The Palms Hotel and Spa, Miami Beach

We booked the Palm Hotel and Spa after cancelling the Royal Palms Hotel and im so glad we did. This was a lovely hotel and would highly recommend upon my experience. It was a bit futher away from Ocean Drive scene where all the bars and restaurants are but only a few mins in a taxi or 20-25 min walk so we didnt see that a problem. The hotel had its own little beach area which felt very private and peaceful, just what you want if you need a relaxing holiday especially for couples. The pool area was very nice too with drinks and bar food being served all afternoon. The decking areas was very comfortable with big sofas and cushions with background soothing music with candles glowing, very romantic in the evening. There was also a restaurant which we ate in twice as enjoyed it so much. There's also a bar where you can also have few drinks in evening. The rooms very really spacious and very clean, huge walkin closet which us British are not really used to so this was a bonus for me, loads of space to put my dress, shoes and bags:) On the downside things were quite expensive but i found everywhere in the resort was fairly expensive but suppose what the hell when your holiday!! Everywhere added service charge and tax but that's Miami as a whole and something we got used to so if you havent been before then be prepared! Overall I rate this hotel 10/10 and would highly recommend.

If you are concerned about your personal health and safety and that of your loved ones, then please read the following letter below regarding BEDBUGS and POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE at this hotel: March 23, 2008 To Whom It May Concern: The purpose of this letter is to immediately address the bedbug problem that exists in your hotel premises – the Palms Hotel in South Beach Miami, Florida. My sister and I checked-in on Thursday, March 20 and scheduled to stay until Monday, March 24. Upon our arrival and first night’s stay in room 511, we truly enjoyed the service and ambiance of the hotel. As a matter of fact, we were originally scheduled to stay at the hotel across the street – Habana Libre – but decided to spend a bit more to obtain a better vacation experience. After the first night, my sister woke up the next morning itching and found red spots on her calves and ankles, which developed into itchier swollen welts throughout the day. At first, we were not sure what had caused it but decided to do some research when she discovered more of the same bites throughout her body the morning after! Sure enough, pictures of bedbug bites online closely resemble the ones found on her legs and body. Our strong suspicion is that the long light blue body pillow (which can be found in every room in this hotel) is thriving with bedbugs. She used the pillow to elevate her legs due to a recent knee injury. We immediately called the front desk and spoke with the acting hotel manager about our situation. To my surprise, the first question he asked was, “Have you told anyone about this?” Personally, that is not exactly the response I expected to hear from a hotel manager who is truly concerned about his guests. And despite his apologies, I did not feel that he had a good grasp of how devastating the situation was. I had to come down to the front desk and personally ask for him. To top that, there was no call to action and no effort to go above and beyond for the customer. I had to request for the uncased pillows to be removed from the beds and the sheets completely changed in our new room. I was also informed that neither of you will be available until Monday morning, which frustrated me even more. We transferred from room 511 over to room 327 – from our preferred king bed to two double beds and on a lower floor. Having to pack up all our stuff two days before we check-out was an extreme inconvenience and a complete waste of time. As a result of this, our plans for Saturday night were ruined and I am now sitting in the hotel room writing this complaint instead of having a good time! Most importantly, my sister is now suffering from constant itching, and worse, from public embarrassment. We are both completely uncomfortable with sleeping in your beds with fear of waking up to the sight of our bodies tattered with bedbug bites. I noticed that there are a lot of families with young kids that stay at this hotel. If I were a parent, I would be extremely concerned for their health and safety. This vacation did not turn out to be an enjoyable one and we are both honestly disappointed to say that it is because of our aggravating experience here at your hotel. I regretfully yet respectfully request a full refund of my entire stay here. Also, I strongly suggest that those light blue pillows be removed from all hotel beds and have all pillows encased. In my opinion, it the least you can do in an attempt to alleviate this terrible situation. Bedbug-infested beds coupled with bad customer service can quickly leave you with a tarnished reputation in the hotel business. Please reply to this letter by contacting me at (xxx)xxx-xxxx at your earliest convenience. I hope to hear from you and have this resolved prior to our check-out on Monday morning. Respectfully, Anonymous Palms Hotel Guest

I highly recommend this place for its great service, live music, swimming pool,hammocks and a great bar. Downtown is just a walk away. The beach is right in front of the resort.

