Best Miami hotels with beach access for "mature" tourists

[Bobdreamz]

Olderandwiser456 If you want a walkable neighborhood on the beach it's South beach. The farther north you go on Miami Beach you either will need a car or buses which work very well & Miami Beach has a free trolley.
Transportation @ City of Miami Beach

Ocean Drive is the center of bars, nightclubs, Art Deco hotels and restaurants facing the ocean hence it is the center of partying but do not miss it on your trip !
There is nothing like it.

Many have already recommended excellent hotels and South Beach is about 1 Square mile so the walk to the beach isn't a long ordeal anyways.

You should give us your dates since there is always some event going on!

[olderandwiser456]

Originally Posted by Bobdreamz

Olderandwiser456 If you want a walkable neighborhood on the beach it's South beach. The farther north you go on Miami Beach you either will need a car or buses which work very well & Miami Beach has a free trolley.
Transportation @ City of Miami Beach

Ocean Drive is the center of bars, nightclubs, Art Deco hotels and restaurants facing the ocean hence it is the center of partying but do not miss it on your trip !
There is nothing like it.

Many have already recommended excellent hotels and South Beach is about 1 Square mile so the walk to the beach isn't a long ordeal anyways.

You should give us your dates since there is always some event going on!

We are still planning and haven't locked in dates yet, but thanks for all the good tips and advice. We definitely want to see the South Beach area and Art Deco hotels, but will likely look at something like Loews for our hotel. Thanks again!

[olderandwiser456]

Having made a few calls and looked at websites and read some TripAdvisor reviews, one thing to keep in mind when visiting Miami Beach in low or shoulder season before the winter crowds: some big hotels do their renovations in July, Aug, Sept, Oct and even into Nov. This means construction is going on, and some hotels are not up front about it prior to making reservations. Some do mention it on their websites, however, but some do not.

Some also close their pools for a period of time to do annual cleaning and maintenance. We will definitely call ahead and ask questions.

Another thing I learned is that the daily resort fees will apply even in bad weather. If you are not able to use the beach or pools due to rain or whatever inclement weather strikes, you still pay the daily resort fees. It's a roll of the dice.

Some of the large hotels also market their pool facilities to the general local public during lower season (summer and early fall) when there are fewer tourists. I read about people staying at some of the large luxury hotels on the beach, only to find the pools jammed with locals paying a "daily fee" to use the facilities. Makes sense from the hotel's perspective, but it might not be what a person paying hundreds of $$ a night might expect.

We are starting to look at dates in October, and possibly November, but will make calls about construction, pool closures, public pool events, etc, before booking any dates.