Clinton Hotel South Beach — Attraction in Miami Beach

This is a response to the owner's comment on my original review.

Dear Clinton South Beach Hotel owner,

Please elaborate on what "appropriate measures" you have taken to "address the problem with our Team in order to prevent any future occurrences".

Another lady posted a review just yesterday to say she had roaches crawling on the wall of her room. It appears that the bug infestation in your hotel has NOT been addressed or adequately dealt with. Looking through past one star reviews, many people have shared their experiences encountering bugs at The Clinton South Beach hotel, and have received this same cookie cutter response from management saying they have "taken appropriate measures to address the problem". If you were honest, you would be specific about what you have done to fix the bug infestation, and you would offer a refund in the instances where a guest encounters bugs in their room and doesn't feel comfortable moving to another room.

As an update to my original review, after returning home from my stay at The Clinton South Beach hotel, I noticed many small bites on my body which were confirmed by my doctor to be bed bug bites. As a precaution, I had stripped down as soon as I returned home and threw my clothes in the dryer, I am glad to have done this as I could have carried bed bugs into my home as a result of staying at The Clinton South Beach hotel. This is an expensive and serious threat to guests. While I would appreciate receiving a refund for my room as I did not even stay there for the night, you could not pay me to set foot in this hotel again.

See response from the owner and original review below.

Response from the owner 4 hours ago Dear Zach,

Thank you for staying with at The Clinton South Beach and taking the time to share your comments regarding your stay. We apologize that you stay was less than extraordinary. This is certainly not up to our standards, and it is feedback like yours which allows us to improve our hotel each day. Please allow us to express our sincerest apologies. Rest assured that we have taken the appropriate measures to address the problem with our Team in order to prevent any future occurrences.

We hope to have the opportunity of welcoming you back to re-experience The Clinton South Beach in the near future.

Warm Regards,

Guest Service Team

Original review from 6 days ago:

I am writing this review after an unfortunately disappointing stay at the Clinton Hotel South Beach. While the front desk representative was polite and the location is central, I was not even able to enjoy a night's stay because of the infestation of bugs.

The room I was provided was far from satisfactory, infested with various types of bugs. It was unsettling to the point where I felt compelled to leave in the middle of the night, even though the room was non-refundable.

In addition, the lack of on-site parking was another significant downside. Guests are forced to rely on city parking, which allows for only 8 hours at a time. This could be hugely inconvenient for those wishing to park their vehicles for longer durations.

To compound the disappointment, I was faced with deceptive pricing. The room, initially advertised at $55, ended up costing $100 due to a substantial "resort fee".

In retrospect, I wish I had paid closer attention to other reviews before booking. A deeper look reveals recurring complaints about poor cleanliness and bug infestations. Interestingly, many of the 5-star reviews seem suspiciously similar in wording, raising questions about their authenticity.

In conclusion, despite the central location and courteous customer service, the substandard room condition, inconvenient parking, and misleading pricing structure significantly marred my experience at the Clinton Hotel South Beach. I strongly advise potential guests to thoroughly read reviews before booking, and to be aware that the final cost might be significantly higher than the initially advertised price. And you will not get your money back even if your room is...

A little preface: I was a little worried when booking here because of the 1-star reviews. Based on reading reviews for other South Beach hotels of a similar price, I hoped that the negative things mentioned were just part of the experience of staying at an older hotel in a place with so much demand (and thus less incentive to make big improvements to aging facilities). This basically turned out to be the case.

Expectations are key here: Clinton Hotel is listed on Google Maps as a "4-star hotel". Maybe it was once a 4-star hotel (30 years ago), but I don't know how Google Maps determines the star rating, because this is NOT a 4-star hotel. I think 3-star would be generous but I would be more happy with that billing. Now, onto the good and bad.

--Good-- Comfortable bed. It's a bit low to the ground (no box spring), but my wife raved about the bed. Bathroom. The bathroom was nice, and was the thing about the hotel that best matched the pictures from the website. The provided hygiene products were only so-so; not very much lather from the shampoo or body wash. I would bring your own if possible. Location. Just two blocks from the beach, the quick walk is definitely worth the money you save not being right on the beach, plus I imagine it would be quieter than staying right on Ocean Drive. Towel checkout. The beach towel checkout was a breeze. Hotel restaurant. The hotel restaurant is quite good. We had a late breakfast, and I thought the quality and prices matched the other places we ate while in South Beach.

