Miami, Florida / Crowne Plaza MIA airport

February 2013, Weekend, 1-night

Status perks and check-in

The first time I tried to reserve a room at this hotel with my Chase VISA free night certificate, by calling the telephone number provided in the email I had received, I was told that I could not use my certificate for the night I wanted. Online, I saw that I could reserve a room with points; however, I preferred to use my certificate, so I decided to send an email to the hotel to ask them if this was correct. I received a professional and friendly telephone call from James Angel, director of sales and marketing. I was able to reserve a room with my certificate after this, and Mr. Angel also sent me a follow-up email.

Facebook gift and card

About a week before our stay, I saw a post on Facebook by this hotel for a 250 point giveaway. I shared the post and wrote a comment to receive the 250 points. Not only did I receive the 250 points for participating, I also received a room upgrade and a complimentary bottle of wine and snacks!

We arrived at this hotel before 8 a.m. after disembarking from the Carnival Breeze (they were getting everyone off the boat quicker than I have ever experienced). Guestroom 624 had been set aside for us; however, it was not ready yet. The agent offered to give us a poolside room on the second floor, and I said we would wait for the higher floor room. Pool side rooms are often noisier, and guestroom 224 is located next to the doorway where guests go in and out of the pool area. We said that we would wait in the pool area, and the agent requested my cell phone number. We received a telephone call from the front desk before noon, and were assigned to guestroom 424.

PCR snacks on table
next to guestroom chair

I also received two small bottles of water, two small PCR snacks (gummy bears and chocolates), and a coupon good for buffet breakfast for two. According to the Platinum paper in my key packet, Platinum guests have the choice of breakfast or free parking. The front desk agent had asked me if we had a car before she gave me the breakfast coupon.

Guestroom 424

This is a spacious corner guestroom across from the elevators. It was tastefully decorated, clean, comfortable, and well maintained.

We occasionally heard the hum of the elevators and muffled noise from guests in the hall, although it was never very loud.


The bedroom/living area included: a king size bed, desk and chair, soft chair and footstool, couch, coffee table, night stands, flatscreen TV on a large armoire, alarm clock, and suitcase bench. A single serve coffee machine with supplies was located in the cupboard under the TV along with the ice bucket and glasses. A small packet of spa quality ointments was on the bed.

two complimentary water
bottles on armoire

The guestroom was well lit, and there were plenty of electrical outlets. The sleep quality in this guestroom was excellent. The bed was superb--good quality sheets and comfortable. The room was well soundproofed because we did not hear any airplane noise in the guestroom, and it was very noisy when planes flew overhead while we were at the pool.

spa package

The spacious closet and the bathroom were located near the guestroom entrance. The closet contained a large safe, several hangers, and bedding. I assume the sofa must have been a sofa sleeper, although I did not check it. It was very comfortable. All of the furniture in the guestroom was comfortable.

photo taken after we had used
some of the bathroom amenities

The bathroom contained a long vanity with amenities, a low quality hairdryer, and a tub/shower combination. The towels were plush, high quality towels.

The Internet connection speed in the guestroom was excellent.

closet and safe

Food & Beverage

We placed a to-go order from the restaurant to eat at the pool. We had the Asian chicken salad, Cuban sandwich (which has a different name that I do not recall), and the club sandwich. The items were flavorful, and the portion size was generous. A 15% tip was automatically added to the bill.

I did not care for the morning breakfast buffet. There were scrambled eggs, meats, white breads, canned fruit, and a couple whole fruits and cereals. I do not think there was any hot cereal because I would choose oatmeal or malt-o-meal over cold cereal, and I had cold cereal and a pear for breakfast. I wish I had asked if I could have used the coupon value to order something from the menu. I usually do ask this, and most times the hotel is happy to accommodate the request.

We made a purchase at the gift shop; however, the gift shop must not be operated by the hotel, because we were not able to charge the item to the guestroom. I always try to charge all my purchases to the guestroom for the points.

Pool

The pool area was spacious with plenty of lounge chairs. There were a few tables by the pool with a cabana closure, and there were more tables on the patio outside the pool area. The area was tastefully set up and landscaped, although I thought the area needed some deep cleaning. The flight path of the air traffic before noon was very loud. Later in the day, the noise from the planes diminished because there were not as many planes passing directly overhead.

Overall and shuttle

The shuttle ran every 20 minutes during our stay. It was prompt when we left the next day, and it only took a few minutes to get to the airport.

I enjoyed this stay very much, and plan to choose this hotel again the next time I need a hotel near MIA. I thought the sleep quality was excellent, which is one of the most important things to me when I travel.

This Crowne Plaza does not have an executive floor, which is kind of unusual for a Crowne Plaza. I have stayed in Crowne Plaza hotels in vacation/resort areas before that do not have an executive floor; however, since this is an airport hotel, I had expected one. This was not my first stay at this hotel; however, the last time I stayed at this hotel was several years ago, and I did not recall that stay very well. Now that I keep this blog, it helps me too, every time I revisit an area!