I stayed 2 nights at this hotel before a cruise during Thanksgiving week. It’s a nice hotel (up to date décor wise, plenty of space, and in a convenient location). However, there were a few things about my room (1403) that made my stay unnecessarily uncomfortable. If these 3 things listed below hadn’t been an issue, I would have given this hotel 4 stars, but instead, I give it a 3.

Most memorably, I was unable to control the temperature in the room. I’ve never been so uncomfortably cold in a hotel room before. The thermostat on the wall can be switched between “cool” and “heat,” but no matter which option you choose, it blows cold air, even if you set the temperature to 80 degrees. The comforter on the bed isn’t nearly heavy enough to keep you warm in that room. As cold as the room was, the hallways were surprisingly even colder. I never expected to visit Miami and be freezing.

The other thing that affected my sleep quality was the light on the microwave. It was really bright, and you could see it through closed eyelids. I had to cover it with a washrag, or choose to sleep only facing the opposite direction all night. At other Hampton Inn’s I’ve stayed in, the microwaves are kept behind a closed cabinet door, but this was sitting out in the open, so the light was obnoxious.

Another pitfall of this hotel was that you’re unable to fully control the volume on the television. You can’t turn it lower than level 11. I can understand limiting the maximum volume, but making it so you can’t turn the volume all the way down seemed odd. I like sleeping with the tv on, but level 11 was too loud. It was also too loud when I received phone calls, so the tv would need to be muted or turned off every time I took a phone call.

Lighting in the room wasn’t very good (ok in the bathroom though). There’s plenty of counter space in the bathroom, and the water pressure and temperature of the shower is good. The blow-dryer was awful though. It took me 1hour and 17minutes to dry my curly hair, and the blow dryer was dirty and sticky from someone else’s hair product, and the buttons were sticky and hard to turn on and off.

The positives of this hotel are the location. Easy to walk to lots of restaurants that are on the same street. CVS is a 2 block walk away. The metro mover (a free elevated train that takes you to a lot of Miami’s main attraction areas like Bayside Marketplace and the museums) is just around the corner. Very quick (10-15minute, $20) Uber ride to the cruise terminal. They offer a good free breakfast with sufficient options (the usual fare of hot cereals, a waffle bar, eggs, breakfast meats, pastries, cold cereals and juices). They have a pretty good gym for a hotel. There were 4 treadmills, 2 elliptical machines, an older spin bike (I didn’t use it but it didn’t look like it uses the SPD clips, for those who bring their own shoes), some free weights, and a few other things. A plug-in fan or two would solve the issue of it being humid and muggy in there. You’ll get really sweaty, but you’ll be able to get a good workout in.

Hampton Inn’s are generally pretty predictable and consistent, so I would give this hotel another chance if I only needed it for a night or two. If I were coming to Miami for a longer stay, or wanted to visit the beach, I might try something else. I’d also ask for a room swap or maintenance on the HVAC system if I had the same issues with the heat in another room. I booked this hotel about 4 months in advance and got a good deal (Under $250/night after taxes for a Thursday and Friday night). Closer to my stay, the price went closer to $450/night (pre-tax). I don’t think this hotel is worth that much money for more than one night, and I would stay somewhere else if the price is that high. I didn’t go to the beach during this stay, so I’m not sure how easy it is to get there from this hotel. I think it’s a pretty quick Uber ride though.