Courtyard by Marriott Miami Coconut Grove — Hotel in Miami

Made reservations 3 months before trip. We booked a 1 Bdr Bay view Suite & based upon ALL photos, shows both bedroom & living area with bay views. I called 3 weeks prior & 1 day prior to departure (driving 1,400 mi for freshman move-in); spoke both times with Eva who assured me she blocked off our room & put in notes so our suite would NOT face or be by the next-door construction. I told Eva my husband, was going through cancer treatment, & not permitted to travel. It was going to be stressful & she seemed sympathetic. I called 3 hours before arrival time confirming our suite which rep said was blocked off & ready. Shay, who was rather curt & unwelcoming, gave us room 1807. It was NOT a bay view suite. The main living room partially looked at the bay & had a view of the construction next door. The bedroom & balcony faced the construction building completely. The bathroom was so tiny w/ a shower no bigger than 2’x2.5’. My teen using the pull-out couch had to go through the bedroom to use the bathroom – inconvenient. The toilet lid does not open unless one removes the toilet paper. When one sits down to do business, your arm bangs into the tp holder. I had a bruised elbow. The sink is small & sprays water on the counter. The blanket for the pull-out had holes & stains. We had to wait to sleep until housekeeping could dry another blanket. I requested a move, but Shay informed me that there was nothing available. Our “blocked” room was given away despite repeated confirmation & notes to account. I would have to wait until the morning. Monday, Eva was not sure what happened but would move us once someone checked out. She said she would relay info to James/General Manager so he could contact me. She said there would be compensation for our previous night’s trouble/error. We moved to suite 1605 which had a nice bedroom bay view but the living room looked right at the apartments of a building on the other side. Eva explained it used to be condos which Marriott bought & converted. In my opinion, it’s a terrible job in both design and functionality. The suites are huge with wasted space & sparse furnishings. The fridge is very small. No microwaves/second sinks, nothing indicating “suite”. No place to sit in the bedroom to enjoy the view. Disappointing sitting in the living area staring at another building. The $22/day resort fee which is listed as a destination fee is for things we couldn’t use. We tried to get sodas offered but the bistro was always closed midday. You are captive to the $35+/day parking fee (street parking requires continuous 4-hour monitoring). The valets stand there expecting you to tip each time they get your car. Checking out Friday morning, I told Eva I never heard from James D'agostino all week. I asked to speak to him. We waited to leave until after 9:00 until he arrived. She said he was in staff meeting all morning & I could wait (Wait to drive back 1,400 miles?) or it could be a while so she would have him call me that day. The only compensation she could offer for our “trouble” was a $22 resort fee. She also said that they never would promise anything with regards to room types. I was taken aback at her completely different attitude that morning. The “credit/compensation” was insulting. She said they would not charge our card until I spoke with James. It is Thursday, a week later - no call from James, no compensation, and of course they’ve charged my card. They lied. I usually will book looking at both positive and negative reviews but based upon the consistency of the negative reviews & the manager’s canned responses on TripAdvisor, Google, and the Marriott, one should trust most of the negative comments. The positive- beds are comfortable, location convenient to the university, the TV & AC worked. I stand by the lowest rating as for almost $400/night Bonvoy member rate, it was not the wonderful...

