The Palms Hotel & Spa

My sisters and I enjoyed 6 nights at The Palms. Staff is omnipresent, well trained, authentically charming. Hospitality excellence from the bellman (yes, the famous Fred, and also Charlee, and Bell Captain Gabriel), front desk (Melinda), concierge (Martin), wait staff (Pedro, Kenzi, Gessica, Galina) to the team serving up the pool/beach with chairs/umbrellas/food is warmly welcoming. Our ocean view was gorgeous, beds firm, linens fresh, the room had everything we needed. Attention to cleanliness is impressive. Fresh, iced, fruited water is available at many stations. The pool is clean, never seemed crowded, a comfortable temperature. The garden paths to pool and beach are pretty. The small size of the hotel (only 250 rooms or so) maintains an elegant ambiance. The lobby is free of garish visual blight and crowded hustle (like larger hotels) and the decor is serene and sophisticated. Fresh, live, varied color orchids are everywhere. Rates are reasonable. The location is perfect for all things Miami Beach but slightly off the worst of the hustle/bustle. Why I caution you: Check every single check presented to you, this includes the restaurants and bars, but especially the small amenity store named “Tropical Treasures”. Coffee, yogurt, snacks, amenities, a few clothing items. Overcharged once is a mistake, twice is a trend, the 3rd time is a WTF. Do not trust that store. On the plus side, there is a spirited young woman named Kailie working some days in the store who is a delight and is not responsible for noted overcharges. Secondly: The Aveda Spa is so not “all that”. There are no text or email messages to remind you of your upcoming services. Hospitality at the spa reception desk sorely requires training re: people skills. The spa is very small, only 7 seats in the waiting room, a few more on an outside sun room. There are only two showers, one toilet. There is no whirlpool and the small steam room was out of order for the 6 days I was a guest. Spa sandals are not given out by size, simply distributed randomly in the lockers, a joke to my size 5 sister and my size 9 1/2 feet. There are zero hair products or other personal care products, not even deodorant, in the locker room other than soap and lotion. That being said, my body scrub, mani/pedi, facial, and massage (thank you Karina, Omy, and Astrid) were all excellent. You will pay twice what you pay elsewhere, and it’s basically a walk in, walk out (you are only allowed in 20 minutes prior to service), zero amenities. I would never, ever, go to this so-called “luxury” spa again. Lastly (if you are still with me here), and the worst, the hotel hosted large weddings on 2 of my 6 nights. These private events roped off significant outdoor guest areas all day/night, especially the Saturday night event, which went from the front door to the ocean, certainly 150-170 guests. This is selling guest space twice, double dipping, nothing less. Music (boom boom rave) was insanely loud to nearly midnight both nights, on the Tuesday directly below guest rooms. The utter loss of access to serenity at the ocean under the stars, the pool space, and suffering the gross smell of cigars everywhere (nonsmoking property, right?) was beyond insulting. Saturday night rate nearing $700.00 for that? SO WRONG. And that is why, sadly, I will never return.

What a beautiful, relaxing hotel . We were blown away when we step on the lobby and in our room with the breathtaking ocean view. All the staff ist very helpful and nice. Expecial thanks to Fred. He helped us with the bags and even gave us a little tour of our room. Later he helped me with an uber i was looking for in the lobby. This is such a awesome place to relax.

a girls trip and a first to Miami, would absolutely recommend! hotel is gorgeous and staff are friendly, had a slight issue with the security deposit taken on arrival as was taken twice without warning after been told it wouldnt leave the account. Fred was amazing with us the whole trip and really helped us out

The property is so lovely right on the beach front and the employees are so lovely! Really appreciate Fred’s help, he went above and beyond to make sure we were all ok!

Came for a girls holiday with my bestfriends had a lovely room and lovely facilities staff were friendly and were helpful. However, the lack of communication from staff was shocking regarding the $400 they charged to the room to cover expenses whilst staying in the hotel. I spoke to multiple members of staff who all told me different things. They reassured me that money would be ‘pending’ but it came straight from my account and couldn’t provide me an invoice. 2 days later a further $380 were taken from my account with no explanation. This was obviously very stressful. I would like to make a special mention to the member of staff called ‘Fred’ who was extra helpful with every encounter we had with him.