Hotel Review: The Confidante Miami Beach – The Unbound Collection by Hyatt

We wanted to check out The Confidante since we saw Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” video a few years ago. We were slated to stay and then the pandemic hit. When figuring out where we would stay for The South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF®), I noticed that the hotel had suites available for less than the price of a room at some of my usual haunts like the W South Beach, St. Regis Bal Harbour, or Ritz-Carlton South Beach. I wish the stay lived up to the hype of the video, but largely it made me think of a new rule: never stay here again.

Anthony’s Take: The hotel is conveniently located north of all of the chaos that is South Beach proper. The neighborhood is quieter, which I appreciated. The tone of this stay was set before arrival when I received an email from the hotel stating that there would be no upgrades and a bunch of other declarative statements that made it clear that World of Hyatt Globalist status did not mean much here. The service was lacking throughout the stay and it wasn’t even up to the sub-par South Beach standards I have experienced countless times.

Booking

I booked a Hyatt Privé rate with Live Luxe Travel Co. The guys who own this agency are great and very responsive. With Hyatt Privé, I earn World of Hyatt points, credit for the nights, all of my Globalist benefits, as well as several additional benefits including all of those listed above (in theory). It’s up to the hotel to honor these and The Confidante did the least it could. I paid to book a suite directly and was surprised when I saw the rate drop two days before check-in. I reached out to the agency, but unfortunately it was too late to change the reservation. The rate was over $200 cheaper per night for the same suite and we stayed three nights. This was annoying, but the hotel did not seem to be busy as every type of room and suite were open. I was hoping for an upgrade to a larger suite, but was informed the week before in an email that upgrades were not happening. If I wasn’t booking a Hyatt Privé rate, I could have redeemed points. A standard room costs between 17,000 and 23,000 points per night as Hyatt classifies this as a Category 5 property.

The hotel charges a resort fee of $45 plus tax per day.  This should be waived for Globalists and all guests booking with points. I had to argue with the front desk agent to get this waived as she told me first that Globalists don’t get it waived, then said she was told not to waive it, and then finally told me that she would waive it since I was so persistent. I loathe resort fees and this felt underhanded as Hyatt is clear that Globalists do not pay it on qualifying rates (which I booked).

Transportation to/from the Hotel

We drove from Tampa as we wanted to have our car for the weekend. It took us five hours to get there and four hours to get home.

Location

As mentioned the hotel is located conveniently just a bit north of South Beach. The neighborhood has many other hotels but is so much quieter than South Beach proper. The crowd tends to skew a bit older, which is also nice if you’re looking to relax.

Check-in

I arrived at the hotel around 4:30 PM. I had checked in online earlier in the day and was informed via chat that the room would not be ready until at least 4:00 PM. When we arrived, there was one line for all guests. The agent was just removing the sign that designated a separate elite line. As she was, I asked if that was the elite line and she said, “yes, you can come here if you are.” The rest of the guests in line groaned a little bit, but they had no status and this is a benefit that should be honored. I’m not sure why she was removing the sign, but I’m glad I caught it. People were complaining to the other agent that it was after 4:00 PM and their rooms were not ready. She did not seem to care. The agent that checked me in, explained nothing. I asked about the breakfast. She wasn’t sure. I knew I was receiving it as a Globalist and as part of my Hyatt Privé rate. I asked for late checkout and she told me it was not an option. I asked about an upgrade and she told me the hotel was completely booked. I told her I saw every type of room and suite for sale and she said that was incorrect. She assigned me the suite I booked on the eighth floor overlooking the street. The hotel has twice as many floors. I asked for a higher one and was told that they were booked. It seems management has trained the staff to say “no” to almost every request and to even try to deny benefits that are owed like the waived resort fees. After a few minutes, she handed me my keys (since the mobile key option was not working) and I went to the suite.

The lobby has plenty of seating, but it’s filled most of the day with people waiting for rooms.

I like the art deco accents and enjoyed the pop art throughout.

Art in the hotel’s lobby.

The hallways smell bad (like a faint mix of urine and trash) and are in need of refreshing.

