The Alexander Hotel Miami — Hotel in Miami Beach

Okay - here is an honest review of the good and inconvenient (I wouldn't even say "bad") about this hotel. We were anxious about this stay because of the reviews, but we really ended up enjoying ourselves.

Upon arrival, we asked to see our room before we paid (if it was as bad as some of the reviews we'd seen, we were going to switch hotels). They allowed us to check out the room, and it was freshly renovated, very clean and white, BUT we saw that the balcony was closed, and that was something we were looking forward to. We asked if we could switch to a room with a balcony, and they let us check out a second room which was much better. It hadn't been renovated yet, but we had a balcony, a super comfy couch, and two rooms with two queens & two full sized beds in them, which was actually better for our group. We decided on the second room they showed us, even though the furniture was older and it wasn't as "clean" looking (but honestly, it probably isn't any worse than what your own home looks like... a lot of the reviews on here seem to have taken pictures of the worst looking tiny spot in the room and passing it as a huge dump, which was not the case.) So the room ended up being great, and the balcony ended up being huge - although we would've loved more furniture out there than two chairs, but I'm sure that's not a priority for them right now!

CONSTRUCTION. So, this place IS undergoing construction. The front of the building is very pretty - it is painted a historical pink and has been repainted recently. The back, however, is where most of the work is being done. One of the pools is under construction (we were bummed about that), and there is the balcony issue. But as far as noise, it wasn't bad! The construction crew is only around from about 9-5, and unless you are napping in your room all day, you really won't even notice them. We spent several days either at the pool or at the beach and barely noticed - however - if you are in your room trying to watch the World Cup and the room above you is being renovated, then you notice :)

PARKING. We were very taken off guard about the parking situation, and this was by far the biggest issue we had with the place. We had two cars that we drove down and parking for 7 nights was ~ $300. We were not told beforehand that we would have to pay for parking or that it was going to be valet service. We weren't given any other option, and to drop a random $300 is tough already - especially when you aren't expecting it. HOWEVER, the service was really, really great. The valet guys started remember who we were without even giving our ticket, and they were always courteous and gentlemanly.

THE GOOD: -Friendly staff -Good service -Good location -Oceanfront -Don't have to worry about parking -Staying in a historical building whose lobby looks like the Titanic -Rooms are nice and cozy, even if a little dated -Kitchen had MOSTLY everything we needed

THE INCONVENIENT: -Pay for parking -Construction -Bar drinks by the pool are pricey -Kitchen was supposed to be "fully equipped" - but the stove was shotty and we were not supplied a proper spatula (which makes flipping pancakes hard), or a baking sheet (which makes cooking pizza rolls impossible, unless you use the microwave, but who wants to do that). We got creative and used a frying pan in the oven instead... I'm sure they would've supplied one had we asked, but it wasn't a huge deal. Our fridge was also a little leaky on the inside, but we just put a folded up hand towel in there and it was fine.

We had no problems with bed bugs, old gross furniture, uncomfortable beds, or cockroaches like some other reviews I've read - so that's definitely a plus.

SO I know this was really long, but all in all, this was a great experience. The staff is friendly, the place is nice, and it's right beside Miami Beach. I think the place is a bit pricey for what you get, but I am under the assumption that all of Miami is that way. And what more do you need besides good service, a good place to stay, a good beach, and...

The Alexander hotel needs to be openly honest about the magnitude of construction they have going on. Everywhere & anywhere they are advertising a "Resort package experience" needs to know the Truth!! Do not believe it is a small construction, they will lie to you to get your business, like they lied to us when we called 4 months in advance, before booking our vacation package. We were told construction will be DONE by February 2019 and they were only renovating windows. An absolute LIE!

Everything and I mean everything feels like it is under renovations. The pool is dirty with cement, dust, and smells from the loud, heavy construction they have going on literally steps away from people lounging on chairs. The pool waterfall does not work. The Tiki bar is under renovations with the steps being construction staircases. The prices are overly priced for what you have to experience. I think they should lower the prices because of this.

I spoke to some nice Jewish ladies when there. (By the way a huge Jewish community here) and she told me she owns an apartment here and the construction has been going on for 2.5 years !! She even said it is absolutely ludicrous with all the money they are ripping off from vacation goers, they should have finished the construction by now.

Our apartment was on the top floor. Was told it was renovated (Lies). Maybe they meant renovated from the 1950's because the furniture was old, run down and alot of things broken all around the apartment. I have to say the apartment has "potential" if it gets "renovated", because of the size and view you recieve.

