Stayed for one night, Saturday, Sept. 29 after getting it on Priceline for $100. Overall my experience was positive. I'd say the hotel common areas are 4* and the renovated room is maybe 3-3.5* Additional fees were $19 "resort fee," which I didn't mind because we usually pay like $20 to rent deluxe shaded chairs on the beach, and Royal Palm had such chairs and more available. And, $39 for overnight parking...which is high, but SoBe parking is expensive, so we sucked it up instead of inconveniencing ourselves by parking in the municipal garage a block away (and probably not saving all that much money anyway). After reading the TripAdvisor reviews, I asked the very cute and friendly desk clerk for a renovated room. She said none were available. I asked if one might be in a couple of hours, and she said yes, housekeeping was cleaning them. This was about noon, and check-in time isn't supposed to be until 4 p.m. anyway, so I had already planned to chill (or melt, as the case may be) by the pool for a couple hours. She gave me a dummy room key so we'd have access to the pool area, we left our bags with the bellman, changed clothes in the lobby restroom and headed out to the pool. The pool area was very nice, I was pleasantly surprised. There were no small children there, coincidentally I suppose, just several couples. The furnishings were very modern, with super-thick padded lounges and beds. Towels were plentiful, and there was a full bar with free cold water. I didn't enter the pool, just lounged and read. Within 45 minutes the desk called my cell phone, and the room was ready. It was nice, but clearly they cut a few corners on the remodel. The carpet had a couple black stains on it--either it wasn't stain-resistant or housekeeping couldn't figure out how to get gum out of it. Pretty bad for a supposedly 4-star hotel. Speaking of housekeeping, the room was otherwise clean except for the half-used mayo bottle in the fridge, and several other unopened beverages including a $40 bottle of French champagne. Front desk confirmed that the fridges are supposed to be empty...so we didn't complain about the mayo :) Back to the room...the pseudo-balcony (a ledge with a railing) had a double curtain rod, with a vinyl black-out curtain on one rod and nothing on the other. So that was a bit ugly and obviously unfinished. The bathroom had a sliding door which is the most ridiculous design I've ever seen. The door slid along the outside of the door frame, so you couldn't see into the bathroom, but you could *hear* everything. Nothing so romantic as hearing your husband pee at 3 a.m. But, it had a nice big LCD with HBO, a granite wet bar, a little couch, and a SUPER comfortable bed with ultra-soft linens. The bathroom was also perfectly servicable and all tiled in travertine, the "stone of the moment." And the location of this place is superb. It's quieter up around 15th street. We usually stay closer to the action off Ocean Dr., and it is so LOUD at 4 a.m., even earplugs don't help. Our 10th-floor room was blissfully silent. We were right next to the Lowes, which has a lovely lounge, and a few blocks from the Lincoln Road pedestrian mall with all its boutiques and restaurants. So, I would absolutely recommend this hotel in the low-$100 price range even with the expensive parking and resort fee. I don't think you'd get much better for less--not right in the heart of South Beach.
