James Royal Palm Miami South Beach Reviews

Amazing location. Perfect gateway for weekend... super amazing service and lovely food...

Small friendly hotel on South Beach.
The hotel is not young and deserves a refreshing drink, but it is very well located, a few meters from the beach and also has a swimming pool.
The buffet-style breakfast is fine, but is more like a 3 * hotel than a 4 * hotel.
The rooms have amenities of a 4 * (minibar, coffee maker, iron, etc.)

Decent rates, good accommodations and perfect beach access for south beach.

Here's the thing: We were TERRIFIED to book this hotel. Absolutely terrified. There had been so many negative reviews! Rude staff, horrible small rooms, loud people entirely audible in adjacent rooms, elevators that smelled like urine, incredibly long check-in lines, a sub-par breakfast buffet, trumped up bogus room charges... Jeez - these people were described in terms that made the hotel sound like a criminal conspiracy to rob vacationers and deprive them of the reprieve the sought. Yet, despite this criticism, there were the positive reviews - and in the majority -- yet so often, accompanied by personal observations, like "Julio our bartender, was so amazing" or "Jimmy our beach guy took care of us with a smile". That kind of nonsense. And I understand why - some of the staff -do- pump you to post positive reviews naming them. For example, our charming room clerk at check-in, who really DOES look like Bruno Mars' older and slightly less attractive brother, and who goes by the name "Bruno" - now that's chutzpah - gave us a little card with his name on it - and asked graciously for us to say something nice about him in our review. He's a good guy, so that deed is now done!

So what is wrong with this hotel, really? What triggers the negativity? Well, I'll tell you this. It's not a top tier property. 1 Hotel, Edition, The W, The Lowes, The Ritz Carlton - they are in an entirely different LEAGUE, and their price points reflect that. This is notches down. But that doesn't mean the experience is a bad one, it's just not FIRST CLASS. This is reflected in the crowd the hotel attracts - and in some of the particular attributes of the property.

About those. The pool is way, way, way too small. Tiny in fact. Yet, when your hotel is on the beach, does this really matter? The breakfsat room is more than adequate - breads, bagels, very good small pastries, bacon, scrambled eggs, yogurt, fruits, cereal, oatmeal, potatoes, usually one additional "special" hot disih, waffles. Plus, outstanding coffee and very, very good fresh squeezed orange juice. The waiters were prompt and polite, and the various hotstesses did their best. We found no one rude anywhere on property, in fact.

As for the room. Well, we were a tad more spoiled than the average visitor. That big two bedroom suite offered a lot of conveniences. But yet, you see signs that this old lady, despite the so-called renovation a few years ago, is, err, tired. Banged up and scarred/scratched furniture, stained cushions, chipped exterior paint and black window seals indicating a mould problem, and, most troublesome, that classic Florida wet mildew smell - and we think, probably, coming from the HVAC - The HVAC btw, kept the place cold enough to hang meat! We were happy with that.

One other note: The young men and women from Boucher Brothers who run the at-the-ocean chairs and towels are a terrific group of kids. Polite, attentive, accomodating. No complaints there. Yes, resort fees stink, and yes, being compelled to pay $20 a day for an umbrella is a rip-off. No doubt about it. These services should be comp'd. It's objectionable to be paying a resort fee and then still have to pony up for an umbrella. -That- is a scam, no doubt about it.

We noiticed nearly constant cleaning in the hotel lobby. I had one pleasant interaction with the concierge to get a package. The lobby bar doubles as a coffee/danish place in the morning, but the Starbucks they serve is underwhelming.

Will we go back. Maybe. The suite layout is undeniably good, but we may want to bump our experience up a notch or two qualitatively. We'll see.

Great location and staff they need to clean the windows of the rooms though.

