Villas at Shelborne

I was very disappointed. The Villas at Shelborne are inside the Shelborne hotel, but they aren’t part of it and have different management. That wasn’t disclosed clearly. The property manager was very hard to reach, needing several calls and texts to get any response. Customer service was poor, and we had several problems: housekeeping didn’t clean or show up, and the window blinds were broken from day one and never fixed. Our room had dishware but no dish soap or sponge. When we asked about housekeeping and washing dishes, we were told they only make the bed and bring towels. For what we paid, it was a horrendous experience. I could have booked another South Beach hotel for the same or even a better price if I’d known. Please don’t stay here.

We booked the deluxe loft with two rooms and king beds, but got queen beds and a completely different place from the photos. It looked clean and updated online, but the old room we were given was grimy, with a nasty couch and dirty bathroom. The shower curtain was brown at the bottom, and the bathroom counters had strange stains. The air filter probably needs changing too, because it smelled when it turned on. We checked out early and booked somewhere else. Don’t book this place, it was a complete rip-off.

The room we received had two full beds instead of the king I booked. Sharing a full bed on vacation was not what I wanted. When I tried to sort it out at the front desk, they reminded me they couldn’t help. The room had no phone, and the Villas number I called on my own cell went to a full mailbox. Eventually, someone at the desk called the woman in charge of the rooms on their personal phone and put me through. She basically told me I was out of luck. We were told at check-in that the rooms were subleased from the actual Shelbourne Hotel and that we couldn’t use hotel amenities, including housekeeping. A bathroom sign said the same thing. Then, on the second day, we were told the Villas had their own housekeeping staff. Our room was cleaned later that day, though who knows if it was really cleaned or if they just made the bed. Hotel staff couldn’t or wouldn’t help with our concerns. The furniture looked like battered second-hand Ikea pieces. Nothing matched, and most items were scratched or had big chips missing. There were sheets of plywood between the mattresses and box springs. Why even have box springs? At worst, this feels like a scam; at best, it’s a bad BNB setup. They advertise it as a hotel, but it’s a block of rooms subleased from the Shelbourne. This was one of my worst hotel experiences.

The room was modern and clean, and the beds were comfortable. Villas at Shelborne is in a great spot, within walking distance of everything in SOBE. Check-in wasn’t at the front desk because these were private rentals, but that worked out great. Javier was excellent. It cost less than booking directly through the hotel, and I got all the same services.