We couldn't ask for better....
by A TripAdvisor Member
We couldn't ask for a better vacation. My husband and I just got back from a week long vaca at the Trump Sonesta. We chose the hotel cause the last few reviews were amazing. We had requested an oceanview room, unfortunately when we got there a person at the first desk was only interested in upgrading us to a jr. suite for a minimal charge, I didn't want to go for it - they stuck us with side view. I called and asked to be moved. What great service, we were immediately moved to an oceanfront room which actually made our stay only more enjoyable - Thanks Stephen for your help.
The person who originally checked us in failed to mention the parking charge of $19.56 ($18 plus tax) a day, which I knew from previous reviews - Thanks to all for the warning. He also never mentioned the $15 Service Charge. No biggy I knew that already as well. The room, staff, food, service and views were wonderful although I do have a few minor complaints - If you do not get to the beach before 10:00am on the weekends there are no umbrellas - The Miami Sun was beating on us for a few minutes before I had my husband run down to Wings (surf shop) down the street to buy one - My suggestion, they should have an umbrella for every 2 chairs out on the beach. There were other couples complaining, their resolution was to have 2 cabanas open in order for the guests to take a break. It was alittle ridiculous especially when they charge the $15 a day for the beach / pool amentities. Went to Neomi's Grill for breakfast - if you do buffet watch out for fruit flies, they were everywhere - I suggest ordering from menu, hopefully its safer. Other than that I would definitely go back in a heart beat - Thanks to everyone for the warnings and thanks to the people at the Sonesta for making my vacation a dream come true.
Trump in Sunny Isles is OK, but overpriced
by A TripAdvisor Member
Just returned from a 4 night stay at Trump International in Sunny Isles, Florida during Easter holiday weekend. The positives - 1. great room 2. good pool 3. great beach 4. good service 5. great views. The negatives - 1. overpriced 2. fellow vacationers in this area are exceptionally rude compared to anywhere else in USA 3. you will be in the minority unless you speak Spanish (there is definitely a correlation between 2 & 3) 4. Friday night seafood buffet - a total waste of money 5. Overcrowded - beach and pool (Will only get worse with completion of adjacent new Trump property)I notice other comments about the construction noise. We were on the construction side with our room on about the 20th floor. The noise was neglegible and hardly a reason to avoid this place. However, the overcrowding and the high price are probably two good reasons to consider elsewhere and with the rudeness of vacationers in the Ft. Lauderdale - Miami Beach area, I suggest heading to Naples or Ft. Myers.
Expected better
by A TripAdvisor Member
We just returned from a 4 day stay at this resort over the Easter Holiday. The rooms were very spacious and clean and beds very comfortable, very low on decor though.. My girls loved the heated swimming pool and hot tubs, but on the fourth day there we noticed that the water in the hotubs was very dirty. The bathrooms were spacious, but the water pressure very poor which produced an unsatisfactory shower. There was also could have been more lighting in the rooms. The construction going on next door didn't bother us. Drinks at the pool were extremely overpriced. A pina colada in a small plastic cup cost somewhere in the range of $12 dollars. For the most part staff were friendly, but we found the hotel very unresponsive when we had problems with the refrigerator in our room not working. We noticed it wasn't cooling properly (ice cream bars in the freezer were melted). We asked that it be replaced, but instead, hotel staff tried to defrost it with our food still in it. We called three times over the course of one day about the problem, before we finally called the hotel manager who was very responsive, but by that time, we had to throw out all of the food and had wasted considerable time of our vacation dealing with the problem. The manager agreed to compensate us by removing 2 days worth of the $15 resort fee as well as a $30 dollar bill for drinks that we had purchased by the pool, but when we went to check out the charges had not been removed, and the desk agent refused to remove them and became very rude. There wasn't much we could do because we had to catch a flight and a taxi was waiting for us. We later called the hotel manager when we returned home, who apologized profusely, but I am stilll waiting to see if my credit card is credited for those charges.
