline previously, but I worry about getting a hotel in an unsafe neighbourhood (I know nothing about Miami to tell the truth) or being stuck at a hotel that is crazy far from the port/airport with no good transportation options.

 

)

 

You can get a great hotel if you stick with three stars and above on Hotwire and book the following areas:

 

Coconut Grove

Coral Gables

South Beach

Downtown

Brickell

 

There probably are not any hotels above 2 1/2 stars in bad areas.

 

Edited to add that I took a quick look on Hotwire for your dates and found several hotels in South Beach in the $175 range.

Edited May 18, 2015 by BlueHerons

[capriccio]

You must be looking at dates over the Miami Marathon or over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

 

 

Thanks guys for the advice.

 

We are cruising January 24, so figured we would just get a basic place for the night of the 23.

 

BlueHerons guessed it. The Miami Marathon (with up to 25,000 participants) is January 24th so there will be lots of competition (read high prices) for hotel rooms on January 23rd. Events actually start on Friday the 22nd, continue on the 23rd, and then the marathon is the morning of the 24th.

 

So if you can find something acceptable in your price range, book soon!

Edited May 18, 2015 by capriccio

[Saraphine]

Blue Herons, could you offer any info on the area that contains the Best Western Plus Miami Airport North? Safe? Clean??

[Langley Cruisers]

Don't forget to always use Tripadvisor.com to read reviews and so on. You can find out a lot of information by taking some time to research the places you are looking into.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com

 

.

[BlueHerons]

Blue Herons, could you offer any info on the area that contains the Best Western Plus Miami Airport North? Safe? Clean??

 

I don't like any Quality Inns, Red Roof Inns, Ramada Inns, etc in the area of the airport. The bad areas around the airport are REALLY bad, some very high crime.

 

I don't have first hand experience at this hotel, maybe someone else does.

[SNJCruisers]

I just joined Last Minute Travel tonight (yay for finding a promo code that worked for a free membership!). I am still trying to figure out how best to navigate/use the site. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! ;)

The best thing about LMTClub is that you can use them as an insurance policy since you can cancel with up to 3 days ahead of time with no penalty and your CC is refunded fully. For your date this is what I found on LMTClub for reasonable numbers in 4 different areas

 

Downtown: Hilton 227 + 39 = 266

South Beach: Red South Beach Hotel 159 + 27 = 186

Airport: Hyatt Place Miami Airport East 118 + 28 = 146

Coconut Grove: Mayfair Hotel & Spa 178 + 30 = 208

 

Blue Herons can probably chime in with what his choice of the four would be and how the rate stacks up for that time of year. Good luck.

[kelkel2]

We cruised the weekend of the Marathon our last cruise. It's a busy weekend in Miami. I am sorry to say but you are not going to get a great deal on a hotel that weekend. Perhaps stay in South Beach, most of the runners will be concentrated in downtown where the marathon actually takes place.

But, yeah you're not going to find a cheap hotel downtown in January. I learned that... Our cruise, we are going the weekend before you and we are paying $300 for the Intercontinental. Miami isn't a cheap city, and the winter peak months make it worse. Adding onto it a big event, or in our case a holiday weekend. There's just not many deals to be had. I know it's frustrating, but think of it as a once in a while thing and treat yourself to a swanky downtown Miami hotel, something you wouldn't do often and just go with it. That's what we are doing.

But honestly, If you wait too long to book a hotel there won't be many choices left. The marathon runners take a ton of rooms up and on top of how many cruisers are in town that weekend too it makes it insanely difficult to get a room. Just don't wait too long to get a room. We have made that mistake.

[brookie848]

Does the original poster need to be concerned with traffic on the way to the port the morning of the marathon? I know nothing about it, but I'd be concerned that road closures might make travel time to the port a bit longer.

[Saraphine]

Does the original poster need to be concerned with traffic on the way to the port the morning of the marathon? I know nothing about it, but I'd be concerned that road closures might make travel time to the port a bit longer.

 

Good point! I never even thought of that! Anyone have any experience with this?

 

Okay, here is my update:

 

I was clicking around on Priceline late last night. Perhaps I was a little tired, perhaps I was a little trigger happy. Who is to say? I kept Blue Heron's advice in mind about keeping it over three stars. Just on a whim (completely not expecting it to be accepted), I put in a low ball bid of $80 on a three star, and it was accepted. I was shocked, and a little freaked out and scared about what I had done. lol

 

The hotel is the one I mentioned earlier, the The Best Western Plus Miami Airport North. Normally, I would have been very pleased with this hotel (completely adequate, nothing fancy but it does the job, clean, and I am pretty sure doesn't have an hourly rate!) and the rate I got. Close to the airport, cheap shuttle to the port. And it has great reviews on Trip Advisor. The few people here on CC who have mentioned it don't seem to have anything bad to say about it. All of these lead me to be satisfied.

