Esmé Miami Beach — Hotel in Miami Beach

HORRIBLE WEDDING VENUE

Every single thing about planning my wedding at the Hotel was a complete nightmare and I truly feel scammed out of what should have been a beautiful and perfect day.

Paola Uscategui the Esme's Events Sales Manager, was the most unprofessional event manager I have ever had to work with. She was completely not qualified to manage the logistics of a wedding. From our initial conversations she seemed like she knew what she was talking about (over the phone and in person) but every single interaction with her via email was completely different than what we would discuss over the phone or in person.

One of the biggest and most major issues from the wedding logistics was that there was a double booking in the same spaces I held my wedding and reception at, both the roof top of the Esme and the Matanza outside of Tropezon. Both of these were due to her negligence and oversight. I hosted my ceremony and cocktail hour on the rooftop of the Esme hotel and then I had my reception at the Tropezon restaurant. Paola was aware of the fact that I was using both venues and using the Tropezon staff to coordinate the reception in Matanza, and yet she double booked the venues with another wedding.

Two months before the wedding in August I found out that she had double booked the Matanza venue which meant I had to extend my cocktail hour at the rooftop so that the other bridal party could finish their ceremony in Matanza. The other bridal party was to have ceremony at matanza and reception at bamboo room. On the topic of the cocktail hour: After the wedding was over I received an overcharge of $500 for drinks. Our BEO mentioned that we would have access to drinks until we could finally move to Tropezon for our reception. This was specifically included in our BEO to adjust for the other bridal party to finish their ceremony in Matanza.. And not only that the bar stopped serving their drinks at around 7:10 PM when our BEO mentions an hour and a half of drinks plus whatever time is needed to turn over the space, but I was also being billed for extra drinks during the time we were still allowed to be in that space.

When we found out about the double booking, she then had to call the other bridal party and move their time slot up, which I am certain they were likely unhappy with. To mediate this mistake she extended our cocktail hour on the roof top and offered us complementary appetizers, which I appreciate, but that is money that the venue lost.

Now let’s talk about the actual venue itself when I did a walk-through with Paola on Tuesday of the week of the wedding I noticed that the rooftop had a bunch of scratches on the ground and I was the one who pointed out. I asked her what she was going to do about those scratches because it looks horrible and nobody wants to walk down the aisle to that so at the very last minute, two days before the wedding she is sending me rugs and runners to put that over the floor. And I imagine then she had to spend a lot more of your money to purchase the runners to cover the scratches, which is also money that you also lost due to her.

Now I would like to discuss the wedding day itself and everything that went wrong:

The day ended up being an extremely rainy day as it was just after Hurricane Milton. It was pouring rain when it was time for me to walk down the aisle.

There were not nearly enough seats for the 70 guests we were promised were going to have seating. There was only 25 chairs and everything else was soaked due to the rain so everyone was standing and covered in towels to not get rained on. For a hotel located on Miami Beach why wasn't your staff ready to dry seats before the wedding or at the very least provide my wedding guests umbrellas???

One month before the wedding Paola notifies me that she will in fact not be present on the day of the wedding because she would be out of the state "running a marathon", she quite literally ran away from...

I stayed at the Esmé hotel in July 2023 during a quick trip to Florida. What I thought would be a relaxation stay turned out to be a stay from hell.

My first room was ready early. I come to find out hours later that my room has an ant infestation and dried blood on the sheets. Late at night, I was moved to a different room in a different building. The room was much smaller than my first room, and there were stains on the throw pillow. At this point, I debated if I should switch hotels but decided to stay because it was a concise trip.

Based on the promotion I booked, I had breakfast vouchers. The next morning, I tried to lock the door (from the outside) of my hotel room to go to breakfast, and the door would not lock. I attempted to lock the door for a few minutes before calling the front desk. I explained the situation to the front desk representative. I told the representative that I had a breakfast voucher, and the representative said that the repairman would be sent over & that if I wanted to use the voucher, I needed to make it before breakfast was over. I expressed that this issue was outside of my control, but I was told I needed to make it before breakfast was over. At this point, breakfast will be over in about 40 minutes. The repairman took over 15 minutes to come and struggled to fix the door. Finally, after about 10 to 15 minutes, the door locks, and I make my way to breakfast. I do want to state that it was raining that morning. When I checked in on the first day, I was told that breakfast was served on the outdoor rooftop. I went near the access door to the outdoor rooftop, and there were no signs posted to say that breakfast would be served in a different restaurant in the hotel. A hotel employee just so happened to be coming off the elevator and told me that the rooftop was closed (due to the rain) and that breakfast was being served at a different restaurant in the hotel. I got to the restaurant, and the breakfast was not good.

