National Hotel

The National Hotel also by Roy...

by AndreasK

The National Hotel also by Roy F. France, it was one of the grandest luxury hotels on Miami Beach when it opened in 1940; famous for its 205-foot 'infinity' pool: Condé Nast Traveler calls the unique pool the 'stretch limo of hotel pools in a garden of perfect symmetry.' And Style magazine selected the National as one of the 'Ten Most Romantic' hotels in America. Celebreties like Harrison Ford, Ricky Martin and Whitney Houston are among its guests.

Perfect

by A TripAdvisor Member

I just got back from a fabulous vacation to Miami Beach were we stayed at the National Hotel. The hotel location couldn't be better! 2 minute walk to Lincoln Rd shopping and restaurants. The hotel has private beach property in which you can use their lounge chairs and clean beach. Beware that if your hotel does not have a private beach, the public beaches were not as pristine and clean! The "back yard" pools were clean warm and very enjoyable. The back bar was a treat but a bit pricey. The landscaping was perfect including palm tree that lined the pools. This is a beautiful hotel! The rooms were very nicely decorated, small but overall a good size. I loved staying at this hotel and would / will stay here again in a heartbeat!

Fantastic Hotel

by A TripAdvisor Member

I thought this hotel was fantastic. The service was amazing and they think of the little things such as Pear Juice in the lobby on the day we arrived! Make sure to book in for a Friday night as they have a 2 for 1 cocktail hours (on all drinks) between 5.30 and 8pm only on Fridays and they also serve complimentary canopes such as stuffed Oysters! Very tasty and lots of them.
Rooms were fairly spacious and I would recommend paying a bit extra for an Ocean view as it is magnificent. Room service was brilliant and very prompt.
The pool is so relaxing and they have fantastic pool beds for the water. They also have lovely lounging areas in the shade and 2 hammocks which are great chill out areas.
Iced water is also available free of charge but be warned, Miami is the most expensive city (a Coke will cost you about 6 dollars in the National). This is because they charge 18% tip on everything and then ask for more to be added! However this is standard in South Beach. A good idea is to stack up on your drinks in the store across the road and then get your ice from the pool .. this will save you a lot especially as it is so hot in SOBE. The food in the hotel is top class from breakfast to lunch.
We stayed in the Royal Crowne Plaza also and I thought the atmosphere in the National was much better, more friendly.
The National is also right in the centre of things and right next door to the Delano which is a MUST to go for a cocktail...the coolest bar ever especially the pool area.
Also make sure to ask the Concierge for passes to the top clubs...Nikkis on Sunday, Prive @ Opium Gardens and so on.
Re; noise had no problem never heard neighbours. While the National charges a daily service fee per room (think it was about 11 dollars per room), I wouldn't complain as this includes NY Times, your sunbed and lovely towels for the pool/beach and ice/iced water...good value and less hassle than paying for a sunbed every day.
Yes we spent a fortune but worth every penny! A truly amazing hotel.

Great pool, Friendly Staff especially the concierge

by A TripAdvisor Member

A friend and I went on a nice little vacation for 5 days 4 nights, we had a wonderful time, the staff was very friendlly as soon as we walked in the front door. I don't think we ever opened the door for ourselves during the entire trip, there was always someone there to open it for you. They had freshly squeezed lemonade as soon as we checked in. We booked our trip through Orbitz and we had no problems changing the king size bed to two double beds, which were very comfortable I might add. The concierge, Elise, was really, really nice. She gave us passes to every happening club in the area and she always made our dinner reservations for us. Again, Elise was really nice and her friendly,helpful attitude alone would be enough for me to stay at the National again. The pool was fantastic and very relaxing, they always had ice cold water, if you needed a little refreshment. The entire pool area was very relaxing, they provided pool floats and they had relaxing hamocks as well as other beach beds.

Service is key!

by TripAdvisor Member KR50538

I just returned from a long weekend trip down to SoBe for the 4th of July weekend holiday...When I arrived late Friday afternoon, Ivette at the front desk initially told me they had me arriving on the 4th not the 2nd, but not to worry, she had fixed that and because of their mistake, as I had breakfast buffet as part of my package, She would have it delivered to my room Saturday morning, even though I was not inconvenienced by the error on their part regarding the reservation. Well things only got better after that, everyone from Julien at the front door to Luis at the beach, everyone was polite and helpful and just eager to make your stay pleasant. My room was as big as can be expected in SoBe, had a city view, which is fine by me, clean and quite bright. I would def. stay at the National again.

very nice hotel

by TripAdvisor Member taniabh

Just stayed at the hotel July5-6. got a very good rate off the hotels direct booking web site - sign up on their site and you get another discount - price is better than orbitz etc.
City view room was quiet as hotel set back a little from the street and nice view of buildings - i would not pay the extra for sea view as hotel is not directly on beach front - a few minutes walk. Room was nice and clean, my husband tipped the maid so great service. Room size was fine, fairly large and nice walk in closet to keep bags, bathroom was small but new and clean - i would take that any day over old and big! Great location few minutes to many resturants on lincon road. Clean lovely pool. All staff freindly. Just one note they say interent access is free in the room but remember to take the cable with you or they want to sell you one for $17! Would stay there next time, travel a lot and was very pleased.

North America

by leonietravel

"Florida - Miami"

Florida is known as the Sunshine State and is synonymous with sun, sea, sand and Mickey Mouse. This is a state that is divided by a bridge between North America, tropical Latin America and the Caribbean. It is with curiosity that I enter this rich culture, landscape and character, which is so stereotyped.

So often it is television that introduces families to the rest of the world, and as I walk out of the airport to catch a taxi, I remember the TV series Miami Vice, with flamingos, palm trees, fast cars, and Don Johnson in t-shirts and suits!

Now I am actually here, and on my way to a conference, so timing is important, I have to try and see as much as possible. Arriving in Miami, I immediately notice the humidity, high temperatures, and thousands of tourists ready to explore this melting pot of cultures, languages, and cuisine.

I have read that this is the state "where everyone is from somewhere else", and it becomes clear fairly quickly why people say this!

The taxi takes me through to the National Hotel at South Beach.