More about Circa 39
Circa 39 Hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
The Circa 39 is a newly renovated hotel on 39th and Collins Ave. While its a little out of the SoBe buzz its still a very nice hotel. My girlfriend and I stayed there from the 7th-14th of Sept. '04 and were quite impressed.
The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The hotel was very clean and well maintained. Our room was plenty big for us with a huge king size bed, approx 25 inch tv, iron, ice bucket, retro deco seats, and plenty of closet space. The bathroom was also nicely appointed.
The pool was good for cooling off after a jog on the boardwalk (100 yards away) and the whole atmosphere of the place was quite chilled.
We only had 2 gripes, the location (23 blocks from Lincoln Road and more from Ocean Drive) and the price of the cocktails at the bar(gorgeous BLUEBERRY dacquiri's but not cheap).
You can get pretty frequent buses right around the corner that will take you down to Lincoln in about 10 minutes but then again you dont go on holidays to wait for buses do you? Also, the early stages of construction work was going on across the street while we were there. It wasn't noisy at the time but it can only get worse.
Overall, we would certainly recommend this hotel if you're not bothered by being a bus/taxi ride from the action and you want a decent nights sleep
Circa 39 was OK, but not four star...
by A TripAdvisor Member
Recently stayed at Circa 39 for four nights in November. Overall, this was a clean and comfortable hotel with some nice details to make it appear a bit more "hip" to fit in with the SoBe vibe further down south. We were provided a room with one queen-size bed--apparently all the king-size bed rooms were booked or under renovation.
PROS:
1. Our room was clean and the bed was comfortable. Pillows and the comforter had down fill providing a nice place to sleep.
2. The front desk staff was very friendly and helpful.
3. The lobby area is very modern and trendy. Techno/house music piped in adds to that Miami vibe.
4. The pool area has comfortable cots and cabanas to lounge around on.
5. The hotel is only a block away from the beach.
6. Taxis regularly drive up Collins Ave and are fairly easy to hail down. The front desk is more than willing to call you a cab if there isn't one already around.
7. Public buses to South Beach are a block behind the hotel. I'm not sure I enjoyed riding them, though. The drivers seem to go relatively fast and an abrupt stop left an elderly woman on the floor on one of our rides. Kind of scary at times...
CONS:
1. The hotel is advertised as the equivalent of a four star hotel according to the brochure provided by the Kerry Hotels group who owns Circa 39. Our room, however, was pretty sparse to really live up to that designation. The room itself is pretty small, although I have heard that most rooms in Miami Beach and South Beach are not any bigger. The bathroom was cramped and the shower had just enough water pressure to rinse the shampoo out of my hair, but certainly not enough to be considered luxurious. The room is decked out in a white, mininamlist decor and they provide Aveda bath products, but that really doesn't justify a four star designation. Granted, I was in a single room--maybe the suites are nicer. Also, in fairness, we paid a pretty decent price for what we got. It's advertised as four star, but we definitely did not pay that much.
2. Our room was on the first floor and was pretty noisy in the morning. Our window was ajacent to a walkway between our hotel and the hotel next door where the laundry carts were loaded. The window provided hardly any soundproofing. At night, we could hear conversations going on at the outdoor area next door and in the morning, lots of comotion from workers loading carts and pushing them back and forth on the concrete. The hotel interior door wasn't much better and we were regularly awakened in the morning by the bickering maid staff. I'm still waiting for the "waves lulling me to sleep."
3. Circa 39 is about 20 blocks away from the SoBe area which is not a practical distance to walk. And there really isn't anything around the hotel as far as restaurants or shopping. This could be a plus if you want a place you can escape to each day from the SoBe party scene if they could just figure out a way to soundproof the rooms better.
4. Valet parking only for $16/day. Again, this is not a four star caliber hotel so the valet service seems a bit out of place to me.
Despite my list of cons, I would consider staying here again if I could get a discounted rate. I'm not sure that the problems I had with this hotel are any different than similarly priced places in South Beach.
Great Boutique Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member VisionTvl
Circa 39 is a great little boutique hotel. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. For the people saying the valet/drinks/rates are too pricey, what do you expect for a nice clean hotel in Miami Beach? The valet is $16.00/day with unlimited in/outs 24 hours day, not bad! Where else are you going to get a 1 bedroom suite in Miami Beach that is as clean and roomy for $100 bucks a night? We were there Sep 24 for one night as we had to evac due to Hurricane Jeanne, darn her! During the whole time, the staff kept all guests very aware of the situation and assisted with the evac. We were a party of 6 with two suites. We all vowed to return to the Circa 39 when weather is better for a great time. It is just a a short drive to South Beach, yet out of the craziness that is South Beach. I have been to Miami several times and stayed at several hotels. If you like the smaller boutique hotels, give Circa 39 a try! If you are stuck on full service/full amenity hotels, you may not be at home here.
