Residence Inn by Marriott Doral Mall Area

The rooms and bathrooms have been remodeled recently, and I really liked the place. Breakfast was hot and decent, and the lobby smelled awesome. It’s conveniently close to Miami airport. You can hear the planes landing nearby, but the windows are thick enough that I still got a good night’s sleep.

The planes pass right overhead, so it’s noisy at night, and there’s a construction site next door adding to the noise. Breakfast is far too crowded, the choices are awful, and the food had run out before 9, when service ends. The website information also led us to expect an airport shuttle, but there isn’t one. This was the worst hotel we’ve ever stayed in. Don’t go here.

We had a pleasant stay. The room was clean and spacious, and breakfast was nice to have, with waffles, eggs, toast, and things like that. It was also just a 20-minute drive to the Port of Miami for our cruise.

By the third night, the AC started making a jet-engine noise, and when I went to the front desk, there was no maintenance person available. The hotel was sold out, and all they could say was that it would be fixed tomorrow. We could sleep only one night out of our three-night stay. There was no apology or effort to make things right. At check-in, after a six-hour trip, the room had seemed clean, but the old, worn sheets were rough and covered in tiny fabric balls. I had trouble sleeping from the start.