Park Central South Beach — Hotel in Miami Beach

The Gabriel is an interesting hotel. The location in the Art Deco District and directly across the street from the beach was excellent. We spent 3 nights here over the Christmas holidays. We are Hilton Gold Honor Members and upon check in we were not recognized as such other than to explain the credit per person for food at Meet Dahlia's which was explained only upon asking about it. Also you will be given bottles of water if you request it that are behind the desk in plastic. They are not cold. We had two rooms and one was ready when we checked in abut 3 PM and we had to wait for the other which was fine. The rooms are quite small. Luckily we faced the pool and the side of the hotel so we did not directly face Ocean Drive which I imagine would have been very noisy at night. The hotel consists of 3 buildings I think. We were in the main building on the 4th floor. The elevator was old but luckily it worked during our entire stay. No one helped us with our luggage and there were no luggage carts that I saw. The hallways were a bit damp smelling and the carpet could have been cleaner. In the rooms, the floor is wood so they can easily be cleaned. There is not much furniture in the room and there is no where to put your clothing other than to hang it up in the closet on the 3 or 4 hangers that are provided. I lived out of my suitcase for 3 days. The bed itself was a mattress on a wooden bed frame. It was quite hard. The air conditioner was on Save Mode or whatever it is called and kept going on and off when we arrived. Was wondering how we would sleep through that. However, my son realized that it was on Save Mode and he switched it to regular mode so that helped with the air issue and kept it on. The room did not get as cold as I would have expected despite having it turned down to 65. The bathroom was extremely small and the towels were placed on a rack right above the toilet. So unsanitary. There was one bath towel and one face towel per person. No extra towels. The shower also had no hot water most of the time. It was beyond ridiculous. Complained about it and they did nothing. It must be due to lots of people taking a shower at the same time and their boiler capacity. Also, they were so stingy with the towels. We had to keep asking for more towels and most of the time the requests were ignored. There was no attention to detail at this hotel and the staff did not really care about making sure all requests were met. You got what you got and that was it. There are 2 pool areas. The roof top pool was lovely, and they ran out of towels quite fast. The bottom of the pool has a glass bottom that you can view from 4 floors down which was quite cool. The pool lounge cushions at the roof top pool were a bit dirty so you needed the towels to lay on. The cushions were not removed during rainy weather, so they were quite dirty and wet after it rained. At the main pool, the lounge cushions were so dirty and there was a lot of broken furniture around that made the hotel look uncared for and cheap which it was most definitely was not at Christmas time. Very unappealing. Also very few towels at this pool as well. When towels were brought out, they put out a few at a time. Not sure what it was with the skimpy towels at this hotel. It was downright annoying. The hotel has an agreement with a vendor at the beach to provide two guest chairs per room. There is no charge for the beach chairs, but if you want an umbrella it was $22 extra. However, they do set you up on a nice location on the beach so it was fine. We did not need an umbrella anyway. The beach vendor does not provide towels so make sure to bring towels from the hotel. |There are three restaurants at the hotel and they all provide good food, but very expensive for what it is. Be aware that the bill includes a 20% service charge already. Any tip given on top of that is extra. We were not told about this at our first meal and ended up giving quite a large tip. Also when you walk in and out of the hotel, the staff at Meet Dahlia's tries to get you to eat at the restaurant. It became tiresome with them trying to recruit you for a meal when we were just trying to enter and leave the hotel. We did not park a car at this hotel but they did have valet parking for a fee.|We have stayed at many Hilton Hotels over the years and quite frankly, this hotel did not meet a Hilton standard. The staff was unfriendly and were not interested in serving the guest which was quite surprising based on all the great reviews I read about the staff. With that said, the location of this hotel is ideal and the ability to get beach chairs on the beach is...

Writing this after taking the time to contemplate what happened on what was supposed to be a luxurious birthday weekend…. and I still am in disbelief this happened at a Hilton property. I sing high praises for the security and staff who I know truly felt sorry for us as the Manager named Ryan disrespectfully kicked us out of this hotel without cause. I booked a 2 nite stay on HotelsTonight for $715 and they flagged my transaction since it was my first time using the app after check-in and they quickly cleared it. This all happened at midnight. The front desk host rebooked my stay directly through the hotel's system with our ID’s and cards to verify our identities and we enjoyed the room for all of 10 hours before we got a call from management that we needed to leave immediately. This is after we had went downstairs once more before leaving to eat to assure everything was fine. The two reasons provided were that we should have never been allowed to stay on the property after the fraud alert from HotelsTonight…even though it was cleared quickly with the check in attendant talking to them directly on the phone in front of us. And the second, they kept accusing us of fraud loudly in the lobby and claiming that the names were incorrect. The manager was rude and told us that the night attendant should have never honored the HotelsTonight rates and that they were giving us 10 minutes and a security escort to leave the property and now charging us $725 total for the 10 HOUR stay, including a resort fee for amenities we never had the chance to use. Even though I had just booked a $715 two night stay, he repeatedly told me "This is Art Basel weekend, you're lucky I'm charging you $599 a night and not more" and "I saw this at 1 am from home, I couldn't believe the rate he charged you" which leads me to believe we could have been notified if there was an issue immediately that night rather and had the option to leave, rather being ousted before noon. Every time I tried to defend ourselves, I was told that he would only be talking to my partner as his name was the only one on the room....even though I provided my ID to be on the room the night prior AND paid the deposit on my card. I gave up in defeat when he THREATENED TO CALL THE POLICE ON ME SEVERAL TIMES!

