The Miami Sun Hotel

We came for the Lady Gaga concert, and the stay worked out well for the price. The room was small and old, but clean, and the air conditioning worked. We first had a full bed, then the manager upgraded us to a king after I joked that we could take turns sleeping. There was coffee in the lobby in the morning. It's no deluxe hotel, but for a night's sleep after a show at the Kaseya Center, especially during high season, Miami Sun saved us some money. It had a bit of a 1920s feel. We parked across the street at College and 3rd, and bought a 24-hour spot through Spot Hero online for about $20 the night before leaving Fort Myers. We also ate at an Italian place by the Port of Miami marina. It was pricey, as we'd expected for the atmosphere, but the food wasn't good. Thanks, Miami Sun Hotel, for a perfectly adequate stay.

The staff were welcoming, but I wouldn't pay any amount to stay here again. We had planned to stay at the Holiday Inn in the Port of Miami before our cruise, but when Uber dropped us off at about 10:30 at night, we found it had closed two weeks earlier. We hadn't booked this place and had nowhere else to go, so we came across it while walking around. The first room had dead bedbugs in plain sight, and the second had bedbugs too. My girls were exhausted, so we checked a third room, which seemed bedbug-free, and stayed for the night. Construction on the high-rise behind the hotel started at 4 a.m. That wasn't the hotel's fault, but after the first two rooms I didn't want to ask to move elsewhere in the building. The bedbugs weren't even the worst part of the stay.

Susan was friendly and helped us with our luggage when we dropped it off. She also pointed out things to see around the city. We didn't stay at the hotel, but we'll consider it when we're choosing a place next time we're back. Thanks, Susan!

Our other booking fell through at the last minute, so we found this place and were glad we did. They let us check in at least two hours early, and the room suited the two of us well. The location felt quiet and safe, and Bayside Marketplace was under a 10-minute walk away. The water was hot and the air conditioning kept things cool. The TV picture was fuzzy, though we only used it for background noise. There's one washer and dryer in the laundry area, and the front desk had quarters to exchange. No one was using them when we went, so we didn't have to wait. We'd happily stay again.