The President Hotel

I just don’t get all that excited about New Years Eve anymore. This year I decided to take off down to South Beach after Christmas Day. Now, if you know me, I usually stay in places like the Beau Rivage, Hilton, or Indigo when I want some serious peace and quiet but if I’m out to tear up the town, especially in a place like South Beach, I prefer to stay at a spot like The President on Collins Ave.

The hotel is surprisingly cheap but it’s all about location, location, location. Ocean Drive, Washington, and Lincoln are only a few minutes walk away. I won’t front - I was a little apprehensive when I first looked this place up online. When I read the reviews some of the people had some horrible shit to say about this place like the bed having a sink in the middle to the hallways smelling like mildew. But I told myself this joint had to be in better shape than what these fools are talking about considering this place is right in the heart of South Beach, South Florida’s bread and butter. Once I’m actually there to see for myself I’m pleasantly surprised. I’ll just tell you right off the bat this isn’t a glamorous hotel but it’s a hell of a lot better than Motel 6. The elevator is raggedy as hell but it works pretty well. You have to press and hold the buttons to get it to work properly - The building is only 4 stories tall but it took this elevator nearly an hour to go up and down.

As I’m walking down the hallway I don’t notice any mildew smell. The hallways are actually kind of neat and there’s no loud partying noise like what would be at most other cheap hotels. Of course you know my knees were knocking as I approached my door. I took a deep breath, stuck the card in the slot, and opened the door with my eyes closed. I took three steps forward, opened my eyes, and was surprised to see that the room was fairly spacious. It was very neat and clean and had a great view from two fairly large windows. The king size bed had a cheap, thin mattress on it but was still very comfortable as was the pillows. I walked into the bathroom and was also relieved to see how clean and neat the bathroom was. There was no rust or wear anywhere on the floor, fixtures, tub, toilet, walls or the ceiling.

Now you’re thinking to yourself “Romulus, why would you risk staying in a cheap place like this?” If you’re ready to party you won’t have time to lounge around in your room. You’ll be out on the beach, you’ll be club-hopping. You’ll be making a mad dash down to Coconut Grove, you’ll be taking a quick road trip down to Key West - You won’t be sitting in your room like the Prince of Persia or Cleopatra, you’re going to be in the streets rippin’ it up, which is what I did.

The President has a cool little bar right in the lobby that plays 80’s music videos on two widescreen T.V.s, and apparently they’re equipped to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the rather decent menu displayed in the room but I ended up eating breakfast around the corner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to get a nice view of the beach and a gentle sea breeze. You’d be crazy not to hit this place up and take advantage of being right in the middle of the action at a fraction of what it would cost you to stay almost anywhere else on Miami Beach.

Comments

[jess]

I stayed at the Greenview when I was down there this summer. The whole trip, including the tickets, was like.. a little under 400 per person. Greenview was nice, quiet, clean, and it was on one of those streets you mentioned (forgot which), and around the corner from that tourist strip with the clothing stores and the johnny rockets. i stayed at the beach most of the time so I wasn't looking for anything but a comfortable bed, a working ac, and a clean shower. They were nice. Thanks again for the kind words. Holler!