Castle Beach Club

The hotel gave us a room that was already occupied! A couple were sleeping when we got in. Cockroache is on the floor. Hoped Unilocal could give me a chance for reviewing zero stars.

Extremely unprofessional staff and no sympathy what so ever. We spent the night with a friend of ours and ended up valet parking the car because they TOLD US it was free valet if you are spending the night (they did NOT specify anything). So when it was time to leave we come to see they are charging us $ 84 for parking!
Honestly don’t even bother staying here it is a good price but it’s just not worth it they are not lenient what so ever and don’t give a shit about how much ur paying for ur parking after nobody even explained the rules to us. It’s just beyond words can explain. Over all horrible and worst experience ever.
Not to mention there are no phones in the rooms so you can’t contact the operator for anything you can’t even call your car down in advanced.

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! We had the worst experience ever. Got there on Saturday for Father’s Day weekend. Arrived and the valet was horrible. He did not even attempt to help us with the bags. Then my son arrived in his car. They wanted to charge $ 68 for his car to stay the night. We then tried to check in at lobby but they sent us to the lower lobby to a room all the way at the end of the hallway where two men sat in chairs and didn’t even greet us. We told them we were checking in. They handed us keys and gave us the room number. The room was filthy dirty with beat up furniture and old decrypted Formica beds. We had to go back downstairs and ask for a better room. They gave us room 925. It was a bit better and cleaner but the AC was not working and extremely hot all night. The towels in bathroom were paper thin and tiny. The pool area had a total of 20 lounge chairs and no other sitting. The beach area had no lounge chairs either or and rental service. I don’t recommend this place. There are many other places on the beach. Service was horrible. Not a friendly person in site.

I have never stayed at this dumpy hotel but have visited the Russian Turkish bath located on their lower level. I am sitting outside right now waiting for the valet to retrieve our car and after 35+ mins I am still waiting. Their valet service sucks and is a complete clusterfuck. The valet service makes a relaxing day at the spa a stressful experience!!!
Update, we were informed that they lost our key. After almost 10 mins. They found it. Let’s see how much longer it takes to get our car.

We stayed at a private apartment through Airbnb. Now I have to say that the apartment itself was very nicely decorated and quite modern. We had a beautiful sea view and it was very comfortable and quite a decent size.
Now the building itself had a few positives, mostly the pool, pool bar and direct access to the beach. It also houses the turkish & russian spa which is amazing. But this is not actually part of the building services.
The bad:
Parking is a JOKE. It is literally the WORST system I have ever seen. It can take 10 – 15 mins to drop your car off. It can take 20−45mins to get your car once you hand in your ticket. And even worse than that, is you can’t even call them to bring down your car, they have no phone number. I suggest avoiding the valet from 10am (checkout) through 5pm (check-​in).
The building interior, outside of the condos is quite dated and there were chunks missing out of the elevator cars. Also, sometimes it can take 10mins to actually get an elevator. The system they have here does not deal well with large amounts of people using the elevators. Also, avoid the elevators between checkout and checkin time as they get full with the cleaners. They should use the maintenance elevator and not slow everything down.

I am quite happy we went with these condos. We stayed in #801 (beach view) and #805(city view) I guess it depends on the owners and how well they up keep but We were content with our rooms. My only minor complaint was in #805 the shower. The water was slow to drain. Nothing major. Valet was included in price as was WIFI, Very close and convenient to everything we needed in Miami Beach and we paid half the price other family members paid. Very close to beach, not over crowded. Would come again!

To mention the positives, the view from the balcony was beautiful and I liked that the building had it’s own private beach access.
However, valet took FOREVER! Shortest time we waited was 15 minutes and there was once or twice where they brought us the wrong car too. The didn’t speak any English so communication was difficult. Come to think of it, no one in the building spoke much English.
The condo we stayed in was pavilion 7 booked through a private owner. The futon beds were hard, uncomfortable, and old. The king beds were okay. The pillows, blankets and sheets looked old and like they needed to be washed. The floor was disgustingly dirty, I kept my sandals on because that’s how dirty it was. The place was spacious but I would pay $ 20-​$ 40 more a night for a cleaner & newer place. Definitely not staying here again.

We booked through Miami Vac vacation rentals for my friends Bachelorette and was a bit nervous about booking from a place that I never heard of. We had about 13 girls staying. We stayed at the Aloe penthouse 3 and it was exactly what they said and more. Our patio had a gorgeous view of the beach and the rooms were very spacious. It was great waking up to the beach everymorning! The rooms are more like time shares. It looked recently renovated with tile floors and a new kitchen. I was happy that they had a washer and dryer available in the room. The room was clean and interior up to date. It really depends who you booked the rooms through. I was just a little upset the pull out couch mattress springs were broken and mattress sunk in. The AC seemed to only work in the living room area and the room didn’t seem to have any air coming through. Other than that I give a 4! The hotel was close to the major clubs in the area!!! Club Liv, Story and SLS! It was a good 15 minute to South Beach as well. I can honestly say I am very glad we picked to book in this area than in South Beach. We were content and happy with our room and location. You can use call a taxi and they have Über drivers as well.
Review for the restaurant: The restaurant in the hotel had horrible service, I ordered 4 egg omlettes to go and it took an hour! They even tried charging for bottled water after not telling us there was a fee.

