De Soleil Hotel on Ocean Drive

I planned a birthday trip to South Beach, but the booking mess left me canceling the whole trip. I tried to reserve Rob & Valerie's property through booking.com, vrbo, and airbnb, and didn't realize I'd submitted requests on all three until Rob pointed it out. First, vrbo never accepted my request, so it was cancelled. Then airbnb raised the price significantly above what was shown when I submitted the booking. I was relieved when booking.com finally confirmed a reservation, but that didn't last. A week after I booked, Rob contacted me yesterday saying he couldn't honor it because a hot tub pump was being changed from April 20-26. Why was it listed as available? He offered no other option. The next day I got an email saying the booking was cancelled because of an invalid card, which wasn't true. The real reason was that he couldn't fulfill it. I'm upset by how this was handled. Avoid booking here.

I booked for the first week of February well ahead of time, then had to cancel because of a sudden obligation. I canceled while eligible under their policy, but by the end of March my reimbursement was still unresolved. After contacting the dedicated service line 8 times, I still don't know what's happening. I wish I could leave a good review, but this establishment doesn't seem to follow its own stated policy. The service felt predatory, and rarely have I felt so robbed by a place claiming to honor its word. Best avoided.

Nine weeks after canceling my trip because of unforeseen circumstances, I'm still waiting for my money, even though the policy said cancellation was free. The establishment is now reported as a fraudulent business. Do not pay upfront, stay away! And don't tell me there was no reservation under my name. I'll gladly show the booking number, since my full name isn't shown anyway. Reply to customers' emails and calls instead of fobbing them off.

The management and ownership were the rudest I've ever dealt with, despite having traveled all over the world. Payment timing was falsely advertised when booking through a third party: it said payment was due later. When I asked for clarification, they replied in all caps demanding immediate payment and called my phone repeatedly. Then they told me never to book with them again. The rudeness was disgraceful and incredibly disrespectful. Stay away.