I would not return.
rip off
by A TripAdvisor Member
I have decided that the sonesta hotel chain gives one very little for the buck. We stayed there when they claimed to be up and running. Because the pool was not heated, the gym was not finished and there was heavy contruction surrounding us, not to mention not a kid friendly atmosphere at all as they claim. There was no music, pool bar, etc......yes the room was decent but way overpriced! I would never return. The management didnt seem to care at all. They told me to call them "next year". Luckily we didnt and had a wonderful stay elsewhere.
Worst customer service I've ever experienced
by A TripAdvisor Member
Got back today, after a 6-day stay (5/03/04-05/08/04). This is by no means a 4-star hotel.
The general layout of the hotel is very confusing, there are no clear signs how to go where you need to go. Workmanship is poor also, crooked wallpaper, plaster on the shower floor, etc. The lobby is nicely decorated, but the rooms are simple and not very comfortable. They look like any Western, certainly not worth $300/night (no decorations, cheap furniture). The bathrooms are nice and the deluxe has a kitchinette with a decent-size fridge where you can store your own food and drinks.
Expect to "set up credit" with them when you arrive ($160/day, which is pretty steep). A 20% gratuity (plus tax) is automatically added to EVERYTHING from the spa services to the $5 bottle of water in the minibar.
There's construction going on on both sides of the hotel; they're tolerable but loud, they woke me up every morning (and I'm used to noise, living in NYC).
The receptionists are condescending and inattentive. They did not follow-up on anything. For instance, I asked that they hold the paper in the morning (they leve the NY Times on your door knob); they still delivered it every day. I would leave it outside the door so the housekeeper would throw it out, and she would bring it in everyday and lay it out for me.
Housekeeping, btw, took the cake. They made my bed only on the first day, after that they just changed the sheets. The decorative pillows and bed cover would be left in the most bizzarre places: behind the bed, on the floor by the door, on top of the entertainment center. They would rearrange my things in the bathroom, from the left side of the sink to the right and one day, they laid out a towel on the vanity (!) and spread out all of my toiletries on top of it, which I have never seen anywhere in this world. (Speaking of which, bring your own shampoo and conditioner, esp if you have long hair). Housekeeping comes at least twice a day, but I'm not sure what they do the second time; other than moving stuff around, I couldn't tell a diference. The best part was when they busted in on me (4 times in one week!!) while my "Privacy Please" sign was on the door. They knocked anyway, then used their kees to come in!! Around 7-8pm, 2 more rounds: one guy to ask if you want anything replenished in the minibar, and another housekeeper to "give you a chocholate for the pillow". They're blatantly begging for tips, so by the second day I just had the privacy sign on the door all the time (unclear whether that means anything in this hotel, as mentioned above).
The pool is very pretty, I imagine it would be a hit with kids. It's quite large, but I didn't use it so I can't tell you much about it. The beach is also nice and the water is clean and a beautiful green. It's very windy, which can be good or bad, depending on what you want.
They have lounge chairs, umbrellas and tables that they can set up for you right on the beach. There are always at least two guys on the beach to assist you and drag your chair from one place to another. However, you must have the "official" yellow beach towel for them to even look at you. I had brough my own towel so I got no service at all (the towels are free, so it makes no sense). They were rude and indiferent, sometimes they'd be chatting together while guests were waiting to be seated. Around lunch time, they bring you service flags (but only to big parties); you can order drinks and lunch right on the beach, which is nice but expensive: $3/coke, 40c a cup of ice!, 10-40 bucks a meal.
There's a shopping mall accross the street (KFC, Burger King, delis, 2 restaurants) and a supermarket, Publix, a block away, that is very well stocked. You can buy enough microwavable stuff to keep in the fridge in your room, fruit, drinks, etc. I certainly did and I made my own breakfast every morning.
