Dua Miami, Autograph Collection Hotel

We booked this lovely hotel for one night over Thanksgiving weekend and got a good deal through super.com. The location gives you a proper downtown feel and is pretty good. There's a pool on the top floor, a hot and cold spa pool, and a sauna spa available 24 hours. I'd highly recommend it. You can use my code: G4LGRWR

The pool area is the reason for my five stars. It's grand, welcoming, and has plenty of seating, plus a bar and restaurant that bring food right to you by the pool. The room was clean and organized, though its layout felt a bit odd.

The pool was awesome, and the location was great, but I left extremely disappointed and wouldn't stay here again. I'm a lifetime Platinum member, and the hotel offered breakfast with a $25 spending limit. I'd never encountered that before. Either provide a full breakfast or don't offer it. The room's layout was difficult to use. The bed sat in the middle with the desk behind it, leaving little room to move and no bedside table for my glasses or phone. The safe took up space in the closet, so only three shirts could hang. The shower door didn't keep water in, leaving the bathroom like a pool after every shower. There was one door for both the shower and toilet, so two people couldn't use them at once. Check-in started well. I was greeted with a nice smile and claimed a room upgrade, but the key didn't work. An employee came up, thought I was doing something wrong, then couldn't open the door either. He let me in with his security badge and told me to go back down for new keys instead of bringing them up. Fifteen minutes later, a couple arrived saying they'd also been assigned my room while I was half naked. We went down together, and reception fixed it without apologizing to either of us. The next day, a housekeeper came around 1 pm. I asked for five minutes, went to the pool, and returned at 5 pm to find the room hadn't been serviced. My key also failed at the pool entrance and elevator, so I had to get another one at reception. On the third day, the restaurant wasn't busy, but the breakfast server wouldn't seat me at my preferred table. It took 20 minutes to take my order, and they brought the wrong omelette, spinach, bacon, and tomato instead of ham, cheese, and tomato. It came with Shetland Black potato for some reason and tasted awful. That Monday, construction at the neighboring high-rise was extremely loud, with water and concrete raining over the pool area. I would have expected advance notice. The fourth day was finally uneventful. These may sound like small issues, but I expected more from a five-star hotel.

The location made it easy to walk to restaurants, nightlife, and shops, and the bed was incredibly comfortable. I travel for work at least twice a month, and this was one of the best hotel stays I've had in a long time. Kate and Emily at the front desk welcomed me warmly for my birthday weekend, and check-in was seamless. I got a complimentary upgrade. When I mentioned my birthday, they went above and beyond: warmed cookies, a bottle of champagne, a handwritten card, and even singing happy birthday at my room door. The service was phenomenal, and I'll absolutely stay here again.