Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami — Hotel in Miami Beach

I’ve stayed at this property prior to Covid and while not perfect, I quite liked it. We also really love the Hyatt Centric concept overall as they’re amongst Hyatt’s best properties alongside the Andaz brand.

However, this particular property on this occasion was a real disappointment all around. On arrival, as Globalists we were meant to be “upgraded” to an Ocean view corner room and could see on the app that it was meant to be room 901. However, on arrival, we were first informed that the room was “not ready” (at 4:30pm!) but witnessed the rather clueless receptionist (judging by her strong accent hailing from somewhere in Eastern Europe) trying to sort something with housekeeping as clearly something had gone wrong. After a lengthy wait, we ended up with room 701 instead from where you can hardly see a sliver of ocean. Granted, this was a free upgrade to begin with and I can’t really demand a view on these grounds but what bugged me was the receptionist constantly denying to me that something was wrong with our room and outright lying when I asked whether we need to change rooms. Unfortunately, this sort of issue seemed to be systematic rather than a one off as the even more clueless receptionist on the second desk was continuously fighting with other guests while we waited, mostly about parking charges that shouldn’t have been charged. Top this up with the rather stupid set up of the reception (it’s basically at the end of a lounge/bar/restaurant area which was meant to be “funky” or “communal” or whatever they thought but is instead just absolute chaos).

The room itself was TINY even for Miami and given this was meant to be a corner room, I can only imagine what kind of shoe boxes the standard rooms must be. Had I not seen with my own eyes that this property was only being built about 15 years ago, I would have sworn that this is an older renovated hotel- it certainly feels like it. Scratch and scuff marks everywhere, slow elevators, several electricity outlets in the room not working and on it goes.

The hotel never had beach access itself as it’s on the wrong side of the road and while they offer some weird beach access at a random hotel across the road which is not even a Hyatt property itself, the pool area is badly lacking. The pool at the centric is tiny, shady and full of screaming toddlers regardless of the “oh so fancy youthful branding” of the Centric brand otherwise. Worse- used towels everywhere and no fresh ones available and after asking, it took ages to finally receive some pool towels.

In the end, we had breakfast in the morning which is free for us as Globalist. The odd restaurant-within-the lobby used to be a proper breakfast/lunch/dinner type restaurant during my guest stay a few years back but now seems to be breakfast only and more an excuse to provide some food in the mornings than a proper restaurant. Staff were slack, unfriendly and took ages and as a result, we just left after eating as we had a cruise to catch, instead of waiting for the check. Biiiig mistake though, as the cost of breakfast showed up on our credit card bill even though it should have been free. We got a refund a few days later but of course the 5 bucks conversion fee stayed with us. Just yet another sign that this property is a poorly managed cash machine which is a real insult for a Centric property charging eye watering prices like this. Great-ish location (but no direct beach access), otherwise getting really old and the staff are just bad throughout. Hyatt urgently needs to step in and fix this, we were very unhappy even though we paid with Hyatt points and will...

0 stars if I could! I booked this awful hotel for a non-refundable one night stay through Expedia…. Shortly after being handed the key at check in, I was informed by the receptionist that there would be fire alarm testing in the morning from 8 AM - 5 PM. I had called the hotel one hour prior to booking to inquire about their availability. During this call would have been the perfect opportunity for hotel staff to disclose the fire alarm testing and the complete mess going on in that building, however they did not disclose anything. I would have never booked here had that been disclosed upfront.

Seeing that I booked a non-refundable room, I tried to see through the fire alarm and made my way up to the hotel room…. The room view looked directly into the windows of the neighboring building and below was HVAC systems/ a dump site. Half of the light bulbs were burnt out in the room and the “clean” towels had a disgusting musty odor. I was in the room for less than an hour. During this time, I contacted Expedia customer service to attempt to get a refund so that I could leave the hotel. The Expedia customer service agent called the hotel and ultimately was not able to get a refund due to the hotel’s refusal. They suggested I communicate with the hotel directly so I went down to the front desk to request a refund so I could leave.