If you're looking for a place to stay near the beach I'd look somewhere else nothing but a money hungry hotel that charges you ridiculous prices for anything you do I'm surprised I can pee without seeing a fee come out of the toilet. Ohh and if you bring anything with you that hooks up to a tv itll be useless considering they dont have hdmi ports. Probably cause they want you to pay for their movies rather than watch your own

My Girlfriend and I stayed at the hotel for her 28th birthday. From our first step into the resort we were treated by a friendly and helpful staff. The hotel looked beautiful and the room was the perfect. Beach staff were great and she loved the little extras that came along with the beach service. A real breath of fresh air after dealing with rude & unhelpful staff like at other resorts in South Beach in the past. Although our trip was short lived, the experience made it feel like a week long retreat. We will be back next year to do it all over again.

The room is all right. High walled tub not suitable for the elderly. The pool is real nice. The bar is even nicer. Someday when I'm not a pleb I'll get a room with an ocean view.

Customer service is horrible. The pregnant woman i think she's a manager or something, she thinks so highly of herself and she's throwing all her hormonal attitude on me, like Girl you don't do that to your guests!

Amazing hotel with a beach,spa and swimming pools. I love that place .

I was able to seek shelter at this hotel during Hurricane Irma because they welcomed my pup too. The staff was polite and attentive. The room was for the most part clean but there was a towel at the floor of the tub from the previous guest. The location is 1 block from lincoln road and it is right on the beach so its perfect for tourists. I would stay here again.

Rooms are old and not as clean as a 4-star hotel should be. Also, did not get a balcony as booked.

Great location as well as amenities! Resort fee is a little much but worth it if you avail of everything they have to offer. Would be even better if they had yoga like Loews next door. Gym is pretty sad but can do the job. Loved the DJ at the pool area. Rooms are a little old and smell a little musty. Bed is comfortable and we had a great view of the beach and the hotel next door. There is no microwave or fridge in the room. Lots of storage space. Walls are thin, you can hear people walk past in the hallway. Kind of gets annoying in the morning when housekeeping is going about. Service was attentive, both at the front desk and at the beach and pool areas. Decent place to stay if you want beachfront. We even got to watch the sun rise.

Great hotel for a good price! I really enjoyed my stay here. The food is a little pricey, and you have to pay for many 'extras', but I must say this hotel is worth it. Service and security is pretty good as well.

Perfect location, room was clean and modern, and the view was amazing. Loved both pools. Only complaint was the strong air freshener scent in the lobby. Otherwise, great hotel!

HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP
HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP

The truth is not even where to start everything is rubbish, I read the reviews of other people and pence that they exaggerated in each expression of the hotel,
The wooden beds with a hole in the middle that sad,

according to a lot of security I found two black drugged in the ice room with my 10 year old boy

The waitress is a person who does not want to work. I only adjust the beds or shake them, or clean the floor, the bathroom is just as dirty, changed the towels and put only one
When the woman went to clean the room, she was angry waiting, she looked at us badly, what a disappointment

The woman who comes to check the mini bar goes into the room of a
And if one is in privacy, what happens

In the dirty pool very rude people forget they live by. Our money we are clients

In the restaurant the waitress is useless, I don't know where these employees are and the place is so expensive

In La Playa they want to charge you for the umbrellas 35 dollars and the beds 100.00 it is a robbery and such terrible service

The parking lot they grated my new ranch rover truck and I claimed them and they tell me that I did
They start fighting with me screaming and the manager doesn't exist

writing would take out my frustration but what other people wrote is true
DO NOT USE THIS HOTEL
DO NOT RUIN YOUR VALUABLE TIME

I had a king studio room and the room
Came with ROACHES !! They over charged my card that wasn t stated on the actual hotel receipt.. actually a whole 400 dollars more. When I had already paid 500 for my room but When you try to call about the problem they pick up and hang up the phone on you.. if you get water out of the room it s 50 dollars per water! You won t answer your room service calls and all I needed was towels. They never answer so I walked down to front desk for towels. They said they would send some up but I never received them so I was forced to go out and BUY towels for my stay.. I ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS RESORT.. they steal your money and welcome you to a over charged roach room.. I m still disappointed

Day 1 and so far we have a broken valve on our toilet so it runs nonstop everytime you flush it until you figure out how to tweak it, burnt out bathroom lights and we can't call the front desk for extra towels because they're having "phone issues". Giving it 3 stars only because of the beach access. Pools are not nice. At all.

