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The Hotel Breakwater, is a fun, bustling and entertaining historic Art Deco hotel located in the heart of South Beach's famous Ocean Drive. The hotel is a non-stop, active and in the center of everything that is South Beach. You'll find yourself within walking distance of a wide variety of outdoor cafes serving every style of cuisine imaginable, art galleries, night clubs, the famous Beach.
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Hotel Breakwater South Beach offers a vibrant stay with its Art Deco style and live Cuban music, though it's not without its drawbacks, as some guests have called out billing issues and noise disturbances. While the hotel's prime location near South Beach attractions is a highlight for many, and its rooms are often praised for their spaciousness and modern amenities, issues with cleanliness and service have been noted.
Amenities like beach chairs and local discounts are popular, yet mixed experiences with noise levels and staff responsiveness suggest room for improvement.
Location
Central
Atmosphere
Lively
Rooms
Spacious
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Noise level
Mixed
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Satisfactory
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Excellent hotel with a unique location. Spacious and comfortable rooms, super clean and very well equipped with coffee maker, capsules, mineral water and dishes. They provide you with restrooms that when you go to the beach sum xq rent restrooms or umbrella, indispensable, around 20 dollars. And if this was not enough, the friendly, pleasant and respectful treatment of all the staff is worth noting. Special mention for Lily, a charming person attentive and always willing to attend to our needs! Highly recommended.
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Date of stay: October 2024
Value
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We booked the hotel for its location on Miami Beach as well as the range of amenities, we were a little unsure of the location due to comments about noise and loud music, but we very quick realised we’d made a great decision to stay at the Breakwater.
We booked direct on the hotel website and had requested a room on a higher floor with a beachfront view, the room was great. The hotel overall is slightly dated, but its art deco so expected. The hotel and rooms were spotlessly clean, super comfortable; nothing was too much trouble for the staff.
Our room was cleaned daily, with clean towels and bathroom products replenished, extra elements like water and coffee were great for us, we had a fridge in the room, just outside our room the ice machine was a great addition, and in 95 degree heat it was much needed too.
We took advantage of the loan of the beach chairs and towels and spent time on Miami Beach, as well as using the small pool at the hotel. The only downside for me was the generator noise when using the pool, but we were also able to use the pool at the sister hotel victor which was very much appreciated. We were also able to access the gym at the victor too!
Booking direct with the hotel meant we benefited from breakfast, this was via a voucher at the News Cafe just a short walk from the breakwater, and was a fab way to start our day, Miami is expensive to eat and drink out, so booking direct to benefit from breakfast a good decision. We didn’t eat at the hotel restaurant so can’t comment, but it looked good!
We booked a bus and boat trip with the help of Lili at reception who along with her colleagues is a credit to the hotel, she was super friendly, very professional, every question or request was met with a helpful can do attitude, huge thanks to Lili and the Breakwater team, we’d recommend the hotel for sure!
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Date of stay: September 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Book direct for the breakfast benefit; daily breakfast is in the region of $60 in south beach so...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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The hotel is in an ideal spot for wandering around South Beach and Ocean Drive. Also about a million restaurants within walking distance. The beach area directly across from the hotel had a lot of construction going on when we were there in December, but the rest of the beach areas looked pretty clear. Parking was valet and $50 per night.
Our room had a king bed and a small balcony. The only odd thing about the room was that, aside from the chair at the desk, there were no other chairs or couches. Your only real seating option was the bed. The room was massive, but with the 2 sliders leading out to the balcony, there was no real wallspace to put anything else.
There is a nightclub next door and even tho we were there on a Tuesday night, the music did not stop until after 2am. Our room was overlooking a courtyard with a minimal view of the ocean so maybe being in a different part of the hotel would shield you from the noise. You can get a breakfast voucher the next morning BUT the restaurant that serves the breakfast is 2 blocks away and you can only order off a very limited menu,
For the price and location, we would consider staying there again but would ask about the noise situation before booking a room.
