Unfortunately, I’ll just cut to the chase and say that the hotel connected to the Miami International Airport did not live up to my expectations. Sure, it’s convenient, but I didn’t expect it to be so old and rundown.
A full review of my 1 night stay at the Miami International Airport Hotel
Of course I knew that it wasn’t going be as good as newer airport terminal hotels (such as the Calgary Airport Marriott), but I was hoping g that it would be decent. I mean, it’s connected to one of the greatest airports on earth. It just had to be, right? Not exactly…
The name alone should’ve been enough to tell me that this wasn’t going to be a really nice hotel. The fact that they couldn’t come up with a name more creative than “The Miami International Airport Hotel” speaks volumes – and I should’ve realized that before going in.
- Not only is it the only hotel within walking distance of the Miami Airport (MIA), it's the only hotel attached directly to the terminal.
- It's somewhat outdated and the rooms are small, BUT - it's clean, quiet, and extremely convenient.
- It's an excellent hotel for getting a good nights rest before or after a long flight. It is not a good plane spotting hotel (because the windows are small in the views are so so).
The location
The entrance to this hotel is located at the check in level at the very center of the airport. And it wasn’t really even an entrance.
I was actually looking for a large doorway and a big sign, but the check in desk is literally located in the middle of the terminal with very little to separate it from the throngs of passengers checking in for flights. I actually walked past it three times before I realized it was the hotel.
The lobby and check in desk
It was after 11 PM when I checked in, and the desk was staffed by two people. One of them was assisting a customer that needed a lot of help, and the other just stood there working on something without acknowledging me at all.
Finally, after five minutes waiting while the other agent was helping the other customer, she finally looked up at me and asked if she could help. Ok then.
Getting to my room
The room
Walking into the room for the first time was highly disappointing. So disappointing that I actually felt more let down than I ever have when checking into a hotel. Seriously – I wasn’t expecting anything like the Barclay InterContinental in NYC or anything, but the quality of this room appeared to be extremely low-budget and not matching of the price I paid ($192.93).
I actually stood there for a minute looking around mumbling to myself “seriously?” over and over. It was not what I was expecting, and I would’ve turned around and left if it weren’t for the fact that it was after 11 PM and this hotel was very conveniently attached to the airport.
- Bring your own food! Dining options are limited at this hotel, but there are several restaurants (and shops) located within walking distance inside the terminal.
- Lower your expectations. Yes, the rooms are a little outdated. No, you probably won't hate it if you know this before going in.
Being attached to the airport seemed to be the only redeeming value of this place, and it’s hard to justify staying here if I didn’t need to be so close to the airport.
The view
The bathroom
Final thoughts
As you can see, this is pretty “low end” on the scale of airport hotel quality (at least in my experience). It was dark, stinky, and kind of ugly from some angles. However, let me say this: by the end of my stay here, the place had grown on me quite a bit.
For an airport hotel, it was extremely quiet, and the view of the terminal from my window was amazing. Most importantly, being attached to the airport was highly convenient – especially for an airport as busy and large as MIA.
- Use an online booking engine (such as Booking.com) instead of booking directly with the hotel.
- Booking engines are sometimes able to offer the lowest prices thanks to special partnerships they’ve developed with the hotel brands.
- Most booking engines have excellent loyalty / reward programs (which makes it easy to accumulate points for free nights). This is one of the reasons how I’m able to travel so frequently.