Divine hotel. Very bright rooms. Broad. Excellent service

For this to be a 4 star hotel the rooms were not up to SPG norms and the staff was extremely rude and not efficient at all!!

I deliver linens here and deal with a great group of guy.

A nice place to stay with friendly staff. They need to manage the pool towel supply better. At about 4:30p there were no more towels to be had, so make sure you keep what you have after 3p.
Our room 1608 was nice, the shower was huge. Would love to stay in 1609 next time (note to self).

BEWARE!!! Do not book with this property. I booked a stay for August and canceled over a week ago and have yet to receive my deposit refund. They actually tried to charge my card again. I tried calling this property multiple times on different days and no one answers the phone. I finally called corporate and they said all they can do is open support cases because the property is a franchise and handle their own accounting. They were supposed to ask the property to call me directly and they haven't even done that. Corporate tells me that the notes in the case state that the money has been refunded. So the General Manager can lie and update his support case with corporate but cannot even email or call an upset guest. This is unacceptable. Horrible customer service and support. I was a loyal Marriott guest and I will no longer stay at any of their properties.

IT IS A BEAUTIFUL HOTEL
BUT VERY EXPENSIVE
THEY SHOULD MENTION THE EXTRAS WHEN YOU BOOK A ROOM
YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THE SWIMMING POOL
YOU HAVE TO PAY 39 DOLLAR FOR THE CAR
THE CLEANING WASN'T LIKE IT SHOULD BE
WE STAYED 3 NIGHTS
THE FIRST DAY WAS THE ROOM CLEANED BETWEEN 4PM AND 5PM
THE SECOND DAY BETWEEN 5PM AND 6PM
THE LAST NIGHT I ASKED WHEN WE HAD TO CHECK OUT THE LAST DAY: AT 11AM
AT 9AM WAS THE CLEANING LADY THERE TO CLEAN THE ROOM AND TO ASK WHEN WE LEFT
ANOTHER THING IS THAT THE PUT THE BILL UNDER THE DOOR - I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED SOMETHING LIKE THAT
NORMALY YOU GET THE BILL WHEN YOU CHECK OUT
A BEAUTIFUL HOTEL WHIT A BAD MEMORY - NEVER AGAIN

Great view, but the bathroom doors don't close properly

It has been a good stay. I believe they clean the rooms twice a day. It's clean and the beds are very comfortable and soft. The location is great, just a 2 min walk from the beach and 2 mum walk to the main ocean drive! Everyone has been mostly nice and helpful. The service people are being good and friendly.

This hotel is incredibly awesome!!! With a warm welcome from the friendly staff, the room was great with a nice view. We were celebrating my birthday and our anniversary and they gave us special attentions. Thanks to Brook and Kristel for their nice little touch. The location is wonderful and the beach access is very convenient. We have already purchased our next trip to Miami at this hotel. Thank you!!

Pretty hotel! Good service, very clean rooms and nice beach view.

It's a pretty good place. Only complaint is that the shampoo and conditioner smell funky. Has access to the beach, small gym (no bench or squat rack), and near a lot of stores. You have to rent beach umbrellas for 19 a day. A lot of food choices around and some bars. Very clean. 2 pools. Hot tub. Lively place.