The best thing about the hotel is the spa. They're pleasant and the spa looks clean and serene. I had the deep European facial, which I highly recommend, a Swedish massage (just ok), and a brow wax (decent but $35, gratuity included). You can use the sauna, etc.
The Bonlie salon was just as bad as the rest of the hotel, while I was there they had no other customers and a housekeeper cleaned and mopped the whole time. I had a mani/pedi (the pedi was good), but they didn't take any direction so they did whatever they wanted in the end which I didn't like. Also, they only have about 10 colors and they're all red or ivory.
Overall, it's very expensive for the poor customer service and quality of services. This may be a good place for someone who doesn't travel much or people with kids who want to be left alone, if you can afford it. Otherwise, really not worth it, it's a complete waste of money and too aggravating for a vacation.
There's a place called Ocean Strand or something right next door and it looked decent: same beach, nice pool, informal. Maybe worth checking out.
Hope this helps.
Beep Beep, who's got the keys to the...Explorer?
by A TripAdvisor Member
Ok, so I've read the scary reviews...and they are true! #1 Problem (not symptom) seems to be that this is a NEW hotel and there are simply a lot of bugs to be worked out. What's our beef? Well they lost the keys to our rented Ford Explorer, oh and the A/C went out on our final night, oh and the Concierge seems to know nothing about Miami, oh and the staff is generally AWC (arrogant without cause).
There is a saying "never out-dance your hot date" kinda makes her feel like you don't care about her feelings. Hotel staff should learn this saying because, despite the name on the hotel, my guess is that the majority of guests here do not have the financial capacity of say "The Donald", better hair maybe, but not the $$. But I digress.
Suffice it to say that we went for a stress free vacation to hide from worry and stress and yet that is mostly what we found.
We were compensated for our troubles however and in a most professional manner, but that just doesn't erase the stress. And as I told the hotel manager, "We didn't come here to make money or to feel like we got a good deal, we just wanted to relax.
Oh yes, and if you get an ocean front room don't plan to hear the ocean during the week due to construction noise, the weekend is fine, but the weekdays are not good until around 4:45pm. Good Luck!
Loved every minute
by A TripAdvisor Member
Best friend and I spent five days at the Trump and it was the best five days in years! I can't believe people who wrote the bad reviews were staying in the same place. The only mess up we had was that the room they gave us was not ready, but it turned out to be a blessing because they upgraded us to a one bedroom suite!! Every single one of the staff was attentive and friendly. The spa service was incredible (had 2 massages and a manicure). The walls are soundproofed (the staff confirmed this) and we did not hear any of the construction nor did it bother us during the day. I know some people complain that gratuity is included in almost all the services, but we liked that because it made it easier. Great Place!!
Incredible experience, perfect.
by TripAdvisor Member Walshster
After reading all the reviews, and after staying at the hotel, there is only one conclusion: People with a negative experience are far more likely to post a review than those with a positive experience. This place was awesome in every regard. The rooms were perfect, the pool was great, and the beach can not be beat. The staff was exceptional. Our kids (4 & 7) enjoyed every minute of the trip. Drinks, meals, etc. are expensive - but we knew that going in. Worth every penny - you must go experience it for yourself.
Thanks Trump!
perfect!
by TripAdvisor Member Marcelitten
We spent a month (june 2004) in a 1 bedroom suite and we had the best time we had in Miami ever.
Room was inmaculate, valet parking was the fastest we ever had in miami hotels ( we stayed in good hotels liks JW Marriot and so).
The living area has glass walls so you feel you are suspended on air . You only see ocean and sky.
We couldn hear any noise as other reviews say. The windows are so strong you can hear anything at all.
our room was ocean view, facing the directly the ocean so, the construction on the north didnt bother us at all.
Plenty of towers in the pool and beach. Great service at the beach.
the pool couldnt be better. Its, true, the pool water falls are noisy but its suppose to be a waterfall so you cant expect anything different.
I expected less than what I got. So I m really happy and I plan to stay at this 1 bedroom ssuite every single trip to Miami.
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