One of the worst experiences and treatment I've ever had from a hotel in regards to customer service. A "0" star was unavailable. The front desk experience while trying to check in at this hotel was deplorable. My friend was celebrating her birthday in Miami and chose this hotel for her guests. She apprised us of the hotel, Courtyard Miami Coconut Grove. Upon arrival, I entered the hotel and inquired about a room for the evening, two guests (2 queen beds). I was told I needed to go online for the booking. I moved to the side so I would not hinder other guests from check-in. After numerous attempts trying to book the room, their website only displayed a single room with a king bed (again, after numerous attempts...same outcome, only a king bed). I spoke to the employee who told me the hotel had several rooms available, although I told him I had tried unsuccessfully and kept getting the same result (only a single king-sized bed). I then asked if he could help me and even showed him on my phone their site noted only a king-sized bed and asked again if he could help. He wasn't interested. I waited and thought I'll just ask his co-worker when he stepped away from the desk. To make a long story short, the simple need to ask for assistance resulted in a shouting match at the front desk in front of everyone. George, the male employee, was enraged, and yes, it got very loud in the lobby/front desk. The female employee started telling me about yelling and I told her I had simply asked for assistance in booking the room and he started getting loud and of course I was going to defend myself...the worst customer service ever. Neither of these 2 employees were interested in assisting guests. George, the male employee who became belligerent, had the audacity to tell me, "why don't you go to another hotel." Yes, and that he would no longer help further...I would have to ask him again for assistance. Not only that, refused to give me a printout of the charges because I did not see my AAA discount, although I requested a copy. I was appalled. By simply asking the two employees for assistance in navigating and using their/the hotel's website, escalated into a loud and boisterous, unnecessary, and disrespectful, event for all the guests to witness. In addition, I asked for the number for corporate headquarters as well as the names of the 2 employees at the front desk since the male employee did not have on a name badge or any identifier. I happened to ask a lady who was standing at the front desk for the names of the 2 employees as well as corporate headquarters and she wanted to know if she could help...she happened to be the Operations Manager, who was concerned and helpful, and, apologized profusely, supposedly would adjust my bill. She even handed me a copy of the adjusted bill, told me when I checked out, the bill would be the same. Well guess what, when I finally got beck home and looked at my back account activity, the price was higher than what she told me it would be. I will NEVER, EVER, stay at this hotel, the Courtyard Miami Coconut Grove again, and will inform others to do the same. Great customer service is a dying art. No one wants to do any work if work involves doing anything other than standing in front of a computer screen and if the computer screen doesn't give them instant feedback and involves picking up the phone or navigating to another screen, the...

If you like bathing, don’t stay here

The hotel seems refurbished or new and the room is small and cute. Functional though? Not even close.

The bathroom is infuriatingly tiny. I - a Marriott brand loyalist - stayed at this Coconut Grove Courtyard for a night following a cruise. The cruise sink, shower and bathroom itself were larger than this hotel room’s - and the ship is 12 years old. Although the shower is child-sized, there is a gap between the door and wall which allow enough water to leak out and cause a slippery mess.

I’ve included photos of my medium-sized Away luggage (18.5 wide) in the shower for reference. The shower must be about 30 inches wide and 22 inches deep. Forget about shaving your legs ladies - no bending over here! And did you bring your own toiletries? No room on the downwards slanted wire holder - the fall off of this poorly installed rack broke my razor. Not that I could bend or move in the shower anyway!

So you’ll just use the sink to shave - no big! Except, the sink is the smallest I’ve seen in a hotel, ever. See my 7.5 foot & cosmetic bag for reference.

And the toilet? Well, the paper holder is installed an inch away, so you have to sit awkwardly, propping your arm up while using the loo.

I genuinely have no idea why any designer or architect thinks this is an acceptable bathroom size. And try asking the kind staff to switch rooms? They shared that all bathrooms are the same size, except for handicapped accessible rooms.

Ok, time to do your hair. Well, the minuscule bathroom is filled with steam and no exhaust fan. Too bad none of the mirrors in the bedroom have an outlet within 5 feet. Bring your extension cord!

Finally, parking. Valet-only with an outside company, so no free parking for qualifying Marriott members. Have an SUV? $51 dollars a night. FIFTY ONE DOLLARS. Just $35 for a car, though.

Add in the construction next door and the Bistro which doesn’t open until 5, this hotel is underwhelming all the way around.

I’ll share the limited positives; the staff I encountered were nice - if unable to switch my room to a non-construction view with a functional bathroom - the beds are comfy, the in-room A/C is modern (multiple constant fans speeds & noticeably colder when setting it to low) + the hotel is cute. All the same, based on the atrocious room and bathroom configuration, I implore you, stay at the Courtyard in Coral Gables a few miles away. They provide free yummy cookies, have lemon water in the lobby, and the bathrooms are typically sized. Much better experience!

I’ve stayed in 30+ Courtyard Marriotts and the Coconut Grove is by far and away the most unreasonable and poorly designed I’ve ever encountered. Definitely doesn’t feel like the brand is present here - especially when it’s $400+ a night.

But like the title states, if you’re cool with not bathing, by all...