The palms has a quiet, understated elegance with all the comforts and amenities to make it a relaxing tropical oasis. I'd like more menu options, but the food was reasonably priced and the quality was worth it. Room and valet service was exceptional as well as the front desk staff. Rooms are very comfortable, though coffee makers and a more modern bathroom needed. Poolside service was outstanding. What a ocean-front gem away from all the hoopla! I'm looking forward to visitng again real soon.

Beware! Don't have your wedding at the Palms!!! Myself and my finance had a horrific experience in our dealing with the Palms. I have never witnessed a so-called high-end venue demonstrate a completely non-responsive, incompetent, devoid of any professionalism and plain out arrogant. We had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with Sheila, the Palms Wedding Coordinator. Beware! She is a the most pompous, argumentative, insensitive and completely lack of any human characterisitcs. Not only did we try repatedly to get in touch with any of the staff at the Palms for 2 months, only to get the run around. Once we did manage to get a hold of her, she was completely condescending and demonstrated a holier than thou attitude towards us. She even managed to yell at my finace like we were inconveniencing her. It's a shame that a well reputable venue like the Palms has a behemoth at the helm. Good luck if you don;t heed this warning!

likes: was the location on beach the hotel room and just being in miami dislikes: nothing really money and walk alot but overall it is a great hotel

Ok, so my boyfriend and i just got back from South Beach on saturday after a 4 night 5 day trip. We're not the kind of people who complain about every little thing and consider ourselves to be pretty simple people. First i'll start with the pro's: the good thing is, the palms looks like one of the nicer hotels and is further away from the strip and all the noise etc... the staff was really friendly and it was nice that the hotel is right on the beach....HOWEVER, the con's were: the hotel food was terrible and very expensive. It was $50 for buffet breakfast which was basically bagels, fruit, eggs, etc....Waters were 10 dollars on the beach...10 dollars for a small bottle of water!! dinner was even worse- it was $20 for an appetizer for coconut shrimp (5 of them)and they weren't good at all. We went to a great restaraunt one night, VITA, on Collins avenue..it is within walking distance....also, there is a great little deli if you make a left out of the hotel and walk about 2 or 3 blocks called the Tropical Beach Cafe or something- it was good- and breakfast was about 10 bucks. Everything else is pretty much a hike from the hotel. It IS walkable, but be prepared to walk about 15 blocks. Another great restaraunt was Spiga which was further down between 8Th & 9th street.... Overall, our experience was OK at the Palms. I wouldn't stay there again or recommend it. Its worth is to pay the extra money and stay at Loew's or even the Royal Palms which looked a lot nicer than our hotel. Even the excursions weren't that great- we went snorkeling in Key Largo and it was just WAY TOO MUCH- we ended up in the middle of the atlantic ocean on a boat that was rocking wayyyyyyy too much- and i'm not one to get sea sick but i really thought i was going to pass out. My butt was completely blue and bruised from being on the boat....We made the best of our trip though- with good dinners and shopping and relaxation. Hope this helps anyone going to miami. =)

This is more like a motel. very poor service-slow, although some staff members are very attentive. the public spaces are fine but the rooms are very shabby outdated. the bathroom barely has any lighting. you will be nickled and dimed to death as well. The room size was fine but you cannot open any windows-no ocean air!

There was no warning about the renovations going on in the hotel. It reeked of paint and there were supplies just sitting in the middle of the floors. Only one elevator worked, or should I say it was operational. Our wait was anywhere from 10-20 minutes for the elevator. The food was overpriced and the management was horrible. The only good thing about the hotel is that it's located on the beach- but so are dozens of others. I wouldn't reccomend this hotel to anyone even if the stay was free!

We stayed at this hotel in January 2006. When we arrived to check-in, our room was still being cleaned and wait would be approximately 20 minutes. They did offer us free drinks at the lounge, however, we had been driving for hours and had 2 kids so instead they offered us a Junior Suite. The room was small and was alright, although our room wasn't as nice as what was pictured on the website. We were double-charged for valet and my husband did complain about the charge and they reversed it for him but the amount we were credited was not the full amount we were charged! I would go back but stay at a different hotel next visit.