Sanctuary South Beach, Miami Beach

The Sanctuary is like a pair of designer shoes that have worn down heels and nothing is done to fix it. I couldn't tell if it was lack of money or lack of caring that makes this, obviously, once chic hotel so frayed around the edges. Scuffed walls, fruit flies buzzing in the bathroom, dirt in the corners, cobwebs in corners. The picture of the "balcony" on their website is misleading. Outside the "balcony" door was a covered mouse trap. Also, you can hear through the walls, normal conversation. One day, the radio alarm went off in the unoccupied room next door and blared until 2:00 in the morning On the other hand, the staff tried to fix mistakes and were very apologetic. The courtyard was beautiful, the large condo-like space made it feel more like an apartment and the location was great. Walking distance to everything. It is truly a case of "You get what you pay for"; Would not stay there again but can see how it would be good value to others.

I've stayed in hotels around the world ranging from 2-5 stars. The Sanctuary South Beach has topped the list as the absolute most disgusting hotel I've ever stayed at. What was supposed to be a girl’s getaway/birthday celebration in South Beach turned out to be the worst experience thus far. Upon our arrival, we checked into room 108 and were shocked at how filthy the walls and sheets were. Not to mention how nauseating the tile floors were. My friends and I literally had to remove the comforter and sleep on top of the sheets because the linen was so repulsive. The next morning we awoke to the sound of someone taking a shower in our bathroom. Only to find water pouring from our ceiling from the room upstairs due to a broken pipe from a toilet. How gross! We literally had to rush out of the room in our pajamas to save our luggage from being soaked with toilet water. Once we informed the manager, Max Deitermann of our problem, he apologized and offered us all complimentary spa service for the stress and inconvenience. Once calmed, we moved to room 204 only to find it was just as awful if not more horrific than the first room. The black leather couch was filthy with brown stains, the walls were sticky and the room was filled with moth flies which were breeding in the bathroom drains and flying around in the shower. The bathroom smelled like mildew and eggs. We literally were forced to take showers in our flip-flops to avoid making contact with the filthy tile floors. I'm getting itchy just thinking about it! Gross! When we requested more towels the maid informed us they ran out of towels and could only give us 2 towels. Not once did she take into consideration we were a group of 4 girls. Once we agreed to only 2 towels she retrieved them from a garbage bag and put them in our room. How sickening! Every night we would come back to the room to find our key was no longer working. The light switches were falling off the wall when we attempted to turn the lights on, the knob on the faucet of the sink fell off when we were trying to brush our teeth. Just awful! Oh yeah and those complimentary spa services Max promised us was a lie. Once we went up to receive our massages he told the spa receptionist he would only give one girl a complimentary spa service. How can you only give one girl a massage service when all 4 hotel guests were inconvenienced? Talk about great Customer Service! Oh and if you’re looking for a hotel with a pool you will be extremely disappointed by their pool area. The rooftop pool is a joke. In fact, they don't even have a pool. They have a hot whirl pool as your only option. Who wants to swim around in heated water in 100 degree weather?? Talk about a tropical vacation! Sanctuary is far from luxury and far from chic. We were severely mistreated by rude staff and a dishonest and insincere hotel manager which ultimately destroyed our vacation. I normally don’t write reviews unless it is something I believe will help someone else. Please do not stay here! Stay at the Lowe’s, W Hotel, Shore Club, or anywhere else on South Beach. There are plenty of hotels that actually care about their guest and will treat you like the paying vacationers you are.