We recently had a flight arriving late into Miami and decided to stay over before traveling on to Key Largo. Since it was only a one-night stay, we had a lot of hotel options.
Because I had an IHG Anniversary Free Night certificate that needed to be used, I decided to look at their properties first. The certificates are good on award nights up to 40,000 points. I always like to maximize the value of our free night certificates, so I started looking at the best IHG hotels first. I really liked the looks of the InterContinental Miami, but they did not show any availability so I moved on to the InterContinental Miami Doral.
The room would normally have required 42,000 points, which is more than the value of my certificate. Fortunately, IHG was running a special for 20% off points needed for award stays, so I booked it for 36,000 points.
Lobby
We arrived at the hotel after 8 pm, a bit frazzled after a long travel day. I was wowed the moment I walked into the lobby. Everything was so very chic. Conrad Baguisa, the Loyalty Champion-Brand Supervisor wasted no time getting my check-in started. He recognized our status and offered us a room upgrade from a 2 Double Standard Award room to a 1 King on the first floor. I thanked him but declined since I prefer not to be on the ground level. Instead, he comped our parking for the night and provided us with access to the Club for breakfast in the morning.
So much more than I expected!
The Room
Everything was clean and well-appointed. The room had 2 double beds, a mini fridge, a beverage station, and plenty of drawers. There was also ample counter space for our suitcases since we didn’t want to fully unpack for our one-night stay.
The bathroom was clean and well stocked with a vanity that had more than enough space for the 2 of us to spread out our toiletries. The lighting was pretty good and there were plenty of thick fluffy towels. Like many hotels, IHG is trying to be more sustainable by moving to refillable bath amenities. Although I am not a huge fan (I always imagine that they have been tampered with), my husband had no objection to using them. I simply used products that I brought from home.
Dining
Since we had a long travel day, we arrived at the hotel hungry. After settling into our room we headed to The Blue Matisse Restaurant and Nau Lounge. They are located together off of the hotel lobby. We decided to take a seat in the lounge and grab a drink while we ordered dinner. The bartender was so nice and very attentive. He answered all of our questions, quickly brought out our drinks, and got our food order started right away.
Sorry no food shots because we were famished. I had a Hong Kong Mule and a Wagyu cheeseburger that came with a basket of perfectly cooked french fries. My husband had a local beer and the Seafood jalea. Everything was delicious and the service was five-star.
In the morning we made our way up to Club InterContinental for breakfast. The food was very good with several hot hearty options (not depicted due to it being too busy to snap photos) along with fruit, pastries, cereal, and yogurt. Waitresses kept our coffee full and offered us a selection of juices. I quite enjoyed the fresh strawberry juice.
It was a beautiful morning and we were not in a hurry, so we took some time to enjoy the pool. There weren’t a lot of other guests out there yet, so it was really relaxing. Since we were near the airport, I had fun watching the planes pass over every so often.
Packing it Up
We really didn’t have a lot of expectations for our one-night stay in Miami. Using my IHG Anniversary Free Night at the InterContinental Miami Doral turned out to be a great plan. Every moment of our stay from the time we walked into the Lobby was relaxing and enjoyable. The property was beautiful and not too far from the airport. Our breakfast and dinner were delicious and the service was top-notch.
You know I love being boujee on a budget and this stay really hit the mark. I would definitely stay here again and recommend it to anyone traveling to or through Miami.
Dream, Plan, Save, Adventure!
The World According to Dev 