Miami Suite (810)

There are 354 rooms including 14 suites at the hotel.

The suite opens into a small living room. Here, you’ll find a small couch, TV, a few tables, and a cabinet with a refrigerator and coffee setup.

Living room couch and tables.

There was no mini-bar (there is a CVS across the street) and the refrigerator was working fine. A Nespresso machine and coffee were above the fridge.

An ice bucket and bottles of water were next to the coffeemaker. The bottles were replenished daily.

As part of the Hyatt Privé rate, a welcome amenity is included. I have been given bottles of champagne, wine (sometimes multiple bottles), cheese plates, cakes, and more for this amenity. When we got to the room there was nothing there. I called the front desk and they had no idea what I was talking about. They asked someone and said it would be delivered soon. Shortly, we were given this sad tray of fruit and water. Why give us ice for bottled water? Who ate the grapes? It looks like the woman delivering them sampled some on the way up. I took the two bottles of water and put the “fruit plate” in the hall. As far as I was concerned this was more insulting then sending nothing. Housekeeping picked it up in a matter of minutes. Hopefully, they enjoyed it. I certainly did not appreciate how cheap this hotel was with its amenity.

Through the living room was the bedroom. It included a King bed and lots of outlets. I loved that they also included USB options.

In the corner of the bedroom was a small desk and chair.

There was a large wardrobe near the bed. It held an iron, ironing board, slippers, the safe, an umbrella, and robes.

A large TV, mirror, and space to spread out luggage was across from the bed.

There were two doors between the bedroom and living room leading to the bathroom. It was oddly designed with three sinks.

Two (pictured above) were next to the shower.

The shower and tub were glassed in together.

Toiletries were Jonathan Adler Champagne brand.

There was another sink and a toilet in the other room.

Public Areas & Amenities

The hotel has a fitness center, two pools (one for adults and one for children), beach service, and more.

Water is provided by the pool.

The beach attendants went through the motions of setting up the chairs, but were not personable or that happy to be there.

There were multiple decorative chairs and then more haphazardly arranged for guests.

We ordered lunch. I had a veggie burger and my husband had a salad. Both were fine. I found this to be a good use of the $100 credit provided by Hyatt Privé.

The fitness center used to have Peloton bikes. I had read multiple reviews and even saw the hotel listed on Pelo Buddy as having them. I’m not sure where they went but the replacements were pretty crappy. I’m a huge Peloton addict and was disappointed that these were not there.

There is a neon sign in case you want to take a selfie.

There is a computer tucked away in the back of the lobby for guest use.

Breakfast

Globalists are provided with a complimentary breakfast buffet in the restaurant called Ambersweet. It’s not huge, but was a good spread with fruit, yogurt, breads, cereal, cheese and meats, and multiple hot items. A made-to-order omelette station is also available.

Scrambled eggs

Bacon

Tater tots

Waffles and pancakes

Chicken and pork sausage

Fresh fruit

Vegetables

Breads and a self-serve toaster

Yogurt parfaits

Juice

Cereal and milk

Muffins

Oatmeal

Smoked salmon and various meats

Cheese

Omelette station

Other Notes

As mentioned, the staff seems to have been trained to say “no” to anything involving benefits. Do not come here expecting upgrades, early check-in, late checkout, etc. They seem to want to not honor the World of Hyatt terms and it’s disappointing. I tried to check out with my phone, but that was also not working. This was for the best as I had to argue to have several things removed from the folio that should not have been there.

Overall Impression:

The Confidante is well designed and offers a good breakfast. Other than that, I don’t have much nice to say about this hotel. Service was poor. Forget about seeing any elite benefits. It’s clear that staff have been trained to deny almost any request. The elevators are cramped and staff is constantly filling them with carts. I had to argue at checkout to have the $100 credit taken off of the bill as well as having to have breakfast removed and the resort fees. Staff ranges from indifferent and robotic to unpleasant (for example, at check out I was asked how my stay was. I replied, “not good.” She responded with “glad to hear it.” I asked her if she was glad to hear I had a bad stay and she just got quiet).