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Date of stay: December 2023
Value
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Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
First of all: Overall the absolute horror regarding the cleanliness and humidity/mold of the rooms. The only plus: The staff at the reception are really enchanting! Very friendly and they do everything to make the guest well. They take very kind time with questions or problems. But the cleanliness of the rooms is underground. (I had 3 different ones). I have been to various countries and really many hotels, but I have not experienced anything like this. I cleaned the room for several hours after my arrival. The cleaning cloths used for this were black afterwards! I asked the housekeeper to mop the floor for two consecutive days, because I can't get it properly clean with cleaning cloths alone. That was not done. I asked for slippers, which in my experience are often found in a 4 star hotel. It was pretended at first that they didn't know what I meant (they were standing there in threes) and the male employee then said "no" and then asked me WHY I was asking for such a thing and not exactly friendly. The cushions have yellow, brown and red spots. This is just disgusting. There's a shoe print on the duvet. The curtains are mouldy. Room smells altogether of mold. My guess is that this will simply be painted white, but of course I cannot say for sure. I'm not complaining about the volume, that should be clear to everyone who books a hotel on Ocean drive! Conclusion: Hotel room massively dirty. Staff at the reception magical:-) And the bike rental and beach chair rental is great! Addendum: after I wash my laundry, it still smells like the mold smell of the hotel. After renovation and basic cleaning gladly again, otherwise never!
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Date of stay: November 2024
Value
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Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Â Solange nicht saniert, anderes Hotel buchen!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The room was very comfortable, with very good equipment, including a Lavazza coffee maker with 4 coffees every day, always two 1/2 liter bottles of mineral water. The bathroom was impeccable and modern. Excellent location and the attention of Lili and Thai, unsurpassed, always providing warmth to any query.
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Date of stay: November 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hotel is very good, the staff friendly and helpful, the room magnificent and spacious, we were on the 4th with partial sea view with balcony. But the hotel is surrounded by bars that play nightclub music all day long, from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. The hotel is rather well soundproofed, but in the long run after 8 days it is painful. Breakfast is taken at the bar on the ground floor of the hotel, but the downside hurts: the bar normally opens at 8 a.m., which is late but never on time! Sometimes 15 minutes late, the boss doesn't care, the staff is not friendly or even hello in the morning; the breakfast is plentiful but always the same thing every day and no pastries. In the end, we took a room with breakfast included but when we go on an excursion in the morning, the boss refuses to give you a snack before 8 a.m. Fortunately the front desk staff were understanding and gave us some fruit. Finally, on the day of departure, we were able to use the swimming pool and change before taking the taxi in the evening at 7 p.m., the front desk staff and the baggage manager are really great.
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Excellent property in the center of Miami Beach nightlife on Ocean Drive. Nice and clean room, comfortable bathroom with shower. Among the services included there is free wifi, two bottles of water every day and an espresso coffee machine with Lavazza pods. Breakfast at the bar is American with both sweet and savory choices. The possibility of having beach towels and deck chairs to use on the beach which is just a few meters in front of the hotel is excellent. Very kind staff. The swimming pool accessible to all is very small but still convenient for cooling off from the heat of Miami Beach. Unfortunately Ocean's Drive is very noisy at night with loud music until well after midnight. The rooms are soundproofed but the music can still be heard well.
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Date of stay: April 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reception and breakfast left a lot to be desired, there was no good will and attention towards Brazilians in general. We won't go back there and we also don't recommend it to Brazilians. The cleaning in the room was also very poor, bed linen and towels were not changed There is no sound insulation in the rooms
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We enjoyed a very pleasant stay. I must say I was a bit worried how things would go due to some of the negative reviews here, but I found they were either incorrect or way overblown.
Before I get into that, let me first say that this hotel has the ideal location at the heart of South Beach- no hotel is better located if you want to be in South Beach. The Breakwater is one of the many old art deco buildings that give Miami Beach its distinctive architectural identity and is featured on some postcards of South Beach and Ocean Drive.
