We had a pretty good flight from PLS to MIA, got our bags and called an UberXL for our family of 4. 30 minutes and $50 later, we are pulling up to The Confidante in Miami Beach.
I knew this was going to be a hard transition coming from a Beaches Resort to this Hotel. At first I wasn’t impressed, but by the end I was.
My wife and I each had a free anniversary night from old Hyatt Credit cards. We originally signed up for these cards because they came with 2 free nights each after meeting min spend. We used those initial nights at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome. These anniversary certificates (cat 1-4 only) were due to expire on August 11th. We originally planned on using them at the Hyatt in Costa Rica, but we stayed longer in Panama after we realized we may not be able to travel from Peru and Ecuador to Costa Rica without a Yellow Fever shot. It was great to be able to use these for 2 nights before they expired in Miami Beach. The rates for weekends can be over $400, but weekday rates can be found for around $200. The great thing about an award stay, is we did not get charged the $30 resort fee.
When we pulled up, there was no bellman to help us with our luggage. While I dontn normally need a bellman, i was actually wanting one to help us with all our bags. It was about 3pm and the front desk clerk gave us the good news that our room was ready.
We took our 5 bags up to our room on the 5th floor to a very basic hotel room.
The hotel is very green friendly. While most hotels have the sign that say hanging towels wont be replaced, The Confidante says your towels will only be replaced every 2 days unless you call the front desk.
Shower was pretty small and had a weird knob that always seemed to have scolding hot water.
When we got up to our room it was like 77 degrees in there, so I set it down to about 72. When we returned from a day at the pool and beach at like 8pm, it was now 78 degrees. I called the front desk and they said oh, they can override the system and will set it down to 72 for us. (it’s a WIFI enabled thermostat) Well now its 9 o clock and its still 78 degrees and time for bed so I call again. They send up a technician up around 1030. He eventually gets it fixed and says we can probably switch rooms if we want to as it might be an hour before it gets cooled. He shows me the air temperature coming out of the blower is about 68 degrees so I know it will eventually get colder. If it wasn’t already close to 11pm, I would have asked to switch to an upgraded room. Out kids were in bed and we were already unpacked so I didn’t bother.
Pool area is between the hotel and the beach. Its energetic with summertime music playing and lots of big inflatables provided by the hotel. There is an adults area to the right and family area to the left. You walk up to a little hut and an attendant will get you towels and find a lounge chair for ya. At the pool we were always able to find what seemed like the last 2 chairs there each time we went. There is a happy hour is from 4-6, which meant half priced drinks. (Bud Light $2.50 and Rum Punch $7.50.) Some of the attendants were great always checking in and seeing if we needed anything, and some while friendly forgot our drink order multiple times.
We also ended up eating dinner here one night and grabbed a table in their backyard section where they have Jenga, Ping Pool, and just hanging out spots. The food was pretty good, and the honey blue cheese guacamole was just amazing.
The beach was a very nice for Miami Beach, but was hard to adapt after being in Turks and Caicos. There was a lot of sea weed. It was very easy to get to the beach from the hotel. Just walk through the pool area, out a keyed entry gate (which they also had manned to help people in and out during daytime hours), down the boardwalk about 50 feet and you were at the beach where The Confidante has a few huts for beach items. They provide towels down at the beach and you get 2 chairs as well. However an umbrella is $19 per day. It was about 90 degrees so we definitely needed an umbrella. They also have cornhole setup on the beach, as well as sandcastle buckets for kids to use.
We did not eat breakfast here as there is a nice little French bakery, as well as a Dunkin Donuts about 3 blocks down 41st street. There is also a Walgreens just down 41st. There is a liquor store right next door, as well as a market right across the street. (this market was closed for remodeling during our stay though)
They also provide earplugs in all rooms in case the street noise gets too loud. We did not hear any noise form our side room, and it was actually pretty quiet.
There is also a trolley with a stop right in front of the hotel that will take you to North Beach, or South Beach for free. (separate lines)
At checkout, we were able to store our bags for a few hours while we went down to South Beach before our late flight home. When we came back to pick up our bags the bellman was very friendly and handed us water and helped us with our bags into our Uber.
Overall we had a great stay here. The hotel provides fun for adults and kids. I would stay here again and just make sure the air works as soon as I get in the room.
TrupTravels 