Clarion Inn & Suites Miami International Airport — Hotel in Miami Springs

5-Stars for the Clarion: The $62 Miracle Before the Cruise

Let me just say this: I came to the Clarion Hotel Miami International Airport with the mindset of a man who had read one too many reviews, clutched his wallet, and muttered, “Well, how bad could it be?” After all, $62 a night in Miami with free airport shuttle and a paid ride to the cruise port? I figured I’d survive one night even if it meant sharing my room with questionable carpet stains and the ghost of vacations past.

Spoiler alert: I was wrong. Not about the price, that part’s real, but about my skepticism. This place delivered.

🛬 Arrival: From Tarmac to Tranquility

Fresh off the plane, I called the hotel. A cheerful voice told me the shuttle would arrive between doors 8 and 18. Thinking this was going to be like the Hunger Games of airport shuttles, I speed-walked to door 8 like a man on a mission.

Turns out… there was no need to gladiator-sprint. Only four of us boarded the Clarion chariot, and we cruised a smooth 7 minutes to the hotel. No chaos. No elbowing retirees for a seat. Promising start.

🛎️ Check-In: Surprisingly Smooth

Check-in was fast. The front desk staff had their act together. I also paid $12 to secure my cruise port shuttle for the next day. Heads-up: they require a $100 deposit (refundable) and a mysterious $3.39 non-refundable “property fee.” I don’t know what it was for — air? good vibes? carpet upkeep? Either way, I wasn’t about to go full Karen over $3.39.

👃 About the Smell Everyone Keeps Talking About…

Some reviews had me worried I was about to enter the Miami edition of Hotel Funkadelic. But let me tell you, I’ve got the nose of a bloodhound and I didn’t catch a whiff of anything offensive. Either they’ve fixed the issue, or the ghost of bad smells past moved to another hotel. Either way — no problems here.

🍽️ Food: Much Better Than a Vending Machine

The onsite restaurant was open till 11 p.m. (hallelujah!) and the food was actually good. I had hummus and a chicken Caesar salad that tasted like they came from a restaurant with mood lighting and waiters who call you “sir.” Reasonably priced, too. No cruise-ship markup nonsense.

🛏️ The Room: Double Beds, Double Win

I was traveling solo but got a room with two double beds — one for sleeping, one for my suitcase. That’s right: luxury luggage accommodation. The room was a bit dated (hello, 2006), but it was clean, tidy, and everything worked… except the toilet had a little “enthusiasm.” It wouldn’t stop running unless you jiggled the handle like an old arcade machine. Still flushed fine, and honestly, I was too comfy to deal with maintenance or change rooms.

💤 Sleep Quality: Surprisingly Excellent

The bed was shockingly comfortable. Like, I-slept-like-a-baby-who-didn’t-just-fly-all-day comfortable. Woke up refreshed and ready to take on the buffet lines of the high seas.

🚶‍♂️ Wine, Walks, and Winning

I decided to take a morning walk to Airport Cafe & Liquors, a hidden gem about 0.9 miles away. This place is chef’s kiss. Cuban dishes, wine, cigars, and even an ATM with only a $3 fee (take that, cruise ship ATMs!). I grabbed a solid bottle of wine and a few cigars to elevate my cruise game.

🚐 Surprise VIP Shuttle Service

On the walk back, the Clarion called me. Not to say I’d left a sock behind or that they were charging me $3.39 again, no, they were refunding my cruise shuttle fee because they’d upgraded us to an SUV/Limo driver for the same price. Only 3 of us were going to the port, and instead of canceling the shuttle, they made special arrangements. That, my friends, is what we call going above and beyond.

🌴 Final Thoughts:

Would I stay here again? Absolutely. This is now officially my pre-cruise ritual stop. Is it the Ritz? Nope. But for $62 in Miami, this was a straight-up unicorn of a hotel. It’s clean, comfy, convenient, and the staff is actually thoughtful. I came in expecting bare-minimum survival. I left well-fed, well-rested, and holding a bottle of wine and great cigars.

Clarion, you’re my ride-or-die pre-cruise spot. See you next...