In general, the only thing that made my party’s experience here worthwhile (and the only thing stopping me from rating only one star) was our condo itself.
PROS: Our condo had gorgeous bay windows and a patio facing the ocean, right on the beach and overlooking the pool area. It was mostly clean, the kitchen was stocked with utensils, dishware, and appliances, the bedrooms and linens were clean, the bathrooms were renovated and the showers were AMAZING. The furniture was clean and functional (though out-​dated, if you care about that stuff). The security guards were very helpful and kind. The location is only a 10 minute car ride to South Beach and a 15 – 20 minute ride to Coconut Grove/​Coral Gables; not a lot within walking distance though.
CONS: One of the three toilets was dysfunctional and another one broke on our last day there. We were given no instructions for how/​where to dispose of garbage and they do not provide toilet paper or paper towels if you run out but you can buy them from the convenience store one floor down from the lobby. The condo is not handicap accessible at all; the elevators are slow and confusing to use because the floors have both letter and number designations. The administrative office is closed from 11 am-​2 pm everyday which is not only unreasonable but also really annoying because you can go to the office, hear people talking inside, knock, and they will completely ignore you. It’s extremely difficult to talk to any staff and receive actual help or guidance. The check-​in and check-​out processes are disorganized, drawn-​out, and frustrating.
In light of all these things, my party and I still left Castle Beach Club with a terrible taste in our mouths because of the valet service. This is important — the valet company is private and separate from the condo. The drivers are mostly young men who drive the cars recklessly in the parking garage (we heard frequent tire screeches as we waited for them to bring our cars). It takes 30 – 40 minutes for them to bring your car if there’s more than 3 parties waiting; the wait can easily take up to an hour or more. The staff is INCREDIBLY inefficient; they sometimes forget that you asked for your car and you have to ask them again, extending your wait time. Some of them do not speak or understand English.
Here’s the kicker: Two of the three cars in my party were DAMAGED — one of them had a large air pocket protruding from a front tire due to sidewall damage, making it unsafe to drive. The other car’s key was completely destroyed by the staff somehow after we turned it in to them, to the point where it would not start the ignition at all. We had to replace the tire in Miami and call AAA to come make a new key for the other car, totaling around $ 400 in repairs.
The company assumed no responsibility for these damages and we even called the police to file reports for destruction of personal property but they couldn’t do anything for us because there was no viable evidence that we hadn’t caused the damages ourselves (we know we didn’t because we never drove our cars while we were in Miami; we took taxis everywhere). Both the manager of the parking company and the condo refused to speak with us and now we are filing for a lawsuit. It’s simply not right that they charge $ 50 per extra car per party for compulsory valet and then damage the cars. A few other parties had similar complaints and received similarly unhelpful responses from all staff.
There are better places to stay in Miami that will save you much time and unneeded stress.

Cockroach infested, poor maintenance service, confusing check in/​out system.
Things are very confusing there. You pull in to the hotel ramp and the valet parker gives you a very vague instruction: «go inside and check in first. Just leave your car here.» I did not want to leave my car to them but did not have a choice. They did not give me any stub. So I just took a leap of faith in them.
I walked into the lobby. Big and old fashion and I can’t find the front desk area. It turned out, the check in office is downstairs. It’s set up like it is a small travel agency office. They’re only open starting 8 am, so if you’re checking out earlier and needed a receipt you’ve no choice but to surrender your keys to the security who won’t give you anything that proves you’ve checked out.
The elevators are confusing. You have to ask a lot to know where you’re going.
The room was infested with cockroaches.
First night, the toilet was not flushing, clogged. Called maintenance. Very rude person and just getting by with simple English.
The toilet was fixed after a couple of hours.
They clean the room everyday though. Iron board is dirty and small. Iron was not working well.
Soft pillows a plus. Blow dryer was old.
Valet Parker’s were nice. They operate 24 hr.
Wifi was decent.
Grocery store downstairs has overpriced goods.

