Dunns Josephine Hotel — Hotel in Miami

To preface..., we did have a high-rise apartment in downtown Miami booked through VRBO that was sold causing us to look for other accommodations. We choose this hotel based on what we thought was closeness to public transportation. It was also a little cheaper than the high-rise apartment. We had seen this property a year and a half ago on a city tour and thought it to be interesting. I admit that I did not check Trip Advisor because I felt I had to act fast as prices were going up. I paid approximately $360 for two nights through Hotels.com.||We arrived around 9am after getting off of a cruise ship. They did allow us to hide our luggage behind a curtain that was behind the front desk until our room was ready at 3pm. This property is known as a boutique hotel because it has 20 or less rooms. In it's glory days it was two hotels, the Dunns Hotel, built in 1947 and the Josephine Hotel built in 1938. They "joined" them together to make one hotel establishment. (Before it's current state it was small studio apartments. The lobby used to be a barbershop.) The area between the two buildings is a long and narrow area with some patio furniture and small tables that spills out the back into a ram-shackled courtyard that looks like a storm went through it. ||The staff was friendly however, they need to get their story straight on the history of the property. We were first told that the rooms were named after famous African American performers who always requested that particular room. We stayed in a room named after Josephine Baker who, we were told, always requested that room. (We were later told that wasn't true by another staff member the next day.) What is more believable is that African American performers HAD to stay in the hotels in this area due to segregation, now known as The Overtown District, when they came to perform in the theaters and nightclubs of Miami Beach. Throughout the lobby and halls is lots of artwork, most of it for sale, and kitschy furnishings that help pull off the "boutique hotel" feel. The second floor is not accessible for wheelchairs.||THE LIVING AREA: It was clean, the linens were fresh, and the bed was comfortable. On each side of the bed is a night stand with a lamp. However, there were no chairs to sit on or a table to use for eating, writing, or using a computer. I had to use a shelf board from the wall to place on the corner of the bed so I could do some work on my computer. I did go to the courtyard and took one of the patio chairs for my wife to sit in. I took a chair from the hallway for myself so I could sit at the corner of the to use my computer. There is a small refrigerator that keeps drinks and leftovers cold. The small refrigerator cabinet includes 4 drawers. There is also a small chest of drawers for storage. The windows have frosted plastic on them so you cannot see out very well. The room is decorated with some antiques, artwork, old pictures, and news clippings about Josephine Baker. There was a book about Josephine Baker's life that was informative. There is no phone and your door is a keypad-coded lock. The wifi kept knocking you offline.||THE BATHROOM: It was clean, and had a hair dryer, but….|There was no soap at the sink to wash our hands. |There were no towel racks to hang your wet towels to dry. Only a hand towel ring in the bathroom.|The only trash can in the entire room was in the bathroom and it was very small. |The toilet paper holder was broken and the toilet paper rolls were in a container sitting by the trash can. |The clear plastic shower curtain liner was paper-thin.|The was a thin wire shower shelf hanging from the shower head. |All these items looked as if they were purchased at the Dollar Tree Store. ||THE CLOSET: had a few hangars, a small iron and ironing board, a power strip, and a foldable luggage rack.||THE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST: included coffee made in a household coffee maker, an electric hot water pot for tea and instant oatmeal, assorted tea bags, microwave oatmeal packets, packaged sweet rolls, apples, oranges, grapes, and yogurt. There is also a small ice maker but nothing to put the ice in for your rooms.||The area does not feel safe after dark. There are a lot of homeless people that have migrated to this area. (This is not the fault of the hotel!) The Josephine Baker room is on the second floor at the front of the Josephine building. I was awakened at 3:00 am by people shouting and screaming just below my window. This went off and on for about an hour. (Because of the plastic frosting and I couldn’t open the windows to see what was going on which is not a safe situation in the event of a fire.) Even though one of the voices did sound like a hotel staff member, I was told that it was none of the hotel staff was involved.||For history lovers I would recommend a day visit and just ask to look around. We would not stay at this...

DO NOT STAY HERE – FALSE ADVERTISING, UNSAFE, & UNPROFESSIONAL

If I could give zero stars, I would. Please stay safe and do not stay here.

The worst part of my stay—what pushed me to write this review—was the unbelievably rude and unprofessional behavior of an employee named Tamara. While I was already willing to overlook other issues, her attitude and complete lack of hospitality made my experience unbearable.

Horrible Customer Service

On the morning of check-out, I asked if I could have a late check-out until 12 PM. Tamara rudely stated it would be a $15 fee. Considering how this place is already outrageously overpriced for what it is, I declined—I wasn’t giving them another cent.

Then, I asked if they could store our bags for less than two hours while I took my daughter to get food, since their so-called “breakfast” was NOT breakfast. Tamara responded with a rude, “For how long?” making it obvious she had no interest in helping.

When I placed my bags where other luggage was stored, I simply asked if we’d receive a ticket for them. That’s when she snapped: “No, we’re not even here to keep your luggage. If you leave them, that’s on you. If they get stolen, not our responsibility.”

Shocked, I asked for clarification—were they actually allowing luggage storage or not? She rudely repeated, “If you want, but it’s not my responsibility.”