--So-so The staff as a whole are just fine. There was a definitely lack of the warmness and enthusiasm I expect from folks working in customer-facing hospitality, and that is such an easy way to start your guests off with a good feeling, right when they check in. I didn't get that feeling, but won't put this in the bad section because nobody was rude by any means.

--Bad-- Other guests/thin walls. It almost doesn't feel fair to count this against the hotel, because it's extremely dependent on who your neighboring guests are. But the walls are pretty thin, so if you have a noisy neighbor (like we did), you may get to hear the thumping bass from their party until 2am, or the screaming match by the couple in the hallway at 4am. We were fortunate to be at the very end of the hall, so we didn't hear hardly any "traffic" noise during the night, but that will be a toss-up for you depending on room location. Finishes/small details. I think my impression/rating of the hotel would be a star higher if they would spend just a relatively small amount of money on things like paint. For example, our nightstand closest to the door (the first piece of furniture you see upon entering the room) had chipped paint on the top, in a way that just made it look ratty (and what I would expect of a 1-star hotel). And one of the vanity lights in the bathroom would flicker on/off sporadically. Just little things that you notice that hurt the perception of the hotel. Mustiness. I get that it's an old hotel in a humid environment, so some old-building mustiness should probably be expected, but it's very noticeable. Air conditioning. I personally would not stay here in the summertime. The thermostat bottoms out at 68°F, which was fine for us in January, but would probably be a problem in July.

In summary, I would stay here again on a good deal, but if I ever am staying in Miami Beach again, I would seriously consider increasing my lodging budget. But if you can't do that, just go in with good expectations of what this hotel is. It's not a 4-star hotel. The website pictures make it look way nicer than it is. Expect some noisy neighbors and a musty smell. But it has at least one comfortable bed, and it's close to the beach, which are really what...

Dirty Nickel & Dime Hotel- Not recommended. Experience was disappointing as the photos of the hotel on website and ads are not accurate. When we first arrived to Miami, the hotel looked abandoned from the outside. The entrance doors are old and seem neglected just like the inside of the hotel (particularly the rugs going upstairs). The lobby is okay (certainly does not look like the pictures). The walls seemed pretty thin, and there was a large gap under the door; therefore, you could hear other guests pretty frequently. Many items in the room were broken including the shower door which would not close and left a gap. Every time we showered, it left a large puddle on the bathroom floor. We asked if they could fix it, but no one came. Also, it made me uncomfortable that the bathroom door in the room had open slits (like an hvac closet), so if you were using the restroom, someone else could look through the slits to see you. Regular items typically offered, were not automatically provided in the room (like microwave). I had to ask for hand and face towels, blowdryer, etc. at least three times before I got it. One of the days during my stay, I tried to use the gym. I followed the signs, but it led me to the downstair’s staff area on the bottom floor. After asking a staff, I learned that the signs were wrong and the gym was upstairs on the 4th floor. When I entered, the equipment was in decent condition, but it looked like no one had cleaned it in months as the majority of the weights were off the rack and scattered on the floor. It also left a bad impression that the gym window was broken. There were no sanitation products either to wipe the equipment after use. The pool was teeny-tiny (it’s the size of the hot-tub) and dirty just like the pool chairs and patio umbrellas around it. At first I was excited to try the pool, but after seeing the condition I was concerned that it was a health hazard, and that I could potentially get electrocuted. The pool-light was coming out under the water, and it seemed dangerous. The breakfast was not included during out stay. A restaurant that shares the space and materials with the hotel, has strict policies that you cannot eat or drink in the courtyard of the hotel as you may only eat if you order directly from restaurant. Hence, there were about 3 pitiful crowded tables in the dark far corner of the hotel. A resort fee is charged claiming that it is for the beach towels and pool. Furthermore, there was no parking or shared deal with near by parking lots to get a discount. When I checked-out, the front desk advised that I would receive my security deposit; however, after two weeks I haven’t received it. The only redeeming quality, was the closeness to the beach. Overall, this hotel should not be called a hotel as I’ve stayed at motels that were much better and cleaner (especially for the price point). I hope the hotel is able to review their current business model to offer a better customer experience. Even making slight low-cost changes into how current amenities and resources are utilized, would help make the guest experience better. At this time, I would not stay here again. I would have saved more money going to a different hotel that charges more upfront, but offers more value in terms of amenities and...