Arya Hotel and Suites Coconut Grove — Hotel in Miami

The lobby is beautiful and modern; it makes a lasting impression when you (and your guests) first walk in. Now, move your way up to the 8th floor where there's the Panorama Restaurant (which closes at 9, I believe), well-kept bathrooms, the Grove View Terrace, and the ballrooms. One thing I loved about this venue is that there is only one event going on at a time. With that being said, the 8th floor is really for you and your guests to enjoy (once the restaurant closes).

We had planned for our cocktail hour to be outdoors at the Grove View Terrace. It's a large terrace with gorgeous views of the bay and the city. My cocktail hour, however, was moved to the Grove Ballroom because of very windy/cold weather. The Grove Ballroom was with no disappointment, though. It was very classy and was large enough to accommodate all of my guests. I left the judgement call of indoor-outdoor up to my aunt and Katie (who I'll speak more about momentarily!) The package we purchased included a gourmet cheese display, 2 hors d'oeuvres passed out by servers, and 2 open bars. Only 1 bar was available during cocktail hour, but it seemed to work out great because our guests were trickling in! After this was done, the bar was discreetly moved to the reception space.

The Biscayne room is where we had dinner and partied. Everything was beautiful. You could see the city and bay and as a bonus, there's outdoor patio space where you could have a bar, lounge couches, or even a cigar roller. Since I wanted to do everything I can to get optimal dance time, I asked Katie to have the salads already set on the table when the guests enter the room. Also, because whenever I go to a wedding, I'm starving by the time I get there! We moved through out first dances and speeches, and dinner was served. We had 2 options. Chicken, red skinned mashed potatoes, and string beans, or salmon with jasmine rice, and asparagus. Honestly, they were way better than I was expecting hotel food to taste like.During dinner, instead of having the champagne toasts, we had white and red wine passed out. After dinner, the DJ got everyone on the dance floor and everyone had the time of their lives. I never saw a line at the bar and the liquor included in our package worked well for our guests. Everyone still complements us on how amazing things were. There was nothing we would have changed at all and I wish I could go back to that night!

Another perk is that the hotel was able to block off rooms at a discounted price for my guests. All they needed was a group code at check out and the Sales Manager kept me updated on how many rooms were booked and who had booked with them. You just had to sign a contract guaranteeing a minimum amount of rooms. If you needed more rooms you could call and they would add more. Gus Corral was the Group Coordinator who was so great and even with day-late requests, was so accommodating and helpful.

Now, about Katie Nelson. She was a God-sent. She was so accommodating and really treated you like more than just a customer. Katie dealt with my millions of emails and request, always with a smile on her face. I tell my friends that she was almost like an unofficial wedding planner. Once you hired your outside vendors, she would coordinate with them to make sure they had everything the needed, got all the paperwork settled, and made sure they knew about the house rules. She was there for menu tasting and if you wanted to do a walkthrough with a potential vendor, she was there too to answer any questions they had. During the wedding, she was there to help make sure things went smoothly. At our wedding, we had an issue with our table numbers on the escort cards. It was brought to my attention and Katie looked at me and said, "Don't worry. I'll handle it." It was handled, and I didn't think about it again the whole night. That's her! I'm so happy to have met Katie because she really was there to help me whenever I needed it....

I held a 4-day event at the Sonesta for 125+ people. The Sonesta's service to the group was top notch. All our guests felt well taken care of. We had several attendees with special dietary restrictions and the chef worked with us to ensure everyone was pleased.

I want to acknowledge specific staff that deserves recognition from Sonesta leadership.

Sales: Jennifer Rosado, group sales manager, this woman is the most pleasant and brilliant sales person I've ever met. She gets to know her clients and their event goals on a deep level to ensure your needs are met and that the Sonesta is a good fit for you. If you need to book an event at Sonesta, please contact her. You won't regret it. She makes her clients feel like VIP's. Christian Jaramillo, Director of Sales, also on top of his game in ensuring a seamless experience.

Group Reservations: Gus Corral also on point with all the changes and adjustments made to the group. He was a true partner in getting us aligned to ensure all our guests were well taken care of before even stepping on the property. He's got a great team!

Banquet Services: Frank Ruiz and Manual, Jose, Alberto, Jhonny, Beatriz, and the entire team. My gratitude to you cannot be expressed. Frank and his team were at my beck and call 24/7 for the entire time I was on site. ANYTHING I needed, even last minute was on hand for me. They made my entire event support team feel like we could do anything! We had so many last minute changes from the client and they helped us with a smile. Each team member, and I don't have all their names, were professional and always had a sense of urgency so execution was seamless.