We leave in a rush and my partner returns for belongings left behind…leaves his number and they said they’ll call us back if found. While he does this, we scramble for a last minute room. I called the Hilton customer service line and filed a complaint and requested that the manager handle it through them and not contact me again. After we finally settle into another room, I get a call from the manger asking for my partner by his middle name…and refusing to speak with me. He starts accusing us of fraud again and mentions that there are so many names that’s why we got kicked out, that we will not be getting a refund and upset that we filed a complaint to the point where we exchanged profanities before I had to hang up. After this I contact Hilton customer service again and they pull the records and realize all of the information they input into the system under my partners name is WRONG. They input his middle name as his first name and had our address spelled and listed completely wrong. I had the receipt and record sent to me and although we handed over perfectly valid ID’s and credit cards with our correct information…we were repeatedly harassed and treated like criminals. Although I had a contract for a 2 night stay and was charged deposits and fees accordingly, the manager amended the paperwork to one night and automatically charged the card for an additional $86 without our consent. Still no call back about the items left in the room.

Sad and heartbroken that this is how my birthday vacation turned out doesn’t cover it. It’s a gorgeous hotel…with management who is discriminatory and treats customers like trash if he feels like he has the right to. Ultimately I was humiliated, robbed at this hotel for a $725 10 hour stay due to the negligence of the night...

I give it a 4.5. Center of the STRIP! Great stay! Nice pool. The hotel provides Pool/Beach towels daily. Chairs are available on the beach for hotel guests. Check in at white kiosk on beach to grab a chair tag. Visit BIG PINK & grab an AWESOME Breakfast! ((Not "Pink Taco" I went here by mistake)) Great diner style vibe. Awesome music! AND Walking distance. I believe it's on 2nd & Collins. They have great food & fast service! We loved it so much we went twice on our 4-day stay. We were sat immediately both times. They seem to be slammed all the time! Great prices w/ shareable, huge selections & portions! Go hungry! (fyi, no microwave in room for leftovers, no space in mini fridge) Wish there were more shopping options within walking distance besides Beach/Souvenir shops that all sell the same thing.

Hotel & bar were gorgeous. Rooms are clean. During our stay, the staff was friendly & attentive. Great service! We were upgraded to a deluxe room. Not really sure why, I wasn't told & I didn't ask but I was not charged, so I am okay w/ that. Lol

Our room came stocked w/ a bar, refreshments, snacks & more, for a price of course. It was a bright room which I liked. Bed was comfy! But the design of the bed frame itself, not so great. It's lack of space in the room. It is a nice, big, solid piece of square wood that serves as the bed frame...but it's square design not thought out well w/ the space given. The corners at the the foot of the bed sticks so far out. The bedding does not drape over it of course, they way hotels make up army style beds. Tight & tucked in. But the frame is very exposed, bed pushed back up against the wall & like I said, the room is quite small. Especially w/ the lounger positioned in front of the bed. As a result, I CUT my shin three times during our stay!! Pretty decent gashes. Minor, but it still doesn't seem safe although the design is nice & chic! There are No ice machines. But in exchange, ice was sent up to my room rather immediately....but unfortunately, in a small kitchen/food prep bag! The clear, thin kind, barely tied! Ummm.....Knowing the mini fridges do not contain freezers in their rooms, it did not occur that I may need an ice bucket?? Not even delivered in a pitcher, not in a glass? So anyway I made one round, maybe two rounds of drinks & had to quickly drink them before the ice began melting. We were trying to have some cocktails (of our own) before we went out one night, but then we decided to hit the strip right then & there because this ice situation was not working. I was just surprised the ice was sent to my room that way? For the kitchen OR even the hotel bar that simply could not provide anything better just blew my mind! You are a Hilton hotel chain, a stocked BAR in your deluxe room w/ no freezer. At least Invest in ice buckets. Microwaves would be a nice touch since there are a million places to eat & everyone thinks they are serving giants with the food portions Miami serves.

Lastly, the in-room menu. Very pricey. Folks, grab yourself a bottle on the strip to stash in your room & enjoy (your own drinks)! Although pricey, I was very tempted to purchase the trail mix one late night, only to discover it expired in January 2022. I imagine no one dare spend what they are charging, so no one is purchasing them so maybe housekeeping neglected it & is not checked often. I am food safe certified...not a very good look when a hotel of this level cannot keep up w/ snack expiration date checks when cleaning the rooms. And that provides an in-room bar but guests have to figure out the ice situation, I guess. BUT OVERALL, truly a great stay. Great location. Great people/staff. Good times. I would...