Hilton Miami Aventura — Hotel in Aventura

REVIEW OF HILTON HOTEL, AVENTURA FL- **MUSE BAR!!!:

Hi All, I recently stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Aventura, FL (though I live in about ten minutes away). I stayed there simply bc my building is under major renovation and I chose the Hilton as my "staycation" to go to simply bc it looks very modern and beautiful inside and seems like a great choice.

While the staff were friendly and the lobby beautiful....the rooms large and fairly comfortable... I had an AWFUL experience at the Muse Bar!!!! My boyfriend and I were excited to go to the bar prior to dinner for a couple of drinks. We both decided to have Grey Goose on the rocks. Well...I have been to MANY bars and grew up going to some wonderful places in Manhattan, where I realize drinks are a bit "overpriced." The bartenders (one young man and one young woman) didn't exactly have the best attitudes and when we received our vodka, my boyfriend and I looked at one another and laughed bc it was less than the average shot glass. It was a joke!!! We asked the bartender to fill a bit more and she just said "so...you prefer a double"? We both said YES. We didn't even ask the price bc it just seemed ridiculous and we waited for our 2nd drink. The bartender filled it with ice and it once again, was about a 1/4 of a cup of vodka. Finally, we got our check and do you know how much they had the NERVE to charge????? Our total came to $114.00!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!! YOU READ CORRECTLY!!!!! WE WERE OUTRAGED!!!!!!!!!! **Basically..... we were STUNNED!!!! How can a hotel....charge soooooo much when it is a Hilton in Aventura Florida (as nice as the atmosphere is, it is NOT the Plaza Hotel or the Waldorf in NYC) at a bar that only had about 2 other people??? It was SICKENING!!!! Yes....we gave a tip ONLY bc we were decent to our "servers" though they didn't even really deserve us to leave them anything. However.... the TINY glasses of vodka with MOSTLY water was literally around $30.00 per glass and for this reason alone, WE WILL NEVER GO TO THAT BAR AGAIN!!!! It's such a shame....bc I have TONS of friends in the area that could easily meet me there for drinks in the future, but I would be embarrassed to invite anybody there knowing how much they will be charged. It's REALLY UNFAIR for the Muse Bar to charge such an outrageous amount!

All in all, the hotel was pleasant....but the fact that the bar is such a focal meeting spot for people in a hotel, it be becomes obnoxious that they are overcharging locals or anybody for just a simple drink. They also wanted to charge me to park as a guest in their very large garage ($25.00 per night). Aside from that, they didn't offer any pretzels or peanuts at the bar....so I had to go to Starbucks in the hotel and buy my own pretzels to nibble on while drinking. I didn't want to order a large appetizer (still high price point) since we had plans to go out for dinner shortly after.

Please note I am someone who loves to give rave reviews when I enjoy a place.....but the bar was totally robbing us and making fools out of us for actually paying for something that was so insane and so revolting for them to do!

There is a reason why there are hardly any people sitting at their beautiful bar. It looks pretty.....but the prices are just...

I am giving this hotel a 1* review solely on the basis they lied to me about the car charging station. The charging stations are on the hotel's premises. They state there is $0 charge for the first 2 hours of charging and then charges increase after that.

It was 10:15 pm and I needed to top off my car battery. I checked with the hotel front desk assuming they have control of the charging stations on premises because of the first 2 hrs free. I specifically asked the front desk about charging my car because I planned to set an alarm to unplug it after 2 hours to avoid the $30 per hr charge that would kick in after that time. The lady at the desk said I didn't need to do that. Based on the time of night and the fact that 2 stations were still available, she assured me I didn't need to wake up and unplug the car. Everything would be fine.

At 6:30 am I unplugged the car and was notified by the charging app that I was charged $196.15 for the overnight charging. When I checked out, the hotel informed me that there is nothing they can do as the charging stations are independent of the hotel. They did nothing to help me except to apologize and state that they will train their staff. Unfortunately, that does not alleviate me of the exorbitant cost to top off my car when I specifically asked about this before retiring for the evening. If they said they were not sure about it, I would have unplugged my car, but I was confidently, and repeatedly told it was not a problem. I also paid for part of the 2 "free" hrs as well.

In addition, I highly recommend not to use a hotel charging station as they are inefficient. I had access to an off-site, local, high efficiency charging station which would have been much more of a time savings and they would be accountable and responsible for any charges

We have seen the Hotels response. Please note that we understand that there was information posted. Since the charging stations are on the hotel premises, we asked the front desk to confirm, if this was going to be an issue or if we should ensure we unplug after two hours based on the $30/hr message. We were told that it wouldn't be an issue given it was late at night and that we didn't need to unplug the vehicle. The challenge is thst the hotel doesn't take any responsibility for their staff's comunication and response to us. We communicated to verify what actions needed to be done given the station is on hotel premises. The Hotels response to us after raising the issue to management was thst they would be sure to train their employees after the fact. The hotel could have easily waived their parking fee to help with this issue and provide us with some credit, but they chose to do nothing even though their staff were involved. As noted previously, don't use hotel chargers - they are not efficient and an actual charging station at 150 - 350 KW (desired) is much better and the companies who own the are responsible and accountable...

From the moment I arrived in my Uber from the airport, the customer service was beyond expectations. I was greeted at the door by a friendly staff member and told to go to the 7th floor. I walked out of the elevator to the most glorious smell I’ve ever smelled – clean, fresh, welcoming and inviting, and the smell never stopped my entire visit. I went to the front desk where Kevin was happy to assist me. He was friendly, cordial, asked me if I had any questions and offered me two bottles of water. He told me where everything was located and told me to come to him if I needed anything. It was a step above any Hilton or hotel of its kind I have been to. I got to the room where the pictures did not even do it justice. It was spacious, modern, and edgy with a white leather sectional sitting area to the AMAZING mattress (I’ve never slept better in a hotel, seriously) to the awesome bathroom where the shower and toilet are separated by beautiful glass doors. Just fantastic design. As hard as it was to leave the room, I headed downstairs to get a few beverages from the very convenient store/coffee/bistro bar on the 7th floor. Again, the pictures did not do the pool justice – gorgeous, streamlined design with plenty of lounge chairs, cabanas, and large beds to lounge on. The pool was cool and refreshing (not 80 degrees like some heated pools) in the hot sun. Absolutely perfect. That evening was my father’s birthday where we decided to hang in and enjoy the stunning lobby/bar ambience and décor with the towering vaulted ceilings, gorgeous chandeliers, perfect low lighting, comfortable lounge chairs, sofas, tables everywhere and a massive wrap around bar. We tried almost everything on the menu while we were there, and the food was impeccable. From the roasted corn empanadas and tuna sashimi tartare, the insanely delicious short rib and cobb salad, to the chocolate lava cake, we had no choice but to be gluttonous. The bartender brought out the desserts with candles and helped us sing to my dad, which was a very nice touch. Special shoutouts to Kevin at the front desk, always working with a smile and asking me every time I walked by if I needed anything. I was loving his all white suit, too, just very professional, and you could tell he truly took pride in his work and his customers; the manager with the biggest heart for his employees and his customers, always checking in with us to make sure everything was better than great – he was like the concierge we didn’t have to pay extra for (we were there 19-22 OCT 2023); Liam who fostered a fun and exciting time at the bar, involving all the guests, and who could make a killer Aperol Spritz; and Claudio and Fernanda who gave exceptional food and drink recommendations and service and truly made us feel special. Honestly, I can’t imagine going back to Miami and not staying here. I am a forever customer of Hilton Aventura and looking forward to...