You are currently viewing Review: Beacon South Beach Hotel, Miami Beach

We know Florida is one of the most popular destinations for Canadians, with good reason. It’s one of my favorites and one I know pretty well. But my last trip to Miami was even more memorable thanks to an amazing hotel we stayed at. Here is my review of the Beacon Hotel South Beach.

Last November, Flytrippers’ other co-founder and I had a trip planned to Paris and the Canary Islands. Since I was in Canada and Kevin had been living in South America for a few months, the best option to cross the Atlantic together was to meet up in the middle, in one of my favorite destinations: Miami Beach.

So here’s my review of the Beacon South Beach Hotel in Miami Beach.

 

The Hotel

The Beacon South Beach Hotel is an oceanfront boutique hotel directly on Miami Beach (and arguably the entire State of Florida’s) most iconic street, Ocean Drive. It is located in a historic Art Deco building built in 1936, and it is quite beautiful. 

By the way, the infamous scene from the cult classic film Scarface was actually filmed right next door!

Scarface memorabilia in the hotel.

 

Location

As mentioned, the hotel is the heart of South Beach (sometimes called SoBe), it is one of the historic Art Deco-styled buildings that line one of America’s best beaches. Honestly, I’ve been to Florida over 20 times personally, and in terms of location, this one is really hard to beat… you’re really directly in the middle of all the action. Ocean Drive is full of restaurant terraces and bars that fill up at night, with thousands of people enjoying the hot Miami nights under the neons of Ocean Drive.

I honestly have to say the location was near-perfect. In a few seconds, you are on the beach (the hottest one in town). Within walking distance, you can reach pretty much any spot in South Beach, including Collins Avenue, Washington Avenue, Espanola Way and of course the Lincoln Road Mall.

Map of Beacon South Beach Hotel in Miami Beach.

 

It is super easy to reach from either Miami International Airport (MIA) or Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) as South Beach is a hub for public transport in the area. Ubers are also plenty and reasonably priced.

 

Arrival and Check-in

Our friend Pat joined us for a guys weekend in Miami before our trip to Europe, so we met him at the airport and then headed for South Beach. We arrived in the afternoon and the hotel was even more beautiful than we expected, with a very cool feel in the lobby.

beacon hotel review
The Beacon Hotel lobby.

 

The employee at the front desk was very helpful and gave us a very warm welcome. The room wasn’t quite ready but they offered to take our bags and we waited at most a few minutes in the lobby and were then shown to our 2nd floor room.

 

Lobby and Common Areas

The boutique hotel really lived up to our expectations and was very stylish. The lobby was very beautiful as shown above. The hotel also had a lobby bar, which you could also use by taking advantage of the nice terrace directly on Ocean Drive.

The lobby bar and breakfast buffet area in the background.

 

The restaurant outside was great to take in the glorious South Florida weather bright and early starting at breakfast.

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The restaurant.

 

The hotel even had a little living room on the second floor with a sofa and a TV for another option that is more secluded than the main lobby.

 

Room

The room was very stylish and we were quite comfortable and had enough room for three, even though the beds were a bit small for two people, we still slept very well.

Beacon Hotel South beach review
Our guest room at the Beacon Hotel.
 
 

The decor was very fitting for a colorful spot like Ocean Drive and the upkeep was spotless. Bonus points for the custom embroidered pillow cushions.

Beacon Hotel South beach review
View from the center of the Beacon Hotel room.

 

There was no work area but there was enough storage space, a useful fridge and there was a nice table with a modern coffee machine and beach towels included for our beach outings.

Beacon Hotel South beach review
The coffee machine and nice complimentary towels.

 

The bathroom was nice as well, even though it was on the smaller side. But then again, these are historic 1930s buildings with limited space. It was very clean and well maintained.

Beacon Hotel South beach review
The shower in the Beacon Hotel bathroom.

 

There were also cozy robes offered, that is always a nice touch that I definitely appreciate.

Beacon Hotel South beach review
The robes at Beacon Hotel.

 

The amenities included smelled very good too, if you’re into that kind of details.

Beacon Hotel South beach review
The bathroom amenities.

 

Services

As a small boutique hotel, there was understandably no other services like a gym or anything like that. No pool either, but the ocean is literally steps away thankfully. It is actually quite rare for hotels in this area to have space for any of those extra services, as these are quite old buildings from the 1930s like I mentioned.

Even though they have been renovated, they are on the National Register of Historic Places and for preservation, hotels can’t modify the buildings that much (rightly so, it is a unique look).

Beacon Hotel South beach review
The Miami Architectural District neon lights at night.

 

The on-site restaurant was great! Breakfast was included and was quite delicious. It was a buffet with a wide variety of foods, there was something for everyone.

We also had lunch at the restaurant, which is priced reasonably, in line with what you’ll find in this particular area, which is obviously very crowded and popular so a bit on the expensive side as a whole.

Beacon south beach review
The menu at the hotel restaurant.

 

We tried the pizza, mini tacos and burger which you can see below (everything was delicious).

Beacon South Beach Review
Tacos.

 

Beacon South Beach Review
Burger.
Beacon South Beach Review
Pizza.

 

The best thing about the restaurant is of course the fact that the tables are directly on Ocean Drive, with a great view of the Miami sky, palm trees and the beach.

Beacon South Beach Review
Ocean Drive terrace.

 

Bottom Line

Overall, it was a great hotel to explore Miami Beach, very well located and absolutely charming in every way. I would definitely recommend it if you are heading to South Beach and want a unique experience! You can use our link to book the Beacon South Beach or go to the Beacon South Beach website.

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Andrew D'Amours

Andrew is the co-founder of Flytrippers. He is passionate about traveling the world but also, as a former management consultant, about the travel industry itself. He shares his experiences to help you save money on travel. As a very cost-conscious traveler, he loves finding deals and getting free travel thanks to travel rewards points... to help him visit every country in the world (current count: 71/193 Countries, 47/50 US States & 9/10 Canadian Provinces).

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