We stayed from a Sunday to a Wednesday in late January, 2024 and really enjoyed our stay at this hotel. The negative comments I read here about it being noisy at night, the bed uncomfortable, the room dirty, and the staff rude were entirely unfounded in our experience. Our room was next to a popular party spot across the street (The Clevelander) but our room had two sets of windows and we didn't hear any noise during our stay. None at all. Moreover, our bed was comfortable (it is a soft mattress) and clean, as was the room, and was cleaned daily. The bathroom was updated and modern with plenty of space, as was our room. We found the staff to be helpful and polite, and not rude, if not overly friendly either.
The breakfast included is a buffet with OJ, coffee, cold meats, scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, potatoes, cereal, bread/toast/bagels and was good, if not exceptional. The Cuban restaurant has a great atmosphere and decor, including a small courtyard in back, although we missed the show, which is performed on Thursday-Saturday nights.
The one negative comment that is true is that room access is via an elevator located in the corner of the Mamma Mia ice cream shop around the corner. I wouldn't say this was a big inconvenience by any means, but a quirk of a hotel in an old art deco building that has seen changes over the years.
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Date of stay: January 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The location is on Ocean Ave, and the entrance is behind cones, which looked like driving beyond them was not allowed. Due to this I parked in the alley instead. Check-in was fine, the "resort fee" was additional once arriving. The 3rd party app I used while traveling allowed me to pay in advance, so it seems misleading, but I do remember that the 3rd party app had something of the sort in the fine print, but swiping a transaction takes more time, and since it was late and i had been driving since key west, a speedy check in and clean quiet room were all i really wanted. I chose the breakwater because it had an updated room photo that looked serene. I was charged the resort fee, and then authorized $100 as well, for incidentals.
I think what maybe the case, is the 3rd party app provide a "deal price", and the resort fee maybe the gap in sale price vs regular price? It should just be baked in the overall cost, and having to pay additional money after believing that payment is or could be complete is off-putting. Not sure who's responsibility that is. The site or the Breakwater. Parking is on 13th and Collins, so you will need to drop large luggage at the door, or plan to roll it 3 blocks.
I get up to the room, 209 I believe it was, and the room looks great on the surface, but as I am in their for each minute longer, I start to notice lack of attention to detailed remodeling with cracks in the marble floor and what sounds like tile under the carpet being loose as i walk across the carpeted floor. The bed as well was not a King but 2 twins pushed together, so that there is a long crack/gap to roll into in the middle of the night. The site stated minibar, the fridge was cracked open slightly and not even cold. The window view was of the building next door and not anything special.
I woke around 8am, and had a scheduled zoom meeting at 11am, so had called down to the desk to extend check out to noon, and Elsa/Kai answered the phone and was very polite and gracious with the extension. This may be a little to revealing but as I checked out she handed me a card with the review request and said "I need your help", this is a great way to get a wonderful glowing review. Most people have a hard time saying no or being honest when it's proposed this way. All in all I checked out at about 11:30am and hit the road. I was going to spend some time on Ocean Ave and the beach, but it was raining pretty hard so I left instead.
Overall the staff was helpful, polite, and accommodating. The lowered score is more for the misleading fee, and the uninspiring "updated" room. It wasn't anything special, and I was not there for the nightlife, which looked great!
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Date of stay: January 2022
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
New York City, New York1 contribution1 helpful vote
Beach chairs are free 2 bottles of water free also and you get discounts if you eat at certain restaurants. There is a resort fee(most hotels on South Beach charge a resort fee). I don’t remember exactly how much but I believe it was around $20 a night tax included
There are more places to choose from in the Miami Beach area.
PRICE RANGE
C$279 - C$407 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United StatesFloridaMiami Beach
NUMBER OF ROOMS
99
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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Are there any historical sites close to Hotel Breakwater South Beach?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum (7.2 km), Freedom Tower (5.8 km), and The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater (1.4 km).
