BEST EXPERIENCE EVER! I stayed at Alyssa's Beach Loft at the Shelbourne. It is condo privately owned by Jim and Ana Navarro but located in the hotel. The room was clean and beautiful. And Jim was amazing. Everything that you need is in the room. There is a bed, pull-out couch, dining room table and kitchen. Jim also provided beach chairs, a cooler, beach towels and very helpful advise on places to eat and transportation (take the $.25 bus). I've traveled all over and stayed at lots of wonderful hotels, but the care and attention to detail at Alyssa's Beach Loft makes it my favorite place to stay. The location is perfect. The beach is located outside of your back door and you are only a few blocks from Lincoln Mall. The beach boardwalk gives you quick access to Ocean Drive.
This is the best place to stay and the cost fits everyone's budgets. Please don't let negative reviews of the Shelbourne stop you from contacting Jim and Ana. It will be the best experience that you've ever had.

Carla in PA

We wanted to spend two nights in Miami Beach as a getaway. We picked the Shelborne and were thrilled we did. The desk staff was friendly and responsive to all of our questions. The room was clean and spacious. The location is unbelievable. The beach is on one side, Lincoln Road mall is a short walk away. The concierge staff "hooked us up" with some great recommendations for some clubs. We would stay there again...in a flash!

The website it very misleading. Do your research before you plan your vacation and where you plan to stay. The picture of the swimming pool area has got to be from when the hotel originally opened. It's definitely not a recent photo. According to their webpage, "South Beach's premiere luxury hotel, The Shelborne boasts a warm and cordial atmosphere..." However the reality is that The Shelborne boasts a cold, disrespectul and rude atmosphere.

We reserved a suite, what we got was a room with a refrigerator and microwave. The fridge and "Kitchen" counter were about a foot and a half from the end of the bed. Not a whole lot of walking room for this to have been a "suite." We were supposed to have a roll away bed in the room (included in the prepaid reservation), it was not there. When inquiring about the roll away we were told it would be an additional $15 a day. However, if we had decided to get the rollaway at the additional cost, we would have had to set it up in the hallway because there was no room in our suite (I use the term loosely) to put the rollaway.

Oh, when taking a shower, you MUST be very careful and have quick reflexes. While I was taking a shower I guess some of the other guests were flushing their toilets because the water kept getting hot and burning me and then getting cold and freezing me. I couldn't figure out when it was safe to stand under the water stream. It's at the temperature I set it at one minute, then it's burning hot the next and then it's ice cold after that. But, not necessarily in that order it would switch it up to keep me on my toes. I was playing cloak and dagger in the shower.

The website also boasts that it has, "earned its honor as South Beach's most favored luxury hotel" I guess that honor must be among the employees and definitely not from the people who have stayed there. Or maybe they have not clue as to what the reality is.

Oh, yeah they also say that they, "completed a multi-million dollar renovation to restore the Shelborne Beach Resort Accommodations." My girls and I joked that they must have spent the money on the artwork (lovely 12 ft. paintings) displayed in the hallways, because they certainly couldn't have spent the money on the rooms. I know the bathroom in my "suite' could have used some renovation, especially the tub. Can you say recaulking. Guess they ambiance in the hallways is more important than the guests comfort in their rooms.

When checking out the attendant was extremely rude and nasty to me and my friends. After looking at his computer screen he says to us, "you have a prepaid reservation and I need proof that you already paid." What?? That was one of the most ridiculous things I had heard in my stay in South Beach, believe me there were others, especially from the waiters at the restaurants we visited. Anyway, I looked at him and told him that the proof was on that computer screen that he just looked at. It didn't make sense to me because we never mentioned the fact that we had already paid for our room, so unless he had the proof in his computer how else would he have that information. Somewhere a village is missing its idiot. . .

It was a disaster from the start. When my 2 friends and I arrived, the receptionist told us there was a $200 deposit although we had a prepaid package with a travel agent. Also there was a deposit for a safe per day whether or not you would be using it. The lobby looked decent due to the lights were dimmed. We jumped on the elevator and ratteled up to the 12th floor (scary). Once we got in the room it looked like the 1960's. There was an unattractive kitchen center that looked like it has no business on earth. The bathroom was very small and did not include a fan or window I mean wheres the ventilation???? The safe we had to pay for was about 90 years old and lived in the closet on the floor and looked as if it were purchased it from the Thirft . I was told the hotel had just been renovated and after viewing the website it looked stunning. Boy was I surprised! The paint was chipped all around the suite and the beds and covers were older then dust. The hotwater in the shower would loose temperture everytime someone in a different suite used theirs. The blinds were made of paper filled with dust that would not operate properly.
The only good memory about the room was the Ocean view.
The Shelborne needs to renovate again starting from the bottom with it's unprofessional, selfish, disorganized and unfriendly Staff.