Very nice hotel, perfectly located, with unusually large standard rooms. The room was quiet and the temperature was always comfortable even when the air conditioning was switched off. The bed was very comfortable and the room offered a lot of storage space and even enough space for 2 big suitcases, which is not to be taken for granted, I've been in hotel rooms where I could hardly turn around myself.
A negative point is that the refrigerator was equipped with sensors. When a product is removed, it is automatically added to the hotel bill. So you can't use the fridge to store your own food. An empty refrigerator would be more customer-friendly and I can't imagine that the loss for the hotel would be that large, because who on earth buys these completely overpriced products?
I also found the bathroom door a little inconvenient since it is a sliding door, which fell out of the rail very easily and could hardly be hung in again from the inside. Single travellers could have a problem in this situation. In addition, such a door does not offer the kind of privacy I usually wish for, when using a bathroom.

The service is good, the staff was very nice and the check-in and check-out process was satisfactory in terms of efficiency, friendliness and waiting time. There ist one point of complaint: all of a sudden there are unannounced fees. According to our booking confirmation, our reserved hotel room was completely paid in advance. Our confirmation said that there would be NO further charges except the VAT and a possible tourist tax. At the end of the check-in, however, the employee at the reception suddenly mentioned the VAT, a tourist tax, an additional service fee (whatever this might be for) and additionally she spoke of a resort fee of 17$. 17$, no further explanation. When asked what "resort fee" actually means, she briefly explained, that this was for the use of the pool, beach towels etc. Well, we had to accept it, but in my opinion the staff should clearly declare that the 17$ fee is charged per night and not in total. If they only say that there ist a 17$ charge, the customer (assumably completely overtired after a ten-hour flight) could easily assume that the charge is to be understood as a lump sum. It was quite a surprise when I saw the bill. My credit card was charged with 85$, for something we didn't even use. In my opinion it is not quite fair to charge all guests for something that not everyone ist able or willing to use. Bad enough that there is a separate fee for the use of the pool and the beach towels, but then the fee should only be paid by those guests who use it. Otherwise it's just regular costs which should be included in the room price.

DON T waste your money at the breakfast buffet, at around $29 per person you are getting substandard quality, even for the Miami area. There were a few of us, and couldn t tell you that the bill for $141 was easy to pay for, for the bad, some of it inedible, food. Tourist trap. Service was good.

The room was clean, some of the areas of the hotel have an interesting design, the price was good for the room, the staff was nice at desk, but some other staff was not as professional.

Was undergoing renovation when we checked in. Room wasnt ready upon arrival, but we were given credit on our bill and some free drinks whilst we waited. We were also upgraded as when out room was ready it wasnt to the standard that we had originally booked. Once all ironed out, the staff were friendly and helpful.

Pool area also under construction, only tiny balcony pool available for the entire hotel...luckily beach/sea was only a few mins walk.

I would go back to this hotel as the rooms were clean and tidied daily. I can see that once the renovations are completed it will be very nice indeed.

This used to be the St. James Royal Palm. I saw the same staff at the hotel. Still a positive hotel they haven't change much which is good

Chic hotel set directly behind the beach with their own entranceway. Pool with Bar and restaurant are conveniently near each other. Rooms are very nice as well. I would definitely stay here again.

Not a good experince room was never cleaned properly was locked out of room by management.would not go back there.

I was very impressed with the hotel until I had a staff member barge in my room. I was eating my food I had delivered whenI heard a knock. Before I could even get off my bed what I assume was a cleaning lady unlocks my room and sticks her head in. I had the do not disturb turned on. What if I was changing? Or in the shower?? All she asked was if my room was clean enough. I sure hope this is NOT a normal occurrence that management condones. I would expect this at a motel 8, not here. Other than that I highly recommend this hotel.

DO NOT STAY HERE!!! This hotel is over priced for what offered. It is rated as more than 4 stars but it is not even close to it. The customer service is TERRIBLE. Checking in was horrible, there were so many unhappy customers in the check in counter, some did not get the roooms that they reserved, some had to wait for their rooms to be available, some where overcharged, some had reserved and they were rejected because they did not have enough rooms.

