Catalina Hotel: Don’t upgrade to a suite  

OK I just got back from Miami and unfortunately I cannot say I enjoyed my first vacation at this much admired holiday destination solely because of my experience with the Catalina Hotel. Where do I start? Maybe from our reservation on the website claiming all the promising features and even an offer to upgrade to a suite for merely $25 per night! We are four people so we think wow nice, a suite and we all expect a spacious room with a sette area. What a bummer when we arrived. The reception area was very busy; not a problem. The couple in front of us will not leave so we cannot check in. Why? The hotel doesn’t have their reservation! Oops… we looked at each other and feel sorry for them. Then we checked in, every thing went smoothly until we got into the “suite”. It was a room with 2 queen size beds. An empty mini bar (instead of fully stocked according to the website; reception staff seemed surprised when I report this to them. Well, I had to tell them in case they thought we drank all the alcohol or whatever it should have been in there and give us the bill), an Ikea style wardrobe which is not enough for 4 people. A bedside cabinet with a large drawer. There are 2 bathrobes and 2 sets of towels. Not enough toiletries but it’s ok I got my own shampoo/conditioner/shower gel etc. When we checked in we are four and they know.
Oh well, we contact housekeeping for extra towels. This action has to be repeated throughout our stay and each time we received some rude response from the other person on the line. We stayed from Saturday 6/9 until the next Thursday 6/14 and wished we were staying somewhere else every time we entered the room seeing there is not enough towels. The shower is pathetic. No water pressure and not enough water! Maybe water is expensive in the Miami Beach area? I also try to turn a blind eye on the paint work on the foot of the walls which are starting to peel… and oh my god, the shower has no door, it’s only a flimsy curtain between the shower area and the wash basin. We are people who love travelling and travel a lot and have been staying in large rooms, small rooms, smaller rooms with an extra bed and, of course, a suite. Somehow Catalina simply doesn’t add up. We were puzzled about the “suite” since they are busy we thought perhaps they put us in the wrong room by error you know. So, we went to speak to the manager who told us oh yeah the upgrade is simply for a larger room. WHY DIDN’T IT SAY SO ON THE WEBSITE? WE WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF THEY JUST BE HONEST ON THE WEBSITE. We thought we are going to stay in a suite only to find ourselves in an ordinary room. Not a satisfying and joyous experience when that happens. The funniest part was that we were told by the reception staff, “we have no suite in our hotel” HAHAHA!! If there is a way I’d like to get our refund for the 5 nights of $25/night. Those money could contribute to a nice dinner instead. I don’t mind booking at a YMCA if I know the price I am paying is for staying in a hostel. Catalina Beach House gave me the impression of being one upon arrival. They didn’t deliver what they promised on the website. I felt conned.

One last thing, I have no complaint of the staff in the reception, or the ones who helped with our questions and luggage. They are busy and we understand that and have no problem with that. If you have to stay in Catalina, just DON’T UPGRADE TO A SUITE and don’t expect too much.

Catalina Hotel is located at 1732 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139 .

See related reviews in: Not Recommended, Hotel, User Reviews  - 1-Star rating

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