The Marlin Hotel

The room was super cute and 550 sq ft, with a comfy bed, a great couch, and cozy throw blankets. It was really clean, and the hotel smelled great. They provide a beach bag with towels, plus beach chairs and an umbrella, which was amazing. The Italian restaurant was good, too. It’s easy to walk to the beach, shops, and restaurants. We really enjoyed our stay.

The rooms are clean and comfortable, and the people providing customer service are very good. My problem was the strong odors. Cleaning products smelled strong in the hallway, and my room smelled so much of cigarette smoke that I asked to move. I was told smoking isn’t allowed, and the person I spoke with said he couldn’t smell smoke. I can only go by my nose, though. I’m 59 and have stayed in a lot of hotels, and I’ve never been in one with such a strong cigarette smell. They moved me to another room, but if it’s hard to breathe, I’ll have a hard time staying there. Smokers probably won’t have a problem with it.

The employees were great, and it’s a great hotel. Just be careful when booking if you have heavy luggage for the cruise port. I had to carry mine up several steps on my own to get to the first floor, so consider yourself warned!

The front desk staff were friendly and helpful, but couldn’t do anything about the issues we had. My wife and I both had allergic reactions, and our friends developed sore throats and coughs. My wife’s eyes were swollen and watery, and she also had red spots on her skin. We don’t know what caused it. There was a mold smell in our friends’ third-floor room and a strong fragrance smell in our second-floor room. I suspect the fragrance might be used to cover the mold smell, but I’m not sure. The symptoms went away after we’d been out of the hotel for a day. We’ve stayed in under-maintained Airbnbs in Miami without getting allergic symptoms like these. Other problems included a sweat smell from the bed, a small room, loud A/C, mandatory amenity fees, and a long walk to the parking garage. It’s hard for me to see how this place is labeled a 4-star hotel.