I had reserved two beachfront rooms, while reserving I had requested for both rooms to be next to each other because I had my children and mother in law with us; while checking in they told me that they didn't receive that request so I had to get what they had. As you walk in the place smells like weed, the AC was not working in one of our rooms, one of the rooms did not get cleaned and the other one no trash was taken out nor swept, then at check out they had a list of charges for their mini bar in the rooms, and a movie rental for $20, we had not consumed nothing from the mini bar nor rented any movie. This was a terrible experience and I dont recommend this hotel to anyone, next time I rather spend a few more dollars and stay somewhere else like Loews.

Super nice staff, except the valet guys. Ocean front rooms need to be updated

This hotel has unsafe pool area. I banged my head into metal fixture sticking out of the wall on my eye level.
After that happened they put a sticker with the warning on it.
So if you are like me reading something on the phone you are still set for pool of blood and emergency room visit because these morons did not cover razor sharp corners of that fixture with thick rubber to protect their guests.
it's not done even after it happened to me.
Who runs this place?

Nice hotel with beautiful views situated close to bustling nightlife.

Very nice hotel! But no parking and valet parking extremely expensive

Frank was the best part of our stay! He should be in charge. He was the only person there that had guests in mind.

This is honestly one of the best hotels I've been to. The staff is amazing! One of the elevators was out while we were there so it was a bit difficult to get places but the workout was worth it considering how much food we were eating The amenities are worth spending an entire day at the hotel for and the food they serve, while slightly overpriced (just like everything in Miami honestly), was also delicious!

Love this location. First time there, this will be the ONLY place where I will be staying when I stay in Miami.

Just okay...they try...but service lacking, rooms don't look like the photos online. Maybe a category 3-4 Marriott... definitely not a 6

This was my first trip to Miami and flight. The trip,the stay, every thing was awesome. The beach,stores,restaurants,bars and clubs were all in close traveling distance. I can't wait to come back and enjoy south beach again.

I will never stay at this hotel again ,nothing was up to Marriott standards, rusty floors and furniture, horrible experience

Excellent hotel! We were amazed.
100% recommendable.

Meals were always cold, room temps were difficult to regulate, door between bathroom and main room was obstructed by furniture

Very nice hotel! Stayed on the 3rd floor (Room 356). I can hear other people showers and toilets flushing super earlier in the morning which was kinda annoying.

This hotel is very nice, the rooms are great, and the pool is heated. The only issue I have is with the restaurant, whish isn't that great compared to others in the area.

Nice hotel and great for families. Beach access with chairs and children s sand area with toys. Pool and hot tub on site with kids arcade style play area

Excellent location. Neatness. Starbukcs coffee in the rooms. Close access to the beach.

I had a lot of expectations for this price and was extremely disappointed so far. Staying in room 605 from 6/07/18 until 06/13/18 i will update my review once i checkout from this Hotel. We are a party of 12 rooms and looks like we are all feeling pretty disappointed.

STOP CHARGING MY CARD I AM NOT EVEN THERE ANYMORE ! I need SOMEONE HIGH UP TO CONTACT ME ASAP ! I keep calling and I don t get any response I m tired of you guys taking my money just in case you already took what you needed now give me my money back! UPDATE YOUR SYSTEM ! If I could give a 0 I would !

Good beach and well bathed water. Hotels a little varied.