Phones in apartments do not work. No dial tone. When you call from your cell no one ever answers at the front desk. so basically if you need anything for your room you will have to physically go downstairs to ask. And you will not recieve it right away. Days will go by and you will find yourself asking over and over again.

We asked politely for blankets on day 1 and come the next day we are still asking for blankets at 5pm. My husband saw our little baby and I freezing and walked next door to another hotel to ask to borrow blankets. We explained the nightmare we were experiencing and promised to bring them back (which we did). Our requested blankets from the Alexander did not arrive until day 3 of our stay, where at that point we had borrowed blankets from hotel next door.

Fire alarms went off twice In the matter of a 4 days span. No fire. Just fire alarms randomly going off. Talk about freaking people out on top of the nightmare experience. Just an added inconvenience!

Parents beware you will get charged $25 plus tax to borrow a crib. The crib will look like something from the 1960's, not kidding. This was something we were very upset about because when we called 4 months in advance we were told cribs are by request and complimentary. My husband spoke up because honestly I was going to bring our own playpen for our baby and decided not to when we were told it was free. They ended up comp'ing the crib because we spoke up & they saw how upset hubby got.

Just know they will charge you for EVERYTHING. NO customer service at all. The front desk female manager seems miserable and has an attitude. Absolutely no customer service, for the inconvenience of construction they have going on, you would think they would be more welcoming. Nope!

Why did we stay you ask? Because We recieved this as a Vacation package with flights included. Traveling with 6 people and making last minute hotel changes would not be easy. We all decided to make the most of it all but we will NOT be going back.

Advice: if you have time I'd say pay alittle more and stay somewhere else where you will receive a resort experience. Get what you deserve on your Vacation. This place will not give you your Vacation resort experience you search for.

Date of stay:...

First things first. We booked our reservation 2 months in advanced for a room with 2 queen beds and 1 king bed. When we checked in we double checked and asked the Front Desk if it was a room with 2 queens and a king. They informed me it was. When we got to the room it was a room with 1 Queen and 2 twin beds. When we went back to the front desk to inform them of the mix up they informed us that there was nothing they can do. That they were completely booked and that the most they can do is offer us a roll away bed. Which is COMPLETELY unprofessional. Like seriously? This was booked 2 months in advanced and we were not called to be informed that the room that we had booked wasn’t available. We’re not talking about us being upset that theres no balcony. This is us being upset that the room we had booked to fit 6 adults and two 1yr olds was downsized to a room that only fits 4 without asking us or notifying us. Furthermore, They didn't offer us a refund for the price difference, no discount for the mix up, nothing. In fact we were told that in order to dispute the charges and ask for a discount WE had to email a separate department because no manager would be able to help us. I have never been to a hotel were the own Front Desk personal and Manager cant fix their own screwups when it comes to room mixups, pricing fixes, and discounts. Oh, but if we canceled to reservation THEN they would be able to help us get a full refund. Make it make sense. Room mix up aside, when we came in first of all the entrance roof is all dust and mud, the Elevators you have to swipe you wristband but you can only swipe from the left side cause the right one doesn’t work on both elevators, once you get into the room there are 3 Tvs and none of them work they don't receive signal (whats the point of having a tv then?) the kitchen wall is cracked and to fix it they put a wooden block!! You don’t simply put a wooden block to fix a BUILDING CRACK especially considering what happened recently with the building collapse. 1 spoon is provided for 6 guests we had to get plastic spoons to be able to eat, the plastic cooking utensils to cook were already melted from the previous guest, both bathroom showers are extremely dirty, leaking CONSTANTLY, and the tiles are yellow. There are light bulbs missing, the sofa, bed, and chairs are all sunken to the point that you JUST feel WOOD no comfort at ALL. The balcony area is disgusting plus the crystal windows are so dusty and dirty that it seems like no one cleaned them for months. Im not the type reviews. I work in customer service and I know that sometimes things are out of your hands and its not your fault. But the lack of abilities given to the front desk personal to resolve matters is SHOCKING. Like I’ve gone to hotels where if they MESS UP they at least give you a discount or breakfast or I don’t know at the very least a KEYCHAIN! This is the first time i have EVER written an ESSAY over how UPSET I am at a hotel and their LACK of ability to own up to their mistakes. I will say however that the SECOND time i went to the front desk the two girls that helped me were so much more attentive. They are trying to help us get a bigger room today. So fingers crossed there! But still highly upset that our first night was spent trying to resolve this mess up and having to sleep super cramped and uncomfortable. Which sucks considering we have an elder woman, a pregnant woman, and two 1 year olds. Oh and by the way. We never got the roll away bed 😂 so...