Andaz Miami Beach, by Hyatt — Hotel in Miami Beach

The hotel is decent, thanks to brilliant location on the beach, nice double pool area, and decent rooms.. but lots of little things really add up to bring down the experience, as it affects most aspects of your stay. My husband and I stayed here for 9 days which is a long time but gives a chance to really rate the stay and the hotel. Staff are generally ok and working hard, but it’s industrious service rather than pleasant - there are some exceptions with a couple of people at the pool and breakfast who give that effortless service. We noticed that pool staff were super helpful if we ordered many drinks but if we had a slower day, they would not even acknowledge us - no hello, no offer of water, no checking to see if you need anything. Normally after a long stay staff get to know you a bit - I think they prefer to target the large groups who drink heavily. We chose the hotel based on how it was presented on social media, we like Hyatt, and it ticked a lot of boxes. We read the reviews saying that the rooms were dated but I just think this is the style of the hotel - Art Deco chic.

The beach access is great but the chair system here is bizarre. You are given complimentary chairs each day, but aren’t guaranteed one - basically not enough chairs for all guests. Some days you turn up and told they’re at capacity and to find your own chair, then moments later they’re pulling out extra chairs for other guests. It’s a strange system and doesn’t feel premium.

The elevators are a joke. No service elevator so they’re usually being used by staff with big towel bins and you will always wait a long time. It’s an old building so I guess not much you can do - but it is annoying.

Finally, and most importantly, right before leaving the reception staff were not interested in us , which tainted the end of the stay. I was very upset and frustrated when I left something in the room after checking out and I wouldn’t be let back in 5 mins after leaving the room. Very dismissive staff and a sour note to end on - demanding ID instead of getting the items if they were worried about allowing people into rooms. Sour note to end on having just settled your fairly large bill over such a simple request - grabbing two drinks we left in the fridge.

It was a bit of a theme - maybe they have issues with unruly people, but they chase you down as if you’re not trustworthy. When it looks like it will rain on the beach they demand you close out the check in case you “run away” and the beach chairs system like they’re doing you a favour and it’s just inconsistent and not smooth. They start kicking you off chairs about 4.15, take last order at 4.40 then kick you off at 5 completely.

We travel a lot and in fact we normally stay in a better hotels with much smoother service that feels effortless. It’s a shame really.. staff could just go a little further ... Everybody is working super hard, it’s clear to see - it’s just that extra step to bring it up to a better experience for the guest. Food and drink quality are just ok - we didn’t really eat much after the first couple of times. They charge the same premium price but you can go to Gitano or Faena for much better food and drinks at the same price.

Miami hotels all have pool and beach access, service needs to be better at a...

We had a pretty terrible experience, considering that this is a Category-5 Hyatt hotel.

Our room was not available for us to check-in until about 6PM, two hours after the scheduled check-in time of 4PM. What is worse, they would not tell us at what time we could expect our room to be available - instead the person at the front desk told us that they recommended we carry on with our planned activities in Miami Beach. We took their advice and went to our pre-scheduled dinner reservation at Hakkasan (great restaurant!) wearing our airplane sweaters, sweatpants and boots which was a terrible experience in the Miami heat and we looked like aliens who did not understand social cues of how to dress for a sit-down meal. They also insinuated that the room delay was because we requested an ocean-view room even though there were about thirty other people in the lobby also waiting for their rooms. Some of the people who were exceptionally mean to the front desk got 50$ vouchers to the bar while the nice ones were asked to wait patiently in the lobby (even though they could SEE and HEAR the other people getting the vouchers). We were also told the hotel was very busy which is why many people did not get their rooms - which is understandable because who expects a beachfront hotel in Miami to be busy during new years eve ?

We also did not get our rooms cleaned on one out of two nights we spent there. We came back to the hotel from the beach and noticed the staff in-front of the room, we asked them if they wanted us to come back in a while and they told us they were working on the floor at that time and to come back in 30 minutes. We went to the hotel bar and had a cocktail (tip is included in the bill by default) and came back to our room - no room cleaning or turndown service, cleaning staff gone from the floor. We called the front desk and they told us they were aware of the backlog and would clean the room later in the night, which of course never happened.

Also, as mentioned by other reviews, the keep the hotel at an arctic temperature which can be pretty shocking when coming out of the room.

There are some nice things about the hotel too. The front desk folks were all nice and kind, even when surrounded by a horde of angry guests complaining about not having rooms available at check-in time. Management was no-where to be seen though - in my experience it is customary for check-in delays on a large scale to be addressed by managers rather than the poor stressed front-desk folk. The beach access and staff at the beach were all efficient and nice.

This hotel is currently being renovated to be an Andaz. Based on my experiences at the Andaz hotels in London and Tokyo, this hotel needs an open-heart surgery, not just a thorough refurbishment, to rise up to...

We had a comfortable stay, and that’s about it. They lend you 2 beach chairs and towels and is easy walking distance to the beach. The pool was under construction during the time we went so our night stay was discounted but not by much. Our room was not ready by check in time and we never received a text from then when it would be ready even though they stated that they would notify us. Not a huge deal- since we killed time checking out rest of Miami, but i imagine if I were coming with kids, this would have been very inconvenient and annoying.

While they did compensate us $50 credit for our room not being ready, I really wish they would have informed us that $50 credit can be used for the fee that is charged when you arrive and check in at the hotel. I knew I would owe the hotel money when I looked at my booking receipt, but I did not know the credit could be used towards that. If known, we would not have gotten breakfast at the hotel and found somewhere else to try in Miami before flying out. Their lack of transparency really did it for me. So of course, I was charged breakfast on my card. On top of that, their breakfast place was packed - I'm guessing because they offered the $50 credit to everyone whose rooms were not ready. I felt terrible for the nice waitress who was running around kindly apologising.

A gentle advice for management - if you are offering a $50 hotel credit without notifying the guests that it can be used for the fee charge, expect your bar and breakfast to get swarmed. Then, the correct management would have been to equip the bar and breakfast amenities and staff appropriately.

Not to mention, the 7th floor air conditioning in the hallways was a mess. It was FREEZING. we didn't say anything because I didn't want to deal with the reception again. I do want to say that the front desk receptionist was very nice but c'mon. Train your staff correctly and manage the place better. Niceness only does so much when the place is not being managed properly. To clarify, I am frustrated at management- NOT the staff at the front who are working their butts off and doing their best.

The only positives is the closeness to the beach, the beach towels and chairs (as I mentioned above) and if you're a runner, the hotel is so close to the sidewalk which is nice to run in the morning.

My advice is to save yourself $50-150 (depending on the time you go) and get a hotel down the street or across the block. Still very walkable to the beach and you won't have the amenities but it's better than getting disappointed by paying so much to get subpar service.

If you want to stay here as a family for convenience, skip the bar and breakfast....