Starlite Hotel — Hotel in Miami Beach

The location to Miami Beach and other parts of South Beach are the best thing about the Starlite. The Art Deco design is appealing. However, that’s where it all ends. The interior is old and has not been updated in awhile (if ever). The stairwell reeks of bleach and the door doesn’t shut properly leaving all the hotel rooms easily accessible to anyone who walks in. The rooms are small with tiny bathrooms. Our toilet didn’t want to fill and we had to smack the side of the tank each time to get it to fill with water. All the rooms were supposed to be non-smoking but ours obviously smelled of smoke. Check-in time is 3:00 and they are firm with that. They will not do early check-ins, which is fine. But, their method of dealing with luggage for early arrivals is to have people leave their luggage down the hallway on the first floor. The first floor is wide open to a cafe/bar on Ocean Drive and no one securing the luggage. Anyone could steal it, not to mention the fire marshall hazard of blocking the hallway with luggage. When we left, I messed up and left my AirPods in our room. I realized it later that day while sitting in the airport. I called and the front desk operator did not want to help but reluctantly did when I told her I had tracked them and knew they were at the hotel and someone must have them. She called the maid at home to find out they had been found but the maid “didn’t know where they were.” So, I asked about getting them shipped to my house and was told that wasn’t possible. After I became obviously upset, she took my name and number and left a message for the people for the next day. I called back the next day and was told the maid had found them in her cart. Again, I asked about shipping and the desk operator said if I would send her $30 over the phone she would take them to the post office and priority mail them. While I was uncomfortable sending money to a stranger, I agreed as it was my only choice. Thankfully, she did hold up her end of the bargain and my AirPods arrived. They cost $10 to ship. I’m grateful she helped me out, but I found out later that the boss tells the housekeepers to just throw anything away left behind. They have no policy for lost and found and apparently don’t care unless you call and get mad and get lucky. Overall, I enjoyed the trip to Miami. South Beach was fun. Things in Miami are terribly overpriced. But, if you go, don’t be charmed by the Starlite’s cool Art Deco vibe and beach location. Look elsewhere...

We have vacationed here twice in the last six months. For Christmas and during my 7-year-old son's spring break. A room with a king size bed was booked for the three of us. I was worried whether we could all fit there together. I shouldn't have worried. We were comfortable, the bed was huge, the room was clean, there was a side view of the park in front of the ocean. I really liked the rolls on the windows. They are double, translucent for the day and black out for the night. In the evenings, my son enjoyed watching movies on Netflix. There was one problem - the shower head was faulty. On the way to breakfast (which can be bought there, in the hotel restaurant. It is very tasty and cheap, 20% off for hotel guests for lunch and dinner) I asked about the possibility of replacing the shower head. When we returned to the room after breakfast, a new shower was already waiting for us in the bathroom. By the way, the hotel always has excellent water pressure; we never had any problems with water. The hotel is quiet at night. You can't hear music or other noise from the street. But some guests return to their rooms in the morning, which may wake you up if you are a very light sleeper. This was not a problem for us. We spent 7 nights here and enjoyed every minute of our stay. The room has a spacious wardrobe, refrigerator, coffee maker and kettle (lots of great organic tea bags, thank you!) Incredibly friendly staff. Very handy little things for self-service. In the service room you can always take everything you need for the room, including beach and bath towels, cold or hot water from the cooler. You can also wash and dry clothes there and heat food in the microwave. First line to the ocean on Ocean Drive, where there are always some events and activities going on! 1 minute walk to various shops, CVS, 2 minutes to multi-level parking for $30 per night, 5 minutes to amazing bakeries on Collins Av, 10 minutes on sidewalk to huge playground, 11 minutes to Bike Center ($120 bike rental for the week) ), 15 minutes to the beautiful place South Point Park (our favorite place), 20 minutes to a large travel agency to all corners of South Florida Double Decker on Lincoln Dr. and 20 minutes to the “We Work” building (if you need to work while on vacation). We love this place and have already planned to return here in the summer, for 14 nights. P.S. Don’t leave your bikes on the street overnight! Our luxury two bicycles...

So Starlite Hotel is on the cheaper side, not a cheap hotel, but it is an older building and not totally decked out like your newer commercial big name hotels. Totally reflected in the price, so decide what you value.

We stayed a week and enjoyed it. The room was a king bed with a small fridge. No coffee maker. Bathroom was small but clean. No frills here folks but decent bedding on an older mattress (sag).

The hotel staff was great, always helpful and provided everything they could. They were always kind and respectful - so thank you!

I gave it 4 stars because our initial impression (website pics) was that the room was bigger. It’s tight, like you have 2 feet around the sides of your bed and about 6 feet from the base before you hit the walls. No dresser either, just a small table.

Things to know:

The hotel took our deposit $100 in cash only, and the ATM will charge you like $5 to use… honestly they need to change this practice it doesn’t make sense.

The hotel has a cafe that is a party spot till the wee hours, go higher in floors to hear it less if you can (also the sides or back are quieter) so ask before you go to get a room if you are not partying.

Cabs/Uber can’t go to the hotel, the street is closed in this part of South Beach, so just be aware you will have to cart your luggage about a block to the hotel.

Otherwise location is awesome and the local restaurants are typically really good. The giant margaritas at Starlight cafe are half the price of next door and just as good ;)

No coffee service before 9am, but there are some close places to get your caffeine fix (Il Dante next door was really great).

You are right across the street from beach access - the beach is awesome!!

Expect to see a few drunks and see/hear/smell drugs around you on Ocean Drive, the hotel has a lingering smell of marijuana that is reflective of the visitors and NOT the hotel staff, but maybe consider this if you are...