1818 Meridian House Hotel

Prior to a cruise in Fort Lauderdale, I decided to stay over in South Beach again for two nights to get some nice walking in. I read the previous reviews here thinking that for two nights, I could probably handle it, but in hindsight, it wasn't the best choice. I think the best way to approach this review is by headings. Arrival: Once I got out of the rideshare, it was difficult to determine how to enter. Walking around a bit, I noticed a front gate was unlocked and a sign stating that reception was on floor two with the unit number. Dragging my luggage up, I saw the office and the gentleman there, and with him even noticing that I was dragging two suitcases down the hall, he didn't bother to get up until I knocked on the door. What came as a surprise was the daily resort fee--the third party website did not indicate this and while that website did for other places in South Beach, it didn't specify that for this hotel. I will have to take this up with the third party site after I finalize this review. I do want to point out something though: when the machine was handed to me it stated $79 in CAD dollars or offered the US dollar equivalent so I paid in my CAD currency; but upon my return to Canada last night, I saw instead that the hotel billed the $79 to my credit card in US dollars making the total $121 CAD. This part did catch me off guard but as I won't be staying here again, I will let it slide. The check-in agent didn't explain what the resort fees covered or gave me any other hotel information. I mentioned the front gate and he stated it never locks (more on this shortly). He seemed rushed so I just let it be as I was exhausted from having risen at 3am that morning to catch my flights. I will give him credit though and that is that when we went downstairs, he did help me with one suitcase. We got to the room but the code did not work. The doors are all electronic with digital codes. He tried, I tried but nothing was working. While he went up to the office to check if the code was right, I sat outside and noticed movement in the room. Then the door opened and it was clear that this room was already assigned. I apologized profusely, explained what had happened and by then the check-in agent came back to tell us that the room we tried to enter was not the right one. We had just figured that out obviously and thankfully the guests were not upset. I got to the proper room and I insisted that I try the code first. Let's just say it eventually worked but for the two days that I was there, for the keypad to light up, I could tap, lay a thumb on it, rub my fingers over it, but there was no sure way to get this thing to light up properly except just know that eventually it would. My only thought was that thank goodness no one was chasing me because there would be no way I would get into that room quickly. Room: It was on the ground floor, next to the gate and facing the parking lot and street (more on this in the next section). Thankfully, I was impressed with how clean it was and that the kitchen was fairly equipped with dishware, a microwave, mini-fridge, microwave and an espresso machine which I did not use. For the studio I was in, there was no stove and the mini-fridge freezer was jammed with ice--however, it was only for two days. This room also had a door to a small patio outside though it did not have a chair outside to use. The bathroom towels were clean and of good quality as well. The best part, which is why I am giving it a three star, is that despite being on floor one, I didn't see any bugs inside the unit at all. So, I came to conclude that the hotel does take its cleaning seriously. Noise: Oh my mercy. The windows are not sound proof nor is the door to the shared interior patio. Having one set of windows next to the parking lot I head the coming and going of every vehicle at all hours, doors slamming, conversations then to be followed by the clanging of the gate which was from the window directly above my bed. During the evening of the second night, there was a mini group outside on the interior patio with a portable speaker. The little sheet of rules does allow for loud music from 10am to 10pm, and by 10pm it had stopped. Night one, at 5am those in the unit above me stomped around as if they were practicing for some clogging dance competition so there was no sleeping in after that. On the second (and thankfully last) night, at 3am, more stomping and the full "use" of the bed woke me up, and this is not to judge, but there were more than two people there from all the different voices that I heard. When they finished around 5am, all of them left at the same time then it became silent making me wonder if some rooms were rented by the hour. I lay back down again by 8am, hoping for a power nap before check-out but across the street has a large area of grass so they were mowing that all morning. With the cars, the occasional siren and loud motorcycles outside, on what I thought was a quiet residential street, prevented me also for resting. Bottom line on this element: if you need quiet, then this hotel would not offer this very well. Gate: If you are still with me, when I checked in, I had commented on the open gate. Thinking nothing of it, during day one, after being out for about six-to-seven hours of walking I came back to see it finally closed and locked. Taking out my code, it would not work! I tried entering it alone, with the pound and star keys but to now avail. Tried calling reception but nothing then after about 15 mins I was let in. The lady appeared to be cleaning rooms but may be a part-owner, not sure as she did not identify herself, told me the code was changed that day. Really? They couldn't have provided the information the night before? She seemed a little put off by this but I considered it lack of customer service. Conclusion: It is not a horrible place to stay but still work needs to be done with anticipating guest's needs and communication. Investing in a bit of sound proofing for the rooms would go a long way. Plus, if I choose to pay CAD for the fees, I would expect to see that reflected on my credit card statement. If I had opted for the US dollar option, then it would have been expected to see a conversion but that is not what was presented to me. Check out was fine though there were smokers lingering out on the interior patio that morning and the lady from the day before with the code was more personable. Maybe because I was leaving? All to say, it was an experience but from herein I think I will stick to the brand name hotels that I am used to and perhaps just avoid South Beach altogether to stay over in the downtown like I have been doing for the past several years.

After been kept awake at night (4 am!) by the (fixed?) occupants above (stomping, slamming, yelling) we "woke up" every day to the sound of an leafblower. To make it complete a pressure washer was also there for a couple of days to annoy you with the sound of it's engine... Also there is a smell of Marihuana, probably coming from the same noisy upstair neighbours wo have their entrance connected to our unit...

Accommodations and stay was fantastic. Room was very well-stocked and staff were helpful and friendly. I arrived quite late and they were great at getting me checked in and ready to go quickly. Hotel is a quick walk from a bunch of restaurants, shops, and the beach.