My wife and I stayed at the Royal Palm while we were vacationing in Miami and we would defiantly stay again. The experience did not start badly because of Royal Palm's super late check in at 4, but they made it right for us. We got to the hotel around 330pm and had to wait around until 5pm for our room, but one of the employees (Olgi) made it right to us by giving us free drinks at the bar and credit to our room. I liked the room with it's decor and layout. The view out the window was about half towards the ocean, so we had a decent view. The king bed was pretty comfortable and the room was clean with no issues. FYI, do not touch anything on the mini bar because you will be charged if you move anything because they have sensors. The bathroom was a good size and the shower was pretty spacious. Overall, the room was really nice and clean. Anytime we had to deal with any Royal Palm employees, they were all very nice and courteous. The bartender at the main bar, Christiano, was very pleasant and made our happy hour (4-6 on weekdays) enjoyable. Royal Palm has two pools and a hot tub and we made use of those. The pool and hot tub were enjoyable and towels are provided. Another great feature of the Royal Palm is the location. The hotel is located near the corner of 16th and Collins and that is prime real estate. Royal Palm has there own beach area and we were provided towels and chairs. Royal Palm is a great spot to stay if you want to walk along Ocean Drive or South Beach. Overall, my wife and I had no issues besides checking in and we would defiantly recommend and stay here!

location was perfect and close to everything. room was spacious and clean and modern

Front desk manager Melissa at check in was awful terrible customer service, she needs retraining. Melissa rates a negative 10, The restaurant and bar staff fantastic especially Pedro who is a wonderful server great attitude house staff and facility excellent.

We arrived at a late night. It was really hard to find the narrow driveway to the hotel entrance. Checked in to a two bedroom suite to find out that all four ACs were set to a freezing 62 degrees Fahrenheit. The heater is not available, and there is no way to make the room warmer. The beds had only sheets, no blankets. The lights in the living room were not working. One of the closet doors were moved out of the rail. In the kitchen, there were only two chairs. Half of the people had to eat while standing. One of the lights attached to the panel of one of the beds was moving loose, and there was no way to point it to direction where it can be useful. The other panel was falling. On the next day, the valet was in such a rush, which I am not sure why, so he pulled our car away before even I was able to get all the stuff I had in the car. Oh, and there was dust everywhere. The front door had like half an inch gap under it and quarter inch gaps on the sides. Not only I can see when someone is approaching but our neighbors were smoking marijuana and all the smoke came to our room, which caused me a great headache. We were refused to get another room, so we had to put up with all this $500+ per night huge disappointment. The lady at the front desk which had to send someone to bring blankets did not even waited to hear all complaints. She hung up the phone.

Thanks for taking care of us - Omkar (favorite breakfast guy)!
We were at this hotel for a week in April, 2019. i have dietary issues - i am allergic to eggs. So, we met this cool guy in the breakfast lounge while i was figuring out what to eat. Omkar helped me and prepared a cheese sandwich which was the yummiest i had ever eaten. what made it special was that he was extra attentive to my concern and was quick to offer options to help me out! When you at in foreign place, it is good to find people who show hospitality and genuine concern! Omkar, thank you! we will never forget you and the sandwich!

The location of the hotel is wonderful and is near many restaurants and the Lincoln Ave which is great. Also some sport activities are close to the hotel. My stay was not wonderful yet may not be applied to other ones' experiences. I had the issue with my room door got out of battery and we were locked out for almost an hour which was frustrating as we lost the sun we planned to go to beach. The room was very tiny too. The parking fee was $46 dollars overnight. There is an additional $19 service fee each day too, not bad indeed. The pipes had a shaking sound some times when we got shower. Overall, It was not that fantastic and anyway you pay for what you get. Lowe's hotel is nearby and it is much more expensive but I am sure it would be a real 4-5 star hotel as I had two other experiences at other locations.

Nice rooms and nice pool. You are entitled to sunbeds on the beach but parasols are not free!

Nice hotel, but our"upgrade" want much of an upgrade. Placed in one of the few rooms that doesn't have a balcony. Otherwise there is a pool and easy access to the beach. A bit pricey.

Contemporary restaurant, bar and pool area. Basic room is satisfactory but not great.

Stratospheric position !!! You are at the center of everything .. TOP ... very nice hotel on the whole a pity that it is very neglected .. the rooms are dated and poorly maintained and the cleanliness leaves something to be desired ... very high prices for what is the structure .. strong point POSITION