I was booked into this hotel for 8 days over Christmas and to say I was disappointed and disgusted is an understatement. I am stunned by some of the reviews on here and I really hope people read the real reviews as I was tricked into thinking this hotel is a diamond in the rough. It is anything but. Upon arrival in the lobby, the young receptionist was clearly inexperienced and shouldn't have been left to manage the hotel on her own as she couldn't work the photocopier to take a copy of my passport. The lobby had a distinct smell of damp. Once we entered our room - which was enormous, our hearts sank. It was dirty - pubic hairs on the bed, fingerprints all over the windows, dusty with an unpleasant smell. The 'lcd tv with cable' as advertised didn't work in either of the rooms - they hadn't paid the bill for the cable service. The furniture was in poor condition. The corridors were dark and the carpet was stained and clearly the source of the terrible stench. Many of the rooms were occupied on a lease basis and not as a hotel. The walls were paper thin and down the corridor there was unpleasant sounds of someone clearly very unwell. When I went down to the reception to discuss my unhappiness with the state of the room, the lack of TV etc. the lady on reception didn't have the authority to do anything about it. She had to call her boss on the telephone who without any questions invited her to give me back my money. Clearly I am not the first person to arrive and leave within the hour. There are plenty of other hotels on Collins that are more cost effective and actually give customer service as they are hotels and not somewhere calling itself a hotel when it is a complete dive. I am really angry that they are allowed to keep those photos of the hotel online when they are so out of date and untrue.

I just came 1hr ago from 6 days stay @ the royal hotel. My partner & I had an excellent time. Not only this hotel was perfectly located, in the heart of south beach,but was so inexpensive. We stayed in other hotel in south beach that offers similar amenities than the Royal hotel, but none had such friendly & helpful staff. Particularly this lovely woman Mel at the front desk. What a jewel.

Stayed in this hotel for 3 days. Check in was efficient (room was pre-paid) but staff would not allow late checkout on Sunday (13/11/11) even when payment offered stating not their policy. Room decor was tired and very little space around a silly looking bed. May have been "trendy" sometime but not in 2011 (though hard to imagine). Bathroom and shower good size as was the little walk in wardrobe with safe provided. Cleanliness left a little to be desired wire pubic hair on the toilet seat, long hair in the shower and hair on the pillows. I felt a little grubby after staying. Arriving back at my room on 11/11/11 to find a drunken person comotose on the floor outside my room. Once he had got up he tried hard to get in his room by banging on the door only to be ignored by the hotel staff and his friends. The constant "muffled" banging from the "Burn" nightclub and the very noisey cliente only made the poor room even worse (and I came in at 4am on 2 nights). A incident outside the nightclub resulted in 4 police cars and an ambulance to be negotiated before getting into the hotel on Saturday (12/11/11). There are so many better hotels on Collins and Washington Avenues...it was like a YMCA.....only worse! Don't bother wasting your money!

Every year, for the past 10 years, I stay at the Royal, 2 times per year. The staff is incredibly customer service friendly. This is the main reason I return. Mel is an outstanding manager...she goes out of her way to help in every possible way. I return so often because it's like returning home. Lilly, too, at the front desk, is excellent in her treatment of guests.