 

However, then in the back of my mind I keep thinking: How on earth can I get a hotel for $80 when everything else was in the $200-$300 range, and it's going to be a busy weekend?!!? What on earth is wrong with this place???? I try to reassure myself that it is because it is in the airport area rather than the downtown area, but I still have my doubts, especially with Blue Heron's comments about the crime rate in the airport area. We are very unlikely to venture outside the hotel that night (aside from needing dinner, and we would probably just try to order in).

 

I can't help but wonder if I should chalk this up to life's lessons learned, and keep looking for another hotel, or embrace this as having snagged a good deal, run with it and be happy?

[BlueHerons]

Good point! I never even thought of that! Anyone have any experience with this?

 

Okay, here is my update:

 

I was clicking around on Priceline late last night. Perhaps I was a little tired, perhaps I was a little trigger happy. Who is to say? I kept Blue Heron's advice in mind about keeping it over three stars. Just on a whim (completely not expecting it to be accepted), I put in a low ball bid of $80 on a three star, and it was accepted. I was shocked, and a little freaked out and scared about what I had done. lol

 

The hotel is the one I mentioned earlier, the The Best Western Plus Miami Airport North. Normally, I would have been very pleased with this hotel (completely adequate, nothing fancy but it does the job, clean, and I am pretty sure doesn't have an hourly rate!) and the rate I got. Close to the airport, cheap shuttle to the port. And it has great reviews on Trip Advisor. The few people here on CC who have mentioned it don't seem to have anything bad to say about it. All of these lead me to be satisfied.

 

However, then in the back of my mind I keep thinking: How on earth can I get a hotel for $80 when everything else was in the $200-$300 range, and it's going to be a busy weekend?!!? What on earth is wrong with this place???? I try to reassure myself that it is because it is in the airport area rather than the downtown area, but I still have my doubts, especially with Blue Heron's comments about the crime rate in the airport area. We are very unlikely to venture outside the hotel that night (aside from needing dinner, and we would probably just try to order in).

 

I can't help but wonder if I should chalk this up to life's lessons learned, and keep looking for another hotel, or embrace this as having snagged a good deal, run with it and be happy?

 

Don't freak, I think you'll be just fine.

 

The entire airport area isn't horrible, just be smart and don't leave anything in your car, be aware of your surroundings, etc.

[GrannyFlamingo]

I worked in hotels for many years. Bed and breakfast properties are often overlooked as an option during big event/holiday periods. Never hurts to check those too. They don't tend to change their prices as much according to demand, and you may get a more unique experience for the same money. Always be sure to ask about private bathrooms nd availble transportation.

[kelkel2]

Does the original poster need to be concerned with traffic on the way to the port the morning of the marathon? I know nothing about it, but I'd be concerned that road closures might make travel time to the port a bit longer.

 

We didn't have any issues. We stayed at the Holiday Inn downtown and we just flagged a taxi that morning. It was easy peasy. Took 5 minutes? I didn't really notice any issues with the marathon that morning. That was about 10:30 in the morning.

[paulh84]

I've stayed at that Embassy Suites down the street several times for work. I'm sure the hotel itself is perfectly fine. Along that stretch there are several new comparable hotels like the Holiday Inn Express and Clarion. The area itself very industrial. The street itself backs up to several cargo and private aviation facilities. To be completely honest with you, you probably won't feel comfortable walking around there area. There's really nothing worth walking to anyway. It's gritty, but more so due to being so industrial as opposed to dangerous. Take a peek around Google street view and see if it is something you will be comfortable with. For $80 I would go for it. But if you find something in a better area and have to cut your losses, by the time January rolls around you will have long forgotten about that $80 mistake.

[Halfpint012]

Thanks guys for the advice.

 

We are cruising January 24, so figured we would just get a basic place for the night of the 23. Both the Intercontinental and the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon (lol...very different stars, I know!) seem to have great reviews and we would be happy staying somewhere like this.

 

I just joined Last Minute Travel tonight (yay for finding a promo code that worked for a free membership!). I am still trying to figure out how best to navigate/use the site. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! From reading this forum I think I remember people mentioning that they got the Intercontinental from LMT for under $200 which would be great. How and when did they snag it for such a price?!!?

 

I have used Priceline previously, but I worry about getting a hotel in an unsafe neighbourhood (I know nothing about Miami to tell the truth) or being stuck at a hotel that is crazy far from the port/airport with no good transportation options.

 

Can someone give me a ballpark on what I should expect to be paying and/or tips on getting the best rate at a clean, safe hotel? If $300 realistically is what it is going to cost, then better I come to terms with that now! However, I don't want to overpay if I can get the same hotel for less just by doing a bit of homework! ;)

 

Can you share your code?

[cincicruisers]

I would be nervous to be at a hotel in the "rough" areas. Not sure about finding dinner place and a stop to get alcohol and last minute items at a store since you can't go out.

 

For me personally I would try for a hotel in a better neighborhood.