At that moment, I had a bad feeling, as if she would intentionally allow something to happen to our bags just to prove a point. I started retrieving my luggage when another employee, Zo, kindly stepped in, reassuring me that they were there to help and that luggage storage wasn’t a problem.

While I appreciated his kindness, Tamara’s hostility had already made me deeply uncomfortable. When Zo politely asked if we could leave our bags for a bit, Tamara dismissively said, “Whatever, they’re no longer guests here.”

That was the final straw. Her hostility completely ruined our morning, throwing off my entire day with my daughter. We grabbed our bags and left, feeling upset and unsafe.

False Advertising – Do Not Believe Their Website or Hotels.com

This place falsely advertises itself as “luxurious” and “elegant” on their website and Hotels.com. Do not be fooled. The only thing elegant about this place is the lobby—and that’s where the illusion ends. • The lobby is beautiful but completely deceiving. You think you’ve booked a luxurious hotel, but once you pass the lobby, you’re in a low-end, 1/2-star MOTEL. • The rooms look NOTHING like the photos online. • Mold and rust in the bathroom. • Roosters crowing loudly at all hours. • Everything is done on paper—they physically write down your credit card number and personal information, which feels extremely unsafe. • My daughter didn’t even feel safe enough to sleep. • Overpriced beyond belief—I paid what I would for a 4-5 star hotel and ended up in a place that should be shut down.

Extremely Dangerous Location • Surrounded by homeless individuals, drug addicts, pimps, drug dealers, and abandoned buildings. • DO NOT walk around at night—daytime is already terrifying enough.

Check-In Experience

The only positive experience was at check-in, where Zo and another gentleman were kind, professional, and welcoming. This hotel is lucky to have them because they are the only reason I even attempted to overlook the rest.

As a Marketing & Hospitality Professional, I’m Putting This Place on Our “Do Not Stay” List

I work in marketing and hospitality and oversee a community of over 40,000 traveling families. I will personally ensure that every member knows to avoid this place. This hotel has officially been added to our “Do Not Stay” List due to false advertising, poor customer service, unsafe conditions, and unethical business practices.

Final Word: DO NOT STAY HERE.

This place is nothing like what they...

BAD FOR BUSINESS!!!! DO NOT !!! I REPEAT DO NOT BOOK HERE !!!!! I have never wrote a bad review in my LIFE, despite all the bad experiences I went thru at places I never did until now. This place is so unprofessional. Let me tell you how it all started. So for Christmas me and my bf decided to get a room here for two nights at first he wanted to go somewhere else but I insisted for us to get it here which I regret. I’ve been to this hotel multiple times and never heard of any extra fees or deposit until Christmas Eve day when we first got to the lobby it took the guy about 10 minutes to come around and as we are booking the room and as he calls his manger to check with prices they agree on the room being $183 which is odd because the times I’ve been there before we only paid $119 but I get it …… we ended up getting it for one night the room was $133 plus a $50 deposit we heard from the owners mouth herself they complained about us having guest they complained about us smoking EVEN THO WE DID NOT SMOKE IN THE ROOMS AT ALL BEOFORE! On their website it says it had smoking areas available which is where we smoked at so next day come around and the night before we only paid for one night because they was just coming up with fees so next day we pay for another day and when my bf went down one of the employees was just like give me $119 he said out his mouth “idk why they charging ppl these extra fees now when they never did I think they just doing that for Christmas” so we only paid $119 flat that day then comes check out time I only get $40 of my deposit back I wasn’t late checking out or nothing I was highly confused about that. Long story short the owner knows my moms boss and A lil bit about us because we have stayed there before so instead of her calling US !! The ppl that stayed there she calls my mom boss to tell her that we are banned from the hotel because the room smelled like smoke (WE DID NOT SMOKE IN THE ROOM” , saying we had red stuff all of the bed , saying we had cigarette buds(we don’t smoke cigs yall!!) and just basically saying we messed up the room WHICH IS A LIE ! because how else would I expect the deposit back ….? This is not my first time staying in a hotel bra. Long story short I really thought these ppl were nice but the more we booked and came around we seen their true colors and for who they really are. The day I got my room on Christmas was the day I also recommended my friend to stay there too which she did she ended up staying after Christmas while we were already gone but that day I went to see her me and my sister .. at the hotel I noticed my friend wasn’t feeling well so I came she wanted us to watch her things in her room while she goes to the hospital because we had seen reviews of ppl stealing out of rooms there long story short she goes to the hospital meanwhile my sister is sick but she still came to see about her friend. She left in the ambulance around 7-8pm tell me how the owners comes to the room door around alone 12 at night buss through the door hits the TV with the door , cutting on lights being rude and disrespectful. snatched the covers off my sick sister and said we had 5mins to leave because our name was not on the room which was understood but why wait so late yall could have said that when she first when to the hospital they wait til late at night to kick us out the hotel told my Friend we had to leave because she didn’t trust us with her things and the reason we was there because my friend didn’t trust the hotel with her things !!! NEVER AGAIN !!!!!! they cannot get no more of my money period. I don’t even feel like this is the whole story but yall get the gist They nice when...