In the elevator, which was covered with construction materials on the walls, I pressed the floor marked for lobby (floor 3). Only when I got out of the elevator and walked into a construction site did I realize that the main lobby was closed, the restaurant was closed, the pool was closed, and the 3rd floor was not blocked off on the elevator. There was no clear signage ANYWHERE not to enter the 3rd floor. This is a MASSIVE safety issue, and once again something I was not informed about before or after check in. I found out on my own accord that the pool and hotel restaurant is closed due to construction. The confirmation email I received RIGHT after booking even stated that these amenities were available.

Once I finally made it down to the 1st floor, I communicated with the manager, France, again. France told me that because I had already checked in, the room was considered “used” and could no longer be booked for the next customer that evening, and therefore a refund cannot be issued. I explained to France that the bed was untouched and the bathroom had not been used. I had turned on the shower, but had not actually showered upon discovering the awful smell of the “clean” towels. France didn’t care.

Due to the fire alarm testing that was not disclosed until after I checked in, the poor condition of the room/ hotel, and the response/ interaction with management after I voiced my concerns, I was uncomfortable staying there. I checked out (without receiving a refund) and left immediately to book a room elsewhere.

At a base level, there was absolutely no customer service offered, not even an apology!. Both the hotel and room were mis-advertised and not as described online and in the confirmation email. I paid for a room that I didn’t even stay in due to the mis-advertised condition of the hotel and poor communication skills of management. AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL customer service! I will never be staying in a Hyatt in the future as clearly even online listings and direct communications with/from the hotel (via the prior phone call and confirmation e-mail) were intentionally misleading/deceptive and no resolution was offered. A complete waste...

AVOID! WARNING! A DISGRACE! If you're considering a stay at the Hyatt Centric South Beach, you might want to think twice and read this first. My recent experience at this establishment was nothing short of a nightmare, and I feel compelled to share the details to help others avoid the same misfortune. This is the epitome hi of mismanagement and neglect, borderline gross negligence, and the farthest thing from hospitality.

There is NO LOBBY, NO BATHROOM, NO POOL, NO RESTAURANT, NO HOUSKEEPING and much of the facility is IN DESREPAIR. We had three families in tears over the stay. The toilet was clogged and then overflowed, the shower overflowed, and the room smelled of urine. The coffee maker was broken and leaked all over everything, the security lock on the door was broken, the telephone was broken. A "security" door to some adjacent garbage facility was left wide open, giving access to our hallway to whomever at any hours of the day.

The front desk staff is genuinely unreliable, borderline incompetent, and despite advance phone calls just conveniently made no mention that the entire property is under total renovation. We were told our room would be ready in an hour and it took FIVE, with us stuck in the pouring rain just waiting (and children crying.)

This place is a LITERAL SCAM and should be shuttered until restored. Also their "reciprocity" with the hotels across the street is inconsistent; we were told we could NOT use the pool at the Royal Palm as promised. The "breakfast" (in a run-down repurposed conference room) is attended by a woman who sits blocking the Nespresso coffee maker (which only halfway works) and who refuses to look up from her phone. We tried to switch hotels but it was too late. Upon leaving, the bellman literally stood and watched while we got soaked loading our bags into our uber in the pouring rain. No umbrella offered, no help with bags. Astonishing. The only thing we got that was good out of the experience is the story of the worst hotel of any of our lives.

In fairness, I have the highest status that Hyatt affords as a 20 year business traveler and so I have seen it all, good and bad. I was last at this property perhaps 7 years ago when it was lovely. Not only is it now DEPLORABLE, but it's mismanaged, understaffed and ranks as the worst Hyatt I've ever encountered.

Note that I am not the first to criticize and warn others; all of the recent reviews indicate the same. The high star rating this hostel still enjoys is from the hundreds of reviews BEFORE this place fell apart.

There is an assistant manager who had sense enough to recognize that our vacation was ruined and figured out how to compensate some of us. She was kind and seemed competent amidst her coworkers.

I look forward to the placating generic form response from Mr. Turro, the absent GM. (We were promised by front desk staff that someone would contact us about our stay... and.. of course nothing.)

AVOID AVOID AVOID

UPDATE in response to the GM's reply to my review: Sir, sewage in rooms and lack of a restaurant, lobby or pool are not "details", and your commitment to guest experience is hollow and insincere as you are clearly not notifying guests nor equipped to handle those duped into staying there. You are disingenuous at best. You should be truly ashamed, and your predictably placating response embodies the amateurism and incompetence prevalent throughout your staff and...