Pre-cruise hotel - What did you think of Intercontinental Biscayne Bay Hotel (in Miami)?

[mevelandry]

Hi! I have been thinking of booking the Intercontinental near the port in Miami.

We arrive late at night and will leave around lunch time, as soon as we can board the ship.

We are interested in the deal with the breakfast included.

Do they offer a shuttle service to the port? ($)

I wanted to know what you thought of it? Any reviews, pictures or advices are greatly appreciated. Where was included breakfast served, etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[anricat]

They did not have a shuttle service when we stayed there in 2015. We took a taxi to the port and it was $13 (including tip) for a 10 min ride. We got a killer rate on the hotel through Hotwire. I think we paid $90 or something using their mystery hotel type deal.

The hotel was comfortable and clean but not anywhere near worth the rack rate, I'll be honest. We didn't eat there for breakfast in the morning, we ate at Cafe Bastille which was a 5 min walk from the hotel. Breakfast was $35 for our family of three and tasty.

We've often found "free" shuttles or "included breakfast" type bundles aren't always the best deal so make sure you price out various options. Have a great cruise!

 

[flipflop]

Seconding Cafe Bastille - amazing breakfast. We ate there before our cruise last year. We stayed at the Epic - would not do that again.

 

[mevelandry]

Seconding Cafe Bastille - amazing breakfast. We ate there before our cruise last year. We stayed at the Epic - would not do that again.

Oh no? We stayed at the Epic in 2019 and loved it.

 

[flipflop]

Oh no? We stayed at the Epic in 2019 and loved it.

We (family of 6) were there a couple of days during christmas week 2021 (after christmas, before new years). We had a suite and a connecting room and the cost on those were enormous. Limited pool hours, limited chairs by the pool, 1 person to provide food/bev service at the pool, difficulty with uber because of the residences there and traffic on that circle lot- lots of lambos and ferraris out front. I felt we were paying more for the "scene." Perfectly clean hotel with nice staff. Understaffed - like many other places. Overall we were underwhelmed by the experience compared to the cost.

I suspect pre-covid it was better.

 

[mevelandry]

We (family of 6) were there a couple of days during christmas week 2021 (after christmas, before new years). We had a suite and a connecting room and the cost on those were enormous. Limited pool hours, limited chairs by the pool, 1 person to provide food/bev service at the pool, difficulty with uber because of the residences there and traffic on that circle lot- lots of lambos and ferraris out front. I felt we were paying more for the "scene." Perfectly clean hotel with nice staff. Understaffed - like many other places. Overall we were underwhelmed by the experience compared to the cost.

I suspect pre-covid it was better.

I can imagine, yes. Prior to the pandemic, the service was so good that it felt like we were in a Disney Hotel.

Prices are skyrocketing these days. The only reason we are not going back is because it is a little too expensive for us.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

We stayed there back in 2016. Took a taxi to port. Also got a great rate on Hotwire. We could see the ship from our room, which was exciting- it was our first Disney cruise. For the right rate, I’d definitely stay there again.

 

[ljhayes]

We stayed there the night prior to our cruise in February. It was stupid expensive but something was going on that weekend and everything was crazy expensive and booked up. It was fine. We had a great water view from our room and the kids enjoyed the pool the morning we left. We didn't eat at the hotel other than grabbing some Starbucks. I'm blanking on the name right now but there was a flatbread place a couple blocks over (in a weird spot where like 5 restaurants all have their takeaway pickup at the same window) and it was AMAZING. We had a rental car so we dropped it up the street and got their shuttle to the port, but I don't believe the resort was offering a shuttle at the time.

 

[mrp4352]

If you're flying in the night before late, you might consider staying in the airport at the Miami International Hotel. There were packages that included breakfast (at the Margaritaville restaurant downstairs outside of security - really good breakfast!), and for us, when our scheduled 10:30pm arrival turned into a midnight arrival with a ramp shut down (thunderstorm in the area) so luggage wasn't available until around 2am, it was a blessing to be able to escape to our hotel room upstairs. It's an older hotel, but clean and the staff is friendly.

 

[1200emily]

We stayed at the Intercontinental in December. We stayed club/concierge level and they had amazing food. We liked it so much we stayed for the day after the cruise. We had two rooms and we enjoyed the pool. The beds and the room were really nice. We Ubered to the port. I would highly recommend it!

 

[1200emily]

We stayed at the Intercontinental in December. We stayed club/concierge level and they had amazing food. We liked it so much we stayed for the day after the cruise. We had two rooms and we enjoyed the pool. The beds and the room were really nice. We Ubered to the port. I would highly recommend it!

Here are some photos of the rooms

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I love how you can always count on DISers to provide 10 pictures of a hotel room. Everywhere we go, I take several pics before we unpack and dh says, "Why do you need to take so many pictures? We're only staying here 1 night." I tell him how someone, somewhere will be curious of the room, the coffeemaker, the bathroom, something, and I'll have pictures to post for them.

 

[mevelandry]

View attachment 669450
Here are some photos of the rooms

Very nice! Thanks for sharing.

 

[mevelandry]

T

If you're flying in the night before late, you might consider staying in the airport at the Miami International Hotel. There were packages that included breakfast (at the Margaritaville restaurant downstairs outside of security - really good breakfast!), and for us, when our scheduled 10:30pm arrival turned into a midnight arrival with a ramp shut down (thunderstorm in the area) so luggage wasn't available until around 2am, it was a blessing to be able to escape to our hotel room upstairs. It's an older hotel, but clean and the staff is friendly.

Thank you. While I am still undecided about our January 2023 cruise hotel, I have booked that hotel for our fall 2022 cruise. The rates were reasonable and I picked the deal with breakfast included.

 

[ITGirl50]

T

Thank you. While I am still undecided about our January 2023 cruise hotel, I have booked that hotel for our fall 2022 cruise. The rates were reasonable and I picked the deal with breakfast included.

We just booked it too for the September double dip. I am missing sailing out of Port Canaveral. I like staying at a Disney hotel the night before the cruise using our DVC points, but the cruise was such a good price we couldn’t pass it up.