Element Miami International Airport — Hotel in Miami Springs

WORST MARRIOTT EXPERIENCE EVER as a Bonvoy Gold Elite member, and I wasn't even a guest at this hotel!!

I had booked a weekend at this hotel in September 2023 but ended up finding a better Marriott hotel in the area instead. So, as anyone else would, I canceled my reservation at this Element hotel 4 weeks in-advance, before the reservation was booked for. Of course, this was well-within the free-cancelation period outlined in their cancelation policy.

When the originally reserved, BUT ALREADY CANCELED weekend came around, I saw a charge for the full two-room reservation appear on my credit card. In my Bonvoy account, there were even "active stays" for the 2 rooms I booked. I even had the cancelation confirmation emails in my inbox as well as in my Bonvoy account.

When I called the hotel, I had to call back multiple times because nobody from guest services or the front desk would answer the phone. I even called during non-peak check-in hours to try to mitigate being on-hold. When I finally got a hold of somebody from the front desk, they had me "hold for a few minutes" while they "looked into it". 45 minutes later, I hung up the phone and called back again. The same person answered the phone and apologized and tried to transfer me to the front desk manager for immediate assistance. The call was on hold for another 30 minutes and then nobody picked up and the line disconnected. Frustrated, I called back the next day, and the same situation occurred. I called back later in the week, and the same situation occurred. From multiple transfers, to being stuck in limbo between departments, to being told to "hold" constantly just to be told 3 TIMES that "a front desk manager will reach out to me by the end of day because they aren't available at the moment", and still no answers as to why I'm being wrongfully charged for a stay I already canceled and didn't even check-into the hotel for. Mind you, the charges in-question totaled to almost $1000.

Because the staff at this hotel have no professionalism by assuring me they will get back to me but never actually bothering to do so, I reached out to Corporate Guest Services for Marriott. They responded to my inquiry by telling me to reach out to the hotel for assistance, and that they cannot assist with my issue. Clearly, this is going absolutely nowhere.

Finally, I get a hold of someone from the front desk, not even a manager, who tells me that they "spoke to their Front Desk Manager and after looking into the issue, they have offered to only charge me for 1 night's stay for 1 room" instead of charging me for 2 rooms for the full weekend as per the original reservation "as a courtesy for being a longstanding Bonvoy member".

At this point, I'm furious, and re-explain to this employee that this "courtesy offer" is unacceptable because I shouldn't have even been charged for this appropriately-canceled stay to begin with. After going back and forth over an issue that shouldn't have even existed, the front desk agent tells me that "Javier Kuo is the front desk manager, and they'll be reaching out to you by the end of the day today to try to assist further".

Of course, days go by and I receive ZERO correspondence. So I reach back out to the hotel and ask to speak directly to the General Manager of the hotel. They ask what the issue is, and then I have to re-explain everything to the front desk agent once again. I get told that the General Manager Danilo Sagredo isn't available at this time and "will call me back within 2 hours".

To this day, 3 months later, I have yet to hear back from anyone from this hotel. I have not been...

Excellent spot to stay, especially if you are catching a flight out of MIA!

Here are the amenities offered and a few items we think you should know before you book a room:

• Its convenient location near MIA (less than 2 miles) makes it an ideal choice for those who don't want to travel far to their hotel or the airport.

• FREE airport shuttles every 30 minutes, starting at 7am - 11pm, that will take you to and from the Miami International Airport. You can track the shuttle by looking up www.trackmyshuttle.com and entering the code 3525 (shuttle vans can be white as well)

Parking Fee of $28/night - short-term parking is available if you want to leave your car while you travel ($28/nightly or $195/week)

• Electric car charging stations available

• Most rooms offer a full kitchen with a fridge. Our studio, 1 King bed with a sofa, offered a full kitchen with cooking pans & utensils, along with a microwave, dishwasher, & a full-size fridge/ freezer combo

Decent-sized gym to get in a good workout

• Bar/Bistro onsite

• Free Continental Breakfast

• Outdoor pool, firepits & seating

• Pets are allowed ($50 - $150 per night)

• Self-serve laundry room (washers & dryers are coin-operated & you can get quarters at the front desk)

• 2 computers were available for use, along with a printer. These were positioned near the gym and closest to the hallways & elevators. Not the most private area, but it was nice to be able to print off travel documents

• The lobby area was fairly large and had multiple seating options. So, if you needed a great place to sit and relax with free Wi-Fi, this was a great place to do it!

Nearby Attractions If you're like us and have a little downtime, you might consider checking out the locations below: • Shops at Merrick Park—This is a beautiful outdoor shopping mall with high-end shopping and restaurants. We ate dinner at Perry's Steakhouse & Grille, which was incredibly delicious. Be sure not to wear a hat because they will not let you in! Learn from our mistakes and dress nicely! (4.9 miles from Element)

• Downtown Coral Gables — After eating dinner & window shopping, we found a few Bird Electric Scooters & rode around downtown Coral Gables & found this cool rooftop bar called Cebada Rooftop & grabbed a couple drinks before calling it a night. (4 miles from Element)

The only con that drives me absolutely crazy about any hotel that we stay in and this specific location is the parking fee!

I understand and agree with the parking fee for leaving your car on-site while traveling out of the country.

But paying for parking while staying onsite... I will never understand this, and I find it incredibly frustrating to pay additional fees for something that should be included as part of the stay.

Just my opinion!

Other than that, we had no issues and enjoyed our 1-night stay!

🌎 We travel for a living (USA & around the globe) and love to share our experiences both here on Google maps and on our social media pages, too! Follow along our travel and adventures!

Cheers friend! Ashley & Nate from...

We stayed at the Element hotel this past weekend. The hotel was booked solid. Upon arrival (4:30 p.m.) it appeared that the front desk employee was having difficulty finding our reservation but we were finally given room cards.

The lobby is open and airy. Very nice decor. The upstairs hallways are not attractive. They are dark and very long. They almost felt like a dark cruise ship corridor. Our room door was difficult to close completely. You had to slam it shut for it to completely close. This is no exaggeration.

I liked our two-room suite but wonder how well the furniture will hold up over time. It all looked nice but had somewhat of a cheep feel to the furnishings, especially the four plastic chairs in the living room. The kitchen was nice, well stocked and very functional. I would suggest filling your ice cube tray immediately upon arrival if you think you are going to want ice because the room does not have an ice bucket.

Our room, which was located on the third floor, southwest corner was quiet. I could hear airplanes taking off but it was not near as bad as I had expected due to the hotels close proximity to the airport. The sleeper sofa in our room did not have bedding for it. We requested bedding be sent up. Housekeeping delivered us a sheets. No extra pillows or even a blanket. The housekeeping lady was nice, but we had a communication problem because we do not speak spanish and she did not speak english. We never did get any more bedding (pillows/blanket).

We did sit outside for awhile on Saturday afternoon and the planes were very noisy. Each time a plane was taking off we would have to stop our conversation. It was very loud.

Breakfast in the lobby on Saturday morning was nice but it was very busy. I enjoyed the variety of breakfast offerings. The mango juice served in double shot glasses was a very nice touch. I loved the cappuccino maker. Sunday morning breakfast was an entirely different experience. No mango juice, the eggs and eggs whites mixed with potatoes were cold. The cappuccino maker needed more coffee beans. The line grew to eight guests before anyone attempted to see if there was a problem. Another attendant was busy straightening the jellies on a tray but failed to notice that more plates needed to be put out. It also should be noted that I had to wipe down our table using water and napkins because the employees were not cleaning the tables. The Management needs to do a better job overseeing the...