There’s a lot of heat on the Castle Beach Club. Previous reviews have made it out to be a mold-​infested, rat-​overtaken craphole that not even East Germany would have made a good place to stay. Another has said it is an amazing bargain with hover-​yachts going down the space canal and the skyline view complemented only by Jan Hammer constantly playing the Miami Vice theme whenever said reviewer walked through the door.
The truth, as it was, is always somewhere in between. My wife and I were looking for a place to stay for three nights in Miami on our way to Key West. We had heart attacks at South Beach hotel pricing, noise-​level reports starting at the kilo-​Decibel, and pretentiousness measured by the megaton. Downtown Miami was more of the same, and since we didn’t have an expense account from one of the financial firms now blamed for the 2008 economic collapse, we looked at vacation rentals. We rented from a guy named Luis and his wife Cely, and they were quick to respond and describe what the rental had.
It seems that a lot of owners provide different amenities, but ours were fairly nicely provided: a coffee maker, electric skillet, toaster, toaster oven, full size fridge/​freezer, microwave, plenty of towels, plenty of blankets, plenty of pillows, a nice ocean view, and a daybed that folded out. Listen, for $ 99 a night, I’d expect far less and got far more.
Now, while our situation had good owners, let’s address why this is three stars:
1) Incomplete paint job in the room. The wall and ceiling of the entryway were a nifty lime-​green that went decent with the décor, but there was a big unpainted splotch around the A/​C vent and return. No reason given.
2) The layout with all the mirrors was waaaaay out of date. Then again, if you’re staying here, you aren’t looking for a boutique hotel experience. It was a step up from chintzy cheap wallpaper in most hotel chains, but still, it could use an updating. Also, the furniture was all kinda mismatched.
3) DampRid was everywhere. There’s gotta be a better way to manage humidity or moisture in the room. I realize they’re trying to alleviate the mold that others may have mentioned in the building, but still, it could have used some better remediation or other infrastructural changes.
4) The building’s only ATM was out of cash the entire time we were there. Not too much is within easy walking distance — you’re looking at maybe 10ish blocks until you start seeing stores, banks, etc. It’s ALL hotels, vacation rental condos, regular condos, etc.
5) No sugar, sweetener, etc. in the coffee machine downstairs. It does, however, do a killer cordatito!
Still, though, our rental came with free valet parking. The building has their own heated pool and beach access. It’s right above the amazing AMAZING AH FREAKING MAZING Russian & Turkish Baths (I’ll be reviewing them too if you’re one of my three fans — hi mom, hi wife, hi boss) and it’s easily accessible from the entire Miami metro area.
Also the T-​mobile coverage kinda sucks if you’re in an ocean-​facing room. Not the condo’s fault, but I just wish they extended the lobby wireless through the rest of the building.
Could you do better? Sure, you can always do better until you’re a professional beer taster who isn’t sure if he wants to drive the Testarossa, the Shelby Cobra, or the AV-​8B Harrier to work that day and whether he wants to cook filet mignon, Maine lobster, or foie gras for dinner and isn’t sure if he wants to test the pre-​release Xbox 720 or Playstation 4 as an evening’s amusement. You could also do worse — you could be a stressed-​out IT professional with a receding hairline that drives an ’05 Scion xA and cooks a lot of lentils. So it is too with places to stay.
Also, we always had wonderfully friendly and helpful Security and concierge people.

I live here. I think it is important to note that I am reviewing the building as a WHOLE based on my experience leasing from a private owner. My review should not nessesarily make you invalidate the negative ones under it, because I know that many owners and leasing companies are NOT as nice as mine (I was told by a staff member when I was initially thinking of moving in to make sure I saw the actual condo I would be renting first, and that many owners and companies are NOT good with rennovations/​upgrades/​and will show people a unit much better than they end up getting). I rent from a private owner who completely rennovated the condo, and furnished it beautifully, he pays all the utilities, I pay him a very very reasonable rent. I have a huge sweeping view of the canal, mansions and the miami skyline, I enjoy the gym (included for residents), I walk to the beach at least once a day. I love having Valet parking ²⁴⁄₇ (included in my rent), and the security staff has always been helpful and friendly above and beyond. No problems at all. I could see how there could be unscrupulous owners/​companies though who don’t rennovate/​overpromise/​overcharge. If I was paying $ 150 a night for a non rennovated hotel room here I would be upset too. This is not a good spot for a weekend trip in my opinion, its in a residential area not walkable to attractions. The other thing thats strange, not bad, is I have never lived anywhere, nor vacationed anywhere where your first line of contact is uniformed security, so if I was a vactioner, walking in to see no front desk, but rather a security podium would put me off. But as far as living in my condo here… LOVE IT.
I probably could not get an apartment in a crappy neighborhood in Miami with all utilities and a gym membership for what I pay here, and that makes it even better.
Right now as I type a huge yacht is making its way down the canal, I love the ever changing view from my window, I love my spotless new kitchen, the gym thats always nearly empty, the security staff who call my cell phone to tell me when I have a package in the mail, the valets who get my car the minute they see me, the market downstairs where every morning I go buy a diet coke before walking on the beach, I am very happy here.

Gross…

I would NOT stay here again.
While I never saw any rats or mold as stated in the previous review, there were other downfalls to staying at the Castle Beach.
During my stay at the CBC I never once saw an employee other than the security guard, who wasn’t very helpful.
We needed blankets, towels and pillows and they sent us on a wild goose chase to find them ourselves, which we never could.
The conditions were dirty and we were given little direction as to what to do with things like trash, linens, etc.
I would not recommend the Castle Beach Club as a place to stay in Miami Beach.

I’m embarrassed to say I stayed here. I came along for a bachelor party.
I would not recommend this place on my worst enemy. It’s honestly is worse than accommodations in a third world county. No joke. I’ve stayed in nicer places in the Congo.
Do not stay here. Just google it. That should be enough to keep you away. If you’re too lazy to google and read the
reviews i’ll leave you with two words.
RATS and MOLD.