I liked this place, it has character, and if your expectations are reasonable (this is not a predictable, chain hotel experience!), and if you ask for a quiet room, it is a very reasonably priced hotel in a great location.

Spent 2 nights here prior to a trip to Cuba. After reading reviews we asked for a 'quiet' room which put us, not over the street, but with windows facing away from the street and towards another wing of the hotel, and a couple air conditioners. Not room a/c, they were big, maybe for the common areas of the hotel or the restaurant/bar downstairs. In January, with nighttime temps around maybe 60 it was fine, they weren't running too much. When it's hot, well, then the room a/c would be running too, but my guess is those big units would be running constantly.

We had a family room which was 2 formerly single rooms now configured to share a bathroom , with a microwave and little refrigerator in the mini hall between them. The rooms were very sparsely furnished. Each had a bed, one little nightstand with lamp, a tv on the wall, an overhead fan/light. It would have been really nice to have just one little chair in each room. Bed was comfortable but nothing special.

As other reviewers have said, it's an older building and there are different wings. On our floor there was a common area at the stairs with a couple small couches, chairs, tables and a very mini balcony over Espanola Way. The first night there a Latin family was there, 2 bottles of Johnny Walker on the table and kids running all over the place. Was prepared for a late, noisy night but they were done by 9pm (and the bottles were still there next, morning, empty).

Clientele does seem to be a lot of South Americans, more families, and young Europeans.

Ate breakfast at the Mexican restaurant downstairs and it was very good.

First of all, The Clay Hotel is a budget hotel.....great for people travelling on a budget. I was given one of the former hostel rooms which was recently renovated. I was very pleased upon check in to find out my room had a kitchenette, which included a microwave, 2 burner stove, fridge, kettle, toaster, pots & pans, and all dishes and utensils. We ate breakfast and some lunches in our room, saving us quite abit of money. The room also included a new safe in the closet.
The room was bright and very clean. Air conditioner and ceiling fan worked very well. The bed was squeaky and not overly comfortable, but the matresses were new and the sheets were always clean.
Our room was in one of the smaller outer buildings and was only accessable through a key card, wrought iron gate. This made us feel a bit more at ease with all the restaurants and night life such a short distance away. There are three or four sidewalk restaurants literally a stones throw away, but we rarely heard any of the noise, partly i suppose because of the humm of the air conditioner.
It is also the perfect location in South Beach. 3 blocks to the beach. 2 blocks to the Lincoln Road Mall. Too many restaurants to count within a two or three block radius. Directly across Washington Rd is a small supermarket, which sells fresh produce & meat, as well as all the other basics.
Two minor issues we found with this hotel.
The hot water in the shower fluctuated between hot and luke warm. It took us a few days to figure out how to position the taps just right. The water didn't fully drain in the new shower, but the housekeeper took care of this every morning.
Be aware that there is an elementary school right next door. If your room is near the playground you will be awake by 8:30 in the morning by the kids playing. It didn't bother us, as we start our day early. The noise from the school usually only lasted about a half hour.

Overall, we were extremely pleased with our stay at The Clay, and will stay there again on our next visit.

The corner room with the wrap-around balcony was a delightful experience! YES it is directly above a Mexican restaurant and across the street from a popular club, so it IS noisy throughout the night. If you are a sleeper, not a party person, consider staying elsewhere. I found the staff very helpful, and the room clean. All things considered, I was satisfied with my stay at the Clay.

Not a good place to stay, old hotel, not well located ... we stayed there only for 1 night and cancelled the other 2 nights