My mother called to the hotel to let them know about the service that I was getting provide that’s why the lady came to my room “emptied handed”. I was so over of getting any towels , facecloths at this time of night. March 19th I called down to the service desk and explained to them I never got the towels or anything to wash with the night before and also my experience the other days. The response was “ I’ll talk to my supervisor and give you a call back” , & “DO I STILL NEED THE TOWELS & THINGS”? (Common sense) didn’t ring a bell. I wanted asked what could the supervisor to make me have a better stay at this hotel , accommodations?I had another appt around 2pm on this day and house keeping came round the time I was about to go. I did ended up leaving. I came back and they placed the items I needed since the day before in the bathroom. I’m supposed to check out MARCH 20th on today but since I had a talked with coworkers I wanted to know what the supervisor was going to do because I was planning to extend my stay until Friday morning. I called when I woke up to ask about it , replied she going to call the supervisor & see what she can do because she don’t come in until 4PM. She told me the cheapest price which was around $135 I said okay we’ll just charge my card because ima stay another night. (Not knowing I have to come downstairs) Housekeeping had knock on my door around 11am check out time. But I already spoke to someone , so housekeeping came back to my door while I’m in the bathroom , I yelled I’m staying another night. The phone started ringing in my room , trying to get the phone fast as I could because I did have surgery 7 days ago. I answer the phone Management on the other end of the phone has an attitude, so automatically got an attitude back. She kept repeating herself “I’ll be waiting on you up front” repeatedly. I hung the damn phone up because at this point I’m irritated. Yall blowing me up / knocking at my door but not doing anything about my mistreatment at the stay for the last couple of days. I comes downstairs, the lady at the front asking me”what happen on the phone , & that was management I was talking to” Doesn’t it matter at this point ? (Yall told me supervisor wasn’t going to be in until 4pm) LIARS . She proceed to say this will be your last night staying here and my price was approximately around $182. I said all I needed was another night but that’s not the price the lady told me earlier on the phone, I went ahead and swipe my card then I said yall worrying bout a payment but what about the poor services I got while staying here. She said NOTHING. I went back to my room called down there and ask was a supervisor in , the worker ask for my room number , I replied why ? Is a supervisor there or not so I made a room number up . She said iam a supervisor I maybe can help you. She said no one is in 502 , She said oh you from room number 608 hold please. Never came back to the phone. Currently it’s 1:28pm and I will never stay another night at this unprofessional ass hotel. Currently I’m at this hotel , nothing I’m saying is a lie. I can’t talk to a real supervisor or cooperate so I’ll come here to explain my feelings. Im already frustrated due to a lot I have going on and missing my kids at home and I can’t even get great service at a hotel I’m staying at spending my hard working money. I’m literally in tears because no one never know what the next is going through for them to be treated like shit!...

I genuinely feel bad writing such a negative review because the front desk staff at this hotel were incredibly kind and accommodating throughout my stay. However, Clarion Inn & Suites Miami Airport is in desperate need of renovation and serious improvements—being budget-friendly does not excuse how poorly maintained this place is.

When I first arrived, my room smelled musty, and despite the thermostat being set to the lowest possible temperature (in 40-degree weather), it felt like a sauna. I was sweating just sitting in the room. To their credit, they changed my room without issue—but the second room had the same problem. The third room smelled slightly better but was still uncomfortably warm. At that point, I gave up and just told the staff it was fine because I didn’t want to keep moving rooms.

The next morning, after waking up drenched in sweat, I called the front desk and reported that my air conditioning was not working despite being set to the coldest setting. Maintenance came and said everything was “fine,” but clearly it wasn’t. I asked if the building had a larger HVAC issue since three rooms were all too warm, but they said no. Regardless, in Miami, functioning air conditioning is essential year-round, and my entire stay was uncomfortable because of it.

The in-room entertainment options were equally disappointing. The TV was ancient—no smart features, no streaming, no internet connectivity. In 2025, this level of outdated technology is almost shocking.

But the worst part: my suitcase was stolen. I had left it just outside my room briefly late at night after realizing I didn’t have my key card. I went to the front desk for a new one, and when I returned, the suitcase was gone. It was mostly empty, thankfully, as I had unpacked, but it never turned up in lost and found and housekeeping never saw it. That’s extremely unsettling—it says a lot about the kind of guests this hotel attracts.

Finally, after three nights of staying there with my two legitimate service dogs with no problems, a weekend manager I hadn’t met yet questioned their presence and started interrogating me about their purpose—despite all documentation already being on file. He began lecturing the front desk about people faking service animals, and it honestly felt like he was using me as a live example. It was rude, embarrassing, and completely unnecessary.

Despite the friendly front desk, this hotel failed on every other front. I won’t...