Engineering: I don't have their names but we had 3-4 engineers partnering with us to ensure our attendees had a wonderful experience on Friday night. They partnered with us no matter how wacky the ideas. We executed very well because of them too!

Chef Chris Cramer: What can I say here but you MUST go eat at the Sonesta. All the attendees were blown away by the caliber and quality of food. The Chef is a hidden gem in Miami, no joke. Everything from the Corvina (which I don't eat, but I did here) to the Nutella s’mores was on point! Delicious, fresh, and memorable.

Panorama Restaurant: Adrian and Danny were also at our service with last minute add ons and changes to ensure my group had good service while there. Plus, the views from the 8th floor are magnificent. The sunsets were my favorite. Thank you guys!!

Front desk team: All of you were on hand to help me with various requests. Mara, thank you for working with me at 3AM to get the list I needed for departure letters. I appreciate your prompt action at such a strange time.

GM: Curtis Creider, the best hotel GM I know! This man knows how to run a hotel and keep his team happy. The turnover rate is low at this property and that is the KEY that makes his team work. They love their jobs and they stay long term. This was a critical factor when I selected the hotel. I always ask about turnover because that directly affects the level of service you receive. Keep doing what you're doing because it is reflected on your staff and how they treat clients. Great job!!!

My client even commented on how well the entire team worked. The communication was exceptional and THAT was the key in making our event a smashing success!!!

Flexibility and communication on both sides is really what made it flow so well. I am over the moon excited to book my next event at Sonesta Coconut Grove! You should too!!

Thank you Sonesta team for making me look like...

The location was nice it was centrally located and pretty close to everything if you’re thinking about taking a Uber or have a car. The staff was accommodating and decent and the hotel itself (not the rooms) looks very modern. Upon walking in you’re greeted by the receptionist in a beautifully modern and spacious lobby, the elevators are beautifully decorated and spacious and so are the hallways. The pool was big and spacious with a lot of seating & the views from the pool/ jacuzzi was beautiful too. It has an onsite gym which is really convenient plus walking around the hotel and exploring the scenery was also enjoyable.

I thought the lobby would reflect the way the room looks. I got a king suite with a kitchen/ living room and wrap around balcony. When I first walked in I realized that the medium brown shaded carpet was very dark and not it’s original shade- shows that it hasn’t been cleaned in very long. The chairs were also very worn down and the offwhite leather looked like it was turning black/brown aswell. The couch which was severely outdated, something your grandparents would find suiting for their home, it wasn’t uncomfortable I’ll have to give it props but for the amount that i paid for 3 nights I expect more updated furniture.

The bedroom was absolutely beautiful I had a city view with 2 huge windows leading to the balcony and a TV in front of the huge comfortable bed. The bathroom was decent aswell but if it wasn’t for the beautiful balcony view and the curtains were closed it could resemble a motel bedroom. I couldn’t imagine what the regular rooms looked like after seeing how simplistic and outdated the room already looked. Moving on to the worst part- the kitchen. I attempted to make food for one of the nights and when I pulled out the pots/pans/silverware and plates they were all FILTHY. There was sauce still in the pan from the last tenant/ hard pasta noodles in the pan and the utensils were just as disgusting. I stayed here during the pandemic so cleanliness was very important to me and not to say the whole place was dirty but I still expect 100% cleanliness. I wish I stopped to take a picture but I’m pretty sure you could imagine my frustration when seeing this and the last thought I had was a picture. Parking was $36/night because it’s valet- despite the price it was pretty convientient to have the car waiting and ready to go in front of the hotel when we needed it without going walking through a parking garage every night trying to find parking, even though it was expensive I felt like I was actually at a 5 star hotel when I definitely wasn’t.

Disclaimer: Before booking I’ve read the good/bad reviews about this hotel and I seen more bad than good but I looked at the hotel pictures online and I decided I’m not going to let the bad reviews determine my stay and I’m going to see for myself since the pictures were so beautiful- I should’ve just listened to the bad reviews. I had a great time but I don’t feel like I got my money’s worth. The hotel looks like the picture but the picture looks wayy better so I was kind of catfished*

Like I said my stay wasn’t horrible i had a good time and I was comfortable. If the price was lower I’d stay here again but since the price didn’t reflect the room and it’s cleanliness (especially during a...