Art & Design District by Mare Azur Miami

I had bites all over me when we left. I’d never had bed bug bites before, but after looking them up, I’m sure that’s what they were. I did see a bug in the bed and assumed it was just a Florida bug. The apartment also had ants all around the kitchen sink. It was 203, a three-bedroom, two-bath apartment. There were plenty of other problems: terrible parking, dirty scuffed walls, old frayed stained towels, stained pillowcases, a tub that wouldn’t drain, a filthy moldy showerhead, bleach stains on the pool towels, and neither bathroom had working outlets. I had to dry my hair in the dining room/kitchen. U-Verse in the main bedroom didn’t work either. There were no rugs on the hard floors, which made the place cold and uncomfortable, and the couch was awful. It’s crazy how dirty it was given the $250 cleaning fee, especially since I was told by Leo himself that the other business they own and run out of the same “office,” an apartment made to look like an office, is a cleaning company. I thought our booking would have a bay view, even if only partial, but all we saw was the next building. Check-in was bizarre: Leo runs everything from his cell phone, seemed annoyed and rushed, and only showed up after we’d waited 15 minutes. When I asked for food and activity recommendations, he said he’d tell me after I paid, but never did. The fire alarm went off at 6:30am Monday. We had to evacuate and wait half asleep in the heat, only to learn it was the other building. Later Leo texted very nicely asking me to leave the highest ratings. I replied with my concerns and asked for the cleaning fee back because the place was dirty, but got no reply. When I messaged again to say I was sure I had bed bug bites, Booking.com notified me a minute later that my stay had been cancelled. Not sure what that was meant to do, since I’d already stayed. I disputed the charge with my credit card company, but Mare Azur fought it and my case was denied. I wanted compensation for what I had to spend at home cleaning and disinfecting my clothes, luggage, and sheets in case I’d brought bugs back. This place is a rip-off and a scam.

You’re pretty much on your own here. There’s no cleaning service or vending machine, and the nearest convenience store is three blocks away. We were given two sets of towels and had to exchange them for clean ones. I requested replacements, but didn’t get them on three of my five days. With the checkout cleaning fee included, a hotel is much better value. The apartments themselves were clean and had appliances, but little else in the way of conveniences. The floors have no carpet to soften noise, and a party upstairs kept me awake until 2:00 AM one night. There was no one I could call for help. Don’t expect hotel-level service. The “front desk” is an apartment with one guy working, and he’s usually so busy you may be stuck waiting a long time. This place was highly disappointing.

Really, it’s a decent place. The two-bedroom apartment was very spacious, clean, and sleek. Someone could even sleep in the living room with an air mattress. Nobody bothers you, but they’re willing to help if you need it. I’d stay again. Nice place.

I really liked the three-bedroom apartment I shared with friends until the first night. Within an hour of going to bed, I woke up with several bed bug bites all over. I’m sharing this so others can be aware, because I would never have stayed if I’d seen a review like this. There were also ants all over the kitchen sink area. We were in apartment 203, three bedrooms and two baths. Management didn’t handle it with much care.