I booked my stay with the owner of two of the condos in the Casablanca building on vacationrentals.com. His ad showed a small studio with a balcony (only a few in the building) overlooking the pool area and beach. When I got there, he said that the building was undergoing maintenance and there was scaffolding on our balcony...so no morning breakfasts overlooking the beach....I was very disappointed but he said he had another condo on the 9th floor. Although no balcony, it was more updated than the first one. The building needs new carpeting throughout the lobby and hallways...going out to the pool for the 5 days we were there, not ONCE was that area vaccuumed...and you could tell. There was a washer and dryer on our floor which was very convienent. The restaurant had decent steak and rice dishes. There is a small convienence store..but the guy barely speaks English...The valet people lost our car keys EVERY TIME but twice when we wanted our car....we were soo angry....they barely speak English so maybe that's why. Next door is the AKOYA building...oh man, it's GORGEOUS....they rent out for the month not weekly...I would recommend staying here if you want the beach and pool (says it's heated and it's not) and if you want to see and feed a lot of stray cats (as we did)...but if you're looking to walk around barefoot in your room...stay somewhere else..but i have to say, the view from the room was AMAZING

I really expected less of this hotel because of the price.
When we got there we were so surprised, the entrance( lobby) was very pretty and the seating was comfortable. This hotel is being up dated. We were booked on the sixth floor but the rugs in this floor smelled like tabacco, since I'm alergic to this smell we were offered a room on the 10th floor- THIS WAS WONDERFUL- We had view to the pool and beach. The room is very comfortable, it has a kitchen; stove, microwave, sink and even some dishes, it also has a refrigerator. We loved our stay at this hotel. The people at the information desk were very helpful and kind.
We definately will go there again.

I found a privately owned condo on another website, and booked it for a pre-cruise stay for myself and five friends for one night. Although it was a tad small for all of us, (we also had a ton of luggage) it would be ideal for a couple or small family with kid(s). But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in charm, and the huge terrace overlooking the beach and pool is what made this place our home away from home. There are only four condos that have a private terrace, so if you're staying here, you will definitely want to have one that has a terrace. Chris, who owns the apartment, was so hospitable, and went out of her way to show us all a good time. Cold drinks and snacks were waiting for us, (prearranged) and there were plenty of towels and extra pillows and bedding for all of us. A murphy bed, a futon and a aerobed were provided for us. It took some rearranging of furnishings, but we all fit comfortably.

I highly recommend this privately owned condo, as I did not see any of the other condos. About a 10 minute drive from South Beach, I liked being far enough away to enjoy some peace and quiet, but still close enough to the action. The beach in front of the condo is awesome. A rolling cooler, beach towels, chairs and even floating lounges and an umbrella were provided, so we spent the whole day out there. Because of our crazy flight schedule, and boarding for the cruise started at 1 pm, Chris arranged an early check-in and late check-out for us for a nominal fee. I can't tell you how comfortable Chris made us feel.

This is an older hotel/condo complex, compared with some of the surrounding hotels, but is an excellent value if you want the basics. People were saying how the halls are tore up, but it didn't bother us one bit. I wasn't trying to hang out in the hallways, I was too busy out on the terrace looking at my million dollar ocean view. I will definitely be back to Miami, and to the Casablanca - in Chris's condo of course!!

This was an awful place to stay. Although right on the beach, the rooms were not modern or updated and I found the entire facility to be dirty (cigarette buts on the floor, scuff marks on wall, sand and dirt everywhere). I was there about 3 months after the last hurricane and found the lack of maintenance of this building could not be blamed on the hurricane. It was obvious it has not been properly maintained for several years. The locks on my room's door seemed flimsy at best. The sounds from the hallways and adjacent rooms were very loud. Furthermore, there was an electrical problem one night I was there and I was awoken several times by alarms going off in my room. I was unable to call down to the front desk due to the outage and when I ventured onto the stairs I found the stairwell not clearly marked, filthy and not well lit. I will say that when I complained, they did reimburse me for half of that one night. I liked that the rooms I stayed in had kitchnettes. Overall, I felt unsafe and I would never go back!