J W Marriot Miami

[cjcluvs2cruz]

We are flying into FLL the day before our Nov 15th cruise on the Carnival Liberty. I've been searching for quite sometime for a hotel in Miami at a reasonable rate with very little sucess. The Holiday Inn POM was sold out and the rate at the Intercontinental Miami was a little steep. Therefore, I decided to book directly through Carnival and we will be staying at the J W Marriott Miami at a much lower rate than if I had booked directly. Hopefully this is a decent place to stay. I am hoping someone can recommend a decent place to have dinner that evening. Also, is Bayside Marketplace easy to get to? Are there any liquor stores within walking distance of the hotel so that we can purchase wine and soda to take onboard the ship? Thanks to everyone on these boards for being so helpful. :) :) :)

 

CARNIVAL LIBERTY NOV. 15-22, 2008

[BlueHerons]

The JW Marriott is a fabulous hotel and you are a short cab ride away from Bayside.

 

I'd skip Bayside and head to Coconut Grove and Coco Walk or Coral Gables and the Miracle Mile.

 

Bayside is a tourist trap that you can find in any city.

[steve4040]

My room was excellent. The front desk staff was excellent too. There is a great restaurant across the street from the hotel. I forgot the name of it, but the hotel gave us discount coupons for the restaurant when I stayed there . . . so they should know.

 

The restaurant in the hotel did not do so well for breakfast. The wait staff was slow and inattentive. The guy was to busy hitting on a female employee to provide decent service. The food was pretty good, but becareful of the spicy hashbrowns. If you are in a hurry, be careful about dining here. If you allow extra time, you should be OK. Room service was prompt when I tried it a on the 2nd morning to avoid dealing with the restaurant.

[megr1125]

Gorgeous hotel, gorgeous rooms..not much around-it's near banks, condos, etc.

 

coconut grove is very nice...you could also try

 

www.marybrickellvillage.com as well.

 

there is a publix and walgreens within walking distance.....you can get beer & wine at publix..

 

if you can get a concierge room, the snacks/hors d'ouvers are great...and there is free beer and wine...and the lounge is open weekends (unless they changed that....)

 

you can get to bayside on people mover/monorail but at night, i would take a cab. honestly bayside is overrated...

[MJL]

I agree that it is a very nice hotel with very comfortable rooms. More of a classic downtown business style, and not the tropical atmosphere many expect in Miami.

 

We ate at the microbrewery style restaurant across the street, on the corner. The food was good and the prices were reasonable. There is also a Morton's close by if I remember correctly.

 

 

Mike

[cjcluvs2cruz]

Thanks everyone for your help. I believe we will be very happy with the J W Marriott. I also think we will take everyone's advice and skip Bayside Marketplace (we were actually there back in 1998 before a cruise on RCCL. Is a taxi the best way to get to Coral Gables (Miracle Mile)? I'm not familiar with this area at all. If not I guess we will try one of the restaurants near the hotel. We've never tried a Morton's so maybe with the money we saved by booking the hotel through Carnival we'll go ahead and splurge on dinner!!!

 

Colleen

[megr1125]

IIRC there is a GOrdon Biersch brewery across the street...up....it is...

 

www.gordonbiersch.com

 

decent food, not ridiculously expensive.....and it is across the street go out the front door (or the side, thru the driveway), go to the corner...(a couple dozen steps) turn left, cross the street...i think it's right there!

[maggieq]

I will be staying there on Saturday 10/11..I would be more than happy to post my thoughts when I return...let me know.

 

This is a first time visit for me but anything I have read so far has been pretty good

[cjcluvs2cruz]

Maggie,

I'm wondering what you thought of the J W Marriott? Also, are there any restaurants nearby the J W Marriott that you tried? Thanks for any info. Hope your stay was fun.