Kaskades Hotel South Beach — Hotel in Miami Beach

Best thing is the location, walking distance to shops and restaurants. Terrible smell of mould in our room from the moment we arrived, this smells doesn’t leave. Our room was very dilapidated, dated, & extremely noisy from the other guests and the reception. It’s extremely noisy throughout the hallways all night! It seems some of the guests come and go at all hours which is fine but it’s extremely noisy. The noise is probably due to reception being near our room (we did ask to be moved as soon as we checked in but that was far too complicated for the younger lady on reception at the time apparently) also the noise from reception was due to the younger lady who was on during night reception who seems to be constantly talking to anyone and everyone, potentially on her phone at times? We asked for the door to be closed between our room and reception area, but she said it would be more noisy with the code people would have to use? I think not!. I can constantly hear people laughing and talking and don’t get me wrong, I’m all for that! However we do like to sleep at night but we are trying to sleep with constant noises from the reception and it’s very difficult. We have brought this up with the reception staff (including the lady in question) on multiple occasions who have simply brushed us off multiple times. I didn’t sleep at all on our first night and broken sleep on our second and 3rd but better due to sleeping pills we had to buy. The constant talking and laughing and noise in the “hotel” which has ruined our experience of South Beach Miami! A place that was on our bucket list and coming all the way from Australia (19+ hours just in flights alone) we are extremely annoyed at this joke of a “hotel” it’s a back packers at best!!!… Far from a Hotel!…. Things to note, I have asked for 2 wine glasses on our first night here to enjoy some of the local wine on the roadside balcony, 2 hours later it had still not arrived! And I was listening for a knock or the bell to ring. We gave up. (Same young lady on reception) (we finally got ice on our 3rd night from a different reception lady) Other things to note, our room wasn’t fully cleaned and sanitary on our arrival, even after the 3pm arrival, we still had to wait an extra 20 minutes and the room still had a beer bottle cap under the microwave (still there now, I’ll assume it will be until management or the owner reads this) the wooden bed head was covered in food scraps that I had to remove and clean myself. (Coming from a hospitality background myself this “hotel” is not up to standard at all) Also, The fridge doesn’t fully close, the handle on the cupboard also came off in my hand. We also did have to buy some bug spray as there are bugs in the room and mosquitoes coming in from the balcony. They don’t service the rooms during your stay daily, we had to actually request some new towels as they got so wet from the shower that leaked out the door. This was at 5:30pm! We both also have an awful cough from the mould smell in our room, not sure what it is but physically seeing black mould and the smell is extremely concerning to me….. We would have moved hotels if it was physically possible. I’d never stay here again. The only thing good about the “hotel” is the location to walk to restaurants and the pharmacy to buy alcohol and sleeping pills. I hope this review helps anyone wanting to book this “hotel” In South Beach, Miami because you should look around as there are better places. It’s one of the worst places we’ve ever stayed and we’ve traveled all over the world. Also to note for housekeeping, the hairdryer appears European so it’s not...

Where do I begin... MOLD!! As soon as we hopped out of our Uber excited for our stay because the pictures looked amazing. We were confused where the lobby of the hotel was, someone ran out and said “looking for Kaskades? Follow me” we walked up some stairs on the side alley way into the “hotel lobby” which is just a desk in a corner. As soon as you walk in you’re greeted by the awful smell of MOLD. The staff was very pleasant and nice. We gave them the benefit of the doubt and figured maybe the room wouldn’t smell like MOLD. Check in is at 3pm but we got there 12pm and the lady at the front said “oh your lucky we have a room ready for you now”. I was super excited because I didn’t want to wait hours. We got our keys and went to the room. The room is decorated very chic and modern. The bathroom is near the door and we looked up at the vent and there appears to be BLACK MOLD on and around the vent as well as on the floor in the corner. Immediately we took our stuff and walked back to the corner lobby desk and requested a new room with out mold. She was very apologetic and said she will get us a great room but we’ll have to check in at 3pm. Okay great.. HERES WHERE IT GETS CRAZY! We arrive at 3pm to check in and she greats us and tells us our room is ready and there’s a surprise for us in the room. We walked into our room to the strong smell of air freshener. Immediately our eyes are drawn up to the vents, and we see WET PAINT! That’s right, this new room they gave us clearly had MOLD as well. They were so clever to paint the mold and spray air freshener like we wouldn’t notice! I grabbed a plastic bag and stood in the chair to wipe the ceiling and yes it is wet white paint! We called the front desk to tell them we want to leave and need a refund there’s mold in this room too. Shorty after a lady knocks on the door with our ‘surprise’, a bottle of champagne. We told her there’s mold in here and she says ‘oh no there’s no mold’. We then showed her the wet white paint on the bag and she says ‘oh there was mold but they clean it very well with bleach then paint, it is good’. Maybe good for her, NOT for us! We immediately booked somewhere else and I’ll never recommend anyone stay here if you care about your health. They have to do something about the mold that’s infesting this place it’s probably growing on the bedding, towels, and furniture. Not to mention the beautiful private jacuzzi on the balcony they show in their pictures isn’t nothing but a rusty box that doesn’t work. They told us they are going to refund my card immediately and they didn’t. It is now the day after and we are trying to get our $254 deposit back and they won’t answer the phone. She answered one time, told us to hold then hung up. This place is a scam! Now I have to dispute the charge on my credit card. RUN...

TLDR: Great location and value, but NOT for the Presidential Suite, and NOT for a special celebration.

FULL REVIEW: I came here during spring break 2023 for my 35th birthday. Because it was such a landmark birthday, I was looking for luxury accommodations within budget. During this time period, I paid about $2100 for the Presidential Suite.

PROS: -Located just two blocks from the beachfront -24 hr CVS also 2 blocks away -Great customer service and housekeeping throughout the stay -Bathroom was by far my favorite part about the room: heated toilet with bidet, double sink, and a shower with sauna, rainfall showerhead, and giant soaking tub (no jets). -Compared to other rooms in the area (queen and king rooms, respectively), I could imagine this being a good deal. During the same time period I booked, the more "basic" rooms were going for $1200-$1600 for Tuesday-Saturday.

CONS: #1 Con is CONSTRUCTION on the back side of the building. Our room was located on the back side of the hotel. Miami noise ordinance allows for 8am start time, and those crews started at 7:59 banging and hammering. I sleep with headphones but my companion does not, and it was a BIG problem. I asked to move but they were fully booked, as was their sister property at the Bentley. I wasn't offered any other solution for this problem.

2. No way around this: this is an updated motel. The updates are good, except where you can tell these aren't the most expensive finishing. I noticed nicks all over the furniture, the shower floor was stained yellow, the couch had seen better days. For my birthday trip, I regret going the budget route. I would consider this hotel again for

3. I booked a birthday package and was informed a day before check-in that they had the champagne and chocolates but they were out of balloons to decorate the room. I got to my room and there weren't even chocolates there. :( They DID refund me $150 fee for this service, but I was still disappointed.

4. This hotel locks its front door for EVERYONE at late hours (like around 10pmish to 8am). There's always someone in the front desk to let you in, but you have to knock on the door for entry. It wasn't inconvenient, I just didn't like that. On the other hand, it may be necessary. Around those times I noticed people who appeared house-less sleeping right in front of the building. Twice we were approached by this sketchy guy who appeared to be trying to gain entrance, but the front desk folks didn't allow him, which made...