Say hi to Phil and Renee
by A TripAdvisor Member
I'm definitely coming back to this hotel! The food, the service, and the staff were all excellent...I felt right at home. The rooms were quite small but clean, cozy and very charming. I definitely recommend Circa 39. Phil, we can use a bartender like you back here in Chicago! BTW, this hotel has THE BEST sheets and comforter I have ever had when traveling.
Pleasant
by A TripAdvisor Member
My boyfriend and I were visiting Florida for the first time and wanted to check out South Beach. He reviewed the website and was impressed with the picture of the rooms. Thus we choose Circa 39. the hotel staff was overly friendly and accomodating, which really put us at ease. They were able to provide directions to all of the locations that we wanted to attend. The downside was the size of the rooms and the housekeeping. After housekeeping had attended our rooms, we would find little black feathers in both bathrooms and on the bed linens. Noise from the bar was also a problem. I dont know if we were placed directly over the bar, but the noise definitely was a few decibels too high. The pool was definitely nice. The rugs definitely need to be changed. If we visit South Beach again, I would probably stay at the hotel, only if it was drastically reduced in price.
clean and comfortable
by A TripAdvisor Member
Wife and I stayed in the Circa 39 for a week over Christmas 04. Paid $87 per night thru Expedia.
Bottomline: The guest room was very clean and very comfortable. The biggest feature was a very comfy King bed. Wife appreciated the nice "aveda" soaps. Housekeeping did an excellent job. Room was decorated in a white theme with light blue trim ( and tan carpet), giving it an airy feel. It also featured a new Sharp TV (oddly angled on side wall), High Art magazines, and a CD player. Individual temp control and safe also included.
Lobby was cool and fit with the hip image of the hotel (where else will you see an appropriately labelled "ugly red elevator"?). Lobby does tend to play loud music, but we delt with that (as well as noise from other rooms) by switching on the room fan while we slept.
Biggest demerits: no restaurant or deli. Should consider including breakfast. Had difficulty finding any nearby restaurants.
Minor demerits: Smallish bathroom with little shelf space , placement of TV.
Good deal for the price..
by TripAdvisor Member nyamse
I stayed here for 3 nights starting November 19th with 3 of my friends. We had two rooms between us so two of us had a suite with double beds and the other two had a regular room with twin beds. The rooms though small, were clean and the down comforters were a big plus as were the Aveda bath products. The front desk staff were very helpful (especially the day staff); they held our luggage because we arrived before check-in and did the same on the last day after check-out so we could get one last hour of sun.
The bathtub was slightly clogged on the first night but it got fixed promptly the next day. I spotted one or two fruit-flies but nothing major otherwise. Pool is small but cute as is the in-house bar. They have a small deli but no restaurant so if you want to eat down on South Beach (Ocean Drive or Lincoln Road) you'd have to walk about 20 to 30 blocks or take the bus or a cab..we did all three without any trouble..the bus was $1.25 each way, cab ride was on average $8 to $10..we walked along the beach and that was nice and easy. Cabs were very easy to get on Collins Ave.
Overall, our stay at the New Circa 39 was pleasant and I would stay there again if I couldn't find anything cheaper closer to South Beach.
cheesy glitz...
by A TripAdvisor Member
Sure, the ambience of the lobby was somewhat intriguing (at first) and the staff was friendly - but all I have to say is this: TWIN BEDS!!! Yes, there are existing hotels that actually utilize these atrocious things!!! I booked a double (verified on receipt) but upon arrival to our room (gasp!!) and complaint to the front desk (who was very dismissive and offered up a mere, "sorry, hon!!") my boyfriend and I were stuck sleeping across the room from one another. Beach actually 1-2 blks. away (no view from hotel), valet somewhat pricey. If you want nearby attractions/restaurants/nicer beaches, stay in South Beach. I gather all of that restoration money went into the speakers blasting house music in the lobby and onto the street.
design hotel at af good price
by TripAdvisor Member sinoks
stayed at the 39 for 2 night end october (2 adults 1 3 yr old). We had a 2 bedroom suite overlooking the pool, great!! lots of space, great modern design, a massive flatscreen in the room, just great. bed in main bedroom is fantastic, the sofa bed (hidden in a very nice white leather couch) is ok. Service is friendly, and not intrusive. Location is ok, need a car or cab to get to South Beach where all the glitz is. quite noisy though, Collins a is a very busy road, and internal isolation is not super. Valet parking works very well (at a price). We would certainly stay here again!!
Tha bomb spot!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Loved it here staff was great they felt like family nice quaint place beach is just across the street rooms are small but didn't spens alot of time in room clean quiet rooms
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