My Two Night Stay at Hilton Bentley South Beach Miami
In early October, we decided to spend a weekend in Miami at the Hilton Bentley in South Beach. We loved everything about the hotel: our suite, the location, the beach, the breakfast and the overall ambiance. Even though it’s a very short 2 hour flight from New York, I had never been to Miami and have to say the beach exceeded my expectations.
Although I don’t rate it as highly as Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman or Palm Beach in Aruba, I would say it does hold its own against several Caribbean islands. I would rate it higher than the beaches in St. Lucia (though the appeal of that island is more nature and vegetation than beaches) or the ones in Puerto Rico by San Juan and probably about equal to Barbados.
To cover the nights, I had two weekend night certificates from the Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card expiring at the end of the year. The two certificates come as a sign-up bonus with the card after spending $2,500 and each is valid for any Category 1-10 Hilton HHonors property for a weekend night (Friday – Sunday check-in). Because of my Hilton HHonors Gold status which also comes free with the card, we enjoyed some perks that made the stay quite a bit more pleasant. This included a major upgrade at check-in and an included breakfast buffet as well as complimentary internet.
Location in South Beach
The Hilton Bentley is truly in the heart of South Beach on Ocean Drive and it’s apparently also the setting of ‘Khourtney and Khloe Take Miami’. Not that I expect anyone watched that show, but I want to use it an example to communicate how ‘hip’ the hotel is. The Hilton Bentley has a loungy, relaxed yet upscale and hip ambiance with music to match. Exactly what you’d expect when you think about South Beach. We did have a car with us, but that was definitely a mistake. There is no reason you need a car in South Beach. Everything – the beach, the restaurants, the clubs are all right there within walking distance. I would recommend just taking a taxi from the airport and having a car-free vacation.
Our One-Bedroom Suite
We checked in a few hours early and a room was not ready yet. No problem, we would love to just enjoy the beach. I didn’t ask for any upgrades or mention my status, I was just charming and cordial when checking in. As we went over to leave our bags with the bags storage, the check-in agent called us back and said she has a one-bedroom ocean front suite for me. I am sure the Gold status helped with that, but it also was at her discretion. This was exciting!
Our room was great. It had a large bedroom with king bed and completely separate living room with a couch, a dining table and a full kitchen. Everything faced the ocean and there was a balcony with two lounge chairs looking out to the beach with an excellent view. The bathroom was covered in marble with a shower, a bath tub and two bath robes. We were very impressed with our room and I later checked what the retail cost of the room would be. It was $650 a night plus taxes. And that’s before paying for breakfast!
As it was getting late in the afternoon, we immediately headed down to the beach. Each hotel room receives two chairs and an umbrella and we simply had to sign in with the beach chair stand and they set up the chairs for us. The sand was white and the water was clear and, since it was already getting chilly in New York, the warm weather was welcome. As the sun set, we took a long walk around the tip of South Beach and did some people watching. That evening, we decided we didn’t want to go out and ordered room service and enjoyed the view from our balcony instead.
Breakfast Buffet
The next day, we got up for breakfast. As I mentioned, the breakfast buffet was included with my Hilton Honors Gold membership I had with the credit card. As I never saw a bill, I have no idea how much it would cost, but it was certainly a well-rounded breakfast. There was fresh fruit, a hot food table with pancakes and French toast, an omelette stand with a chef and the usual cereal, bagels and yoghurt with muesli area.
After breakfast, we went to the beach. What else? We spent the rest of the day on the beach, riding bikes along the coast, taking more walks, sitting by the pool and went out to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Overall, an excellent two nights at the Hilton Bentley in South Beach.
Summary
- We had a great two night stay in a $700 a night room at the Hilton Bentley with Hilton HHonors Gold status upgrade and breakfast courtesy of the Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Card.
- Our one-bedroom suite upgrade gave us plenty of space and our favorite part was being able to sit on the balcony with our ocean-front views.
- With Miami being such a short flight from New York, I definitely plan to return to Miami for future weekends and really hope to enjoy another stay at the Hilton Bentley.
Other posts you may like:
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- Using Citi ThankYou Points to Pay for Meals and Hotel Incidentals
- Miles to Milan: My Stay at Park Hyatt Milan for 22,000 Points a Night
- Priceline Hotel Bidding: Trick to Find out the Secret Lowest Price Without Paying
- Mexican Riviera Maya: The Valentin Imperial Maya All-Inclusive Adult Resort at Playa del Secreto
Stayed there with my wife a few years back. Best short/weekend vacation I’ve had. Beach is great, hotel is great, food in the area is great (sushi/salsa sounded like a joke but the food was great). Turns out there is a public bus that goes from MIA airport to south beach ($2.50 each). It ends just beyond the Hilton. So no need to car rental and the trip can almost exclusively be done with points.
I think you might’ve stayed in the exact same suite I had back in June! (or maybe one floor above it from your balcony shot) –> http://first2board.com/foodwineandmiles/2013/06/30/hotel-review-hilton-bentley-miami-south-beach/
Oh, I read that! That was your mistaken identity post :) Looks like we have similar travel style… I am going to Maui next week and, as you know, Phuket area end of December. :)
Hi Khloe… I mean Inna… do you still have to pay the valet and night resort fees when using free nights?
You do have to pay for those things, unfortunately. And not Khloe of all sisters… if I had to be anyone, I’d be Kendall :)
I’d have to respectfully disagree with the beach comparison with Barbados. We just got back from an 8-night vacation where we spent 6 nights in Barbados, and then flew into Miami and spent 2 nights in South Beach. We continually said how the beaches weren’t even comparable, and that Barbados was just so much more beautiful, beaches were whiter/finer, and the water bluer. Just our opinion though :-)
Sounds like you had a very nice time in Barbados :) My favorite beach at this point is Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman, but if I had landed on a part of it not in front of the Westin or went during a different time of year, I may not have thought as highly of it. I just found the beach in front of the Hilton to have particularly calm and clear water, but perhaps the beach I was comparing it to in Barbados does not do the best beaches on the island justice :)
Did you check out Bottom Bay in Barbados? It’s near the SE corner of the island, and is absolutely stunning. We were told it was rated as one of the top 10 beaches in the world, and there’s no way I could argue with that! It’s a bit off the beaten path, so there were only two other people on the entire beach for the 2 hours we stayed there.
Where did you stay in Barbados, and what beaches did you visit? We also stopped by Crane Beach, Miami (or Enterprise) Beach, and Carlisle Bay – they were all beautiful, but none compared to Bottom Bay.
Hi The Miles Professor,
Thanks for your review. I was told that only the “Continental Breakfast” was included for Gold Members. The hot breakfast that you mentioned in the blog is only complimentary for Diamond members. Is this true?
Thanks,
Ashish
I was Gold only and had full access to the full breakfast buffet including omelette station. I am not sure whether there are additional hot breakfast options.