Intercontinental Miami Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Downtown, Miami, Florida

The Starbucks counter adds a hum to the hotel

The Intercontinental's 34-floor pink tower is hard to miss -- I was able to spot it from five blocks away! Built on a gigantic scale, with a Henry Moore sculpture in the center of the cavernous lobby and 22 meeting rooms (totaling 286,557 square feet), it's designed for business. But it has virtually the same layout as the Hyatt around the corner. In other words, its a monster of a hotel, constructed during the year's economic boom when multiple escalators and shiny brass handrails were meant to impress.

The hotel packs in an eclectic crowd -- from vacationing families with children to school groups to businessmen to canoodling couples. Even late at night and in early morning -- thanks, in part, to the Starbucks counter -- there is a busy hum throughout the hotel.

The conceirge can arrange luxury rentals

With 641 rooms, the hotel struggles to keep up with the number of guests. To check in, I had to wait in line for about 10 minutes, but the attendant was polite (if a little hurried). I waited a little longer to check out. Other guests were similarly annoyed by the long lines. To make up for it, the hotel at least offers a complimentary pastry and coffee counter in the lobby (which they set up at 4 a.m. for those early-morning flights).

Despite some complaints, I met many visitors who return to the Intercontinental time and time again. One guest -- a former mayor who had stayed at the Intercontinental during the Conference of Mayors -- liked his stay so much that he had returned for a personal vacation. I too was impressed with the Intercontinental's attention to detail. During my stay, a friend sent me a postcard addressed to the hotel (I had checked out before it arrived). When I returned to New York, it was at my apartment with the manager's card attached. Now that's service!

View on a Larger Map

Just like the neighboring Epic and Hyatt hotels, the Intercontinental is on the downtown waterfront. By day this part of the city is bustling with business, though guests have to walk several blocks to find actual stores or restaurants that aren't affiliated with some colossal hotel or office building. Then again, if they're here for work, they're probably headed to a meeting in one of these glass and mortar confections anyway. At night the skyscrapers light up with a tropical range of pinks, yellows, blues, and greens. But for all the shine, there's very little life on the streets. If guests are going anywhere, they have to drive or take a taxi. Fortunately, there's a constant stream of cabs and a huge parking lot by the entrance (valet-only parking is $34/night).

Still, if guests would like to stretch their legs, the Intercontinental is right by the large Bay Front Park, replete with an amphitheater, a playground, a view of South Beach, and loads of kids taking their skateboards for a spin.

Guestroom

The Intercontinental has 641 rooms and 34 suites. Superior rooms (the basic type) are all about the same size and come with either a king-size bed or two doubles. Deluxe rooms only offer a better view, with choices of looking out over Biscayne Bay. Thirty-two of the 34 suites are one-bedroom suites, with the option of having a pull-out sofa in the living room. The only two-bedroom suites are the Presidential and the Royal, and both retail at around $3,000/night.

The double bed deluxe Harbor room where I stayed is very large, about as big as my room at the Ritz Carlton South Beach. The room has an expansive layout with a separate nook for the mini-fridge and minibar, and more closet space than most Miami hotels (but much of the closet space was in the bathroom for some reason).

Unfortunately, the room was dark and smelled unmistakably stale -- an immediate turn off. I found out that the hotel is renovating its rooms in stages, so mine just might have been one of the older ones (there's no way to tell in advance if your room has been refurbished or not). But although guests in the newer rooms don't complain of any mustiness, several reviews on TripAdvisor mention that rooms are still dark. The heavy curtains and lamps set in the corner of the room are probably to blame. In my room, a dirty window hardly helped, despite the bird's-eye view of Biscayne Bay.

The beds are very comfortable, with plush mattresses and smooth, though not especially high-grade, linens. The rooms are outfitted with rich wood furniture that has stood has stood the test of time, though the somewhat rickety media center hiding an old tube TV was a pain to open.

The bathroom -- just like those at the neighboring Hyatt -- has a huge main space for the sink, but the shower and the toilet are shoved into what looks like a broom closet. The toiletries are great, even if their design is blatantly stolen from L'Occitane.

The writing desk has a lot of outlets, which was a good thing, but the Wi-Fi and wired Internet each cost $11/day. Unlike most resorts, the desks even include a printer and fax machine.

The pool

The Intercontinental has a small outdoor garden that's mostly paved over with stone, but it does have a tiny putting range and a decent-size pool with plenty of seating on its broad deck.

There's a $15/day access fee for the gym, sauna, and steam rooms -- unlike most downtown hotels. MySpa a floor below the lobby, and on the same level as the pool, is a cute but extraordinarily small. The entrance is a spacey swoop of curving white walls with a display of expensive cosmetics and toiletries from brands like Nickel. But the actual treatment rooms, hidden behind the impressive sign-in desk, are rather small, and nothing special. The locker rooms are especially tiny, with a sauna and steam room not much bigger than the shower stall.

The fitness center is about the same size as the gym at the nearby Epic hotel, but its relative lack of natural light means that it feels much smaller. There's a broad selection of cardio and weight-training machines, all in good condition, but they don't compare to the top-of-the-line equipment at the Epic or Mandarin Oriental hotels. Still, the gym here puts the paltry workout room at the Hyatt to shame.

There's a Starbucks booth at the far end of the lobby with the standard selection of coffees, teas and snacks. Plan on waiting in line for your fix (or just use the coffeemaker in your room). During my stay, there was a long line to the counter all day long.

The putting range

Rooms at the Intercontinental are generally quite large, with more than enough space to fit in a complimentary crib. A roll-away bed should fit as well, though it carries an extra charge of $5/day. Since there's a maximum occupancy of four people to a room, larger families will have to book more than one room. The buffet at Indigo is varied and extensive enough to have at least something the kids will like. If worse comes to worst, the intricately designed desserts are sure to lure them in.

There's no dust or crumbs anywhere in the rooms, but my room did have an odd, stale smell (even after leaving the door open and running the air conditioning at full blast). My window, despite having a beautiful view of the Bay, was dirty. And the upholstery, while bright in parts, was showing age (though several rooms in the hotel were renovated in 2008, ours was not one of them).

Indigo Restaurant and Bar

The poolside Blue Water Restaurant was closed during my stay, but it has an excellent view of Biscayne Bay. The alternative restaurant, Indigo, is a bright, colorful space at the end of the lobby that serves extensive buffet meals and artfully arranged desserts. But since the restaurant is only open during designated mealtimes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, non-conformists will have to nosh at the bar around the corner (open throughout the day). Take my recommendation and order the club sandwich!

If guests are leaving early and want a bite to eat before a flight, the hotel thoughtfully sets up a complimentary breakfast table right by the front desk so they can grab tea, coffee, some fruit, or a pastry before heading out. Not of the highest quality, but still, something to fill the stomach on the way to the airport.