Essex House by Clevelander

"My husband and I made reservations at the Clevelander, but when we arrived to check in we were told that our reservation was at Essex House. My husband assumed this was because we had asked for a room with a fridge. The fridge in our room did not work, nor did the coffee machine. The Essex House does not have a pool, though you can go next door and use the one at the Clevelander. The drink vouchers are for a tiny frozen drink and make sure you present them before you order. Ultimately we were glad that we ended up at Essex House because it was quieter and the courtyard is lovely. It's also in a good location on Collins Ave, which is just one street over from Ocean Drive/the beach and is less noisy. The free breakfast is just a cup of coffee and a croissant, neither were very good. The area where you can use the beach chairs is a five-block walk from the hotel. This didn't really bother us but it might bother some people. Our TV went out on the next to last day and was not restored by the time we checked out, but they were kind enough to comp us two days on the resort fee. Water pressure in the shower was terrible and the toilet ran if you didn't jiggle the handle. Also weird foot locks on the bathroom doors and no dresser for clothes, just a few hangers."

"Terrible property all around other than location. The pictures are misleading. The hotel is very rundown and really dirty. It's obvious this boutique hotel does not care about your experience or they would take the time to clean the place up. Sheets were dirty on the bed, floor was sticky in the room had to keep our shoes on, bathroom has no fan so everything is either rusting or has mold. We originally had booked 2 nights but ended up leaving after the first night because of how disgusted we were with the property. I've never taken the time to write a review for anything but felt like I had to for the Essex, would rate lower than a 1 star if possible"

"First of all I loved your hotel its beautiful and the gentleman that checked me in was very kind. My room was not ready for a second time so he offered me a food voucher and waived the resort fee. I loved the room but I had no hot water at all. I talked to the lady at the front desk and she said someone would check. When I returned she said you do have hott water and so I tried to shower again and let it run....no hot water. Also not in the sink. The housekeeper told me that happens a lot on that room. I expressed my concern to the same lady and she said you DO have hot water and I said no. This was when I was already checking out. I didn't ever get to shower during my stay. I also asked about the beach chairs and she just told me to go to 15th and Ocean. So I did and there were 4 different vendors. I gave up. I come to South Beach a lot and I would.love to stay there again. But I was a little disappointed with the hot water and the service from the lady. Thanks for hearing me out"

"The room was a basic boutique room in Miami. It was quiet and overall a great stay. Disappointed there wasn’t a pool, and at check-in there wasn’t any staff. I must also say, I appreciate a real door on the bathroom, but the shower was weird. No shelf or place to set anything you need while in the shower."

"The location is great! And that's about it. The hallway carpets are worn and could use a deep cleaning or replacement. The particular room I stayed in needed the door fixed. It didn't deadbolt lock. The bathroom doorknob was installed backwards so you couldn't just push the door shut without turning the knob. The bathroom toilet dripped constantly and at night would be all you heard in the room. The shower pressure could use some improvement. The housekeeping staff only turned down our room just one time my entire stay. We had to constantly ask for new towels for the room every day. So many small annoying things at this property lead to my rating. I don't know how they have 4 stars. The only good thing that happened was the front desk staff was very friendly, especially Simon. He made efforts to make the stay better."