Nevertheless, when I was on my way out for the day, I asked the front desk for room service to come and clean my room. The front desk person said okay and made note of this. I returned seven hours later (late afternoon), and housekeeping JUST got to my room. I waited 30 to 40 minutes for housekeeping to finish cleaning my room. I go into the room, and I see the SAME stained throw pillow back on the bed, which I remove again. I go into the bathroom, and the soap in the bathroom has been replaced with a dirty, hair-stained box of “new” soap. I was beyond disgusted. Disclaimer: I had my own personal soap that I had been using as hand soap since day one of my stay. At this point, I have 24 less than hours left of my stay, and I am beyond ready to go.

I decide to go out to eat an early dinner nearby and come back to the room early. I do want to disclose that I was traveling alone, so I had a portable alarm that hung off the hotel door handle since day one of my stay. If anyone jiggled the door knob, the alarm would go off. Up to this point, the alarm has not gone off. I go to bed early, around nine o’clock, and my personal alarm goes off. I am so frightened at this point. I could not go back to sleep until one or two o’clock in the morning.

During check-out, I spoke to the manager and expressed everything in detail. She stated that the most she could compensate me for was the amenities fees (for the two-night stay) and one-night stay. I received the compensation.

I do not like leaving negative reviews, so I held off on leaving this review, but I do believe others thinking about staying at the Esmé hotel—sole traveler or not—need to read an honest experience. I have also...

Dear potential BRIDES,

If you're thinking about choosing this venue for your special day, I strongly advise against it. Brace yourself for a detailed account of my experience, shared with the hope of preventing others from going through the heartache I endured.

Before the Event: Communication Challenges: It felt like a sport trying to reach the event coordinator ("EC") outside of emails, with a 2-5 business day response time. Her number given on the day of the event proved pointless as she wasn't scheduled to be present.

Unanticipated Vacation Period: A week before the event, "EC" went on vacation without notice. While I respect personal time, having an alternative contact during her absence would have been ideal.

Lack of Information: Unclear details about the hotel's offerings led to misunderstandings, extra costs, and headaches. This included issues with up-lights, DJ equipment, final headcount, and beverage package costs.

DJ Service Costs and Clarity: Despite multiple inquiries about the 'plug and play' concept, clarity was lacking. On the event day, my DJ had to return home after arriving on-site due to missing items.

Challenges in Group Hotel Booking: Securing a group hotel stay was exceptionally challenging. The final contract arrived after we had already checked out.

Menu Planning Hurdles: Multiple requests for the menu, and the vegetarian option suggestion came in only two days before the event. The final decision was made by "EC" without consulting us.

Last-Minute BEO and Staff Transitions: The Banquet Event Order arrived on the event day. Two days before, "EC" notified us of her absence, and her replacements were not introduced to us or briefed on our event.

Event Planner Assurance Backlash: Assured that an event planner for the day wasn't necessary, but "EC" called out sick, leaving me the bride having to explain on-site during the event, the details.

Champagne Tower Miscommunication: Granted permission for a champagne tower with conditions, but the staff didn't use the cups I provided causing additional cost.

Set-Up Time and Assistance: Only given three hours for set-up despite my request for more time. The promised staff assistance with set-up never happened.

Challenges on the Day of the Event:

Wait Staff Professionalism: Some wait staff dressed in hoodies, jeans, and sneakers.

Adherence to Run of Show: Almost all aspects were ignored.

Staff Hospitality to Vendors: Lack of hospitality.

Sparkler Misplacement: Planned sparkler exit was ruined as the staff lost the sparklers.

Rooftop Closure Signage Absence: Lack of signage indicating rooftop closure led to having wedding guests escort hotel guest out.

VALET STAFF: Issues with inconsistent charges ranging from $20-$50, and multiple valet staff consuming our food.

Bride and Groom Food Oversight: The oversight of not offering food to the bride and groom during the event.

Bar Services Extension Discussion: Heated discussion mid-event about the extension of bar services, contrary to prior agreements.

Florist Assisting Staff: The florist found herself assisting hotel staff in locating missing items and distributing them herself, robbing her of guest experience.

This experience left me profoundly disappointed, with tears shed multiple times. Our special day did not unfold as intended, and I feel it was not taken as seriously as it...