There are so many hotels to choose from around MIA airport. Virtually all of them have an airport shuttle and are essentially the same in terms of convenience. So they can either compete on quality or on price. The Best Western MIA Airport is priced very competitively. Is that low price worth it? Let’s take a look.
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I booked this hotel for a one night stay before an early morning flight on Sunday June 22.
The total after tax for that night was $99.89, with a suite pricing out at just $20 more. The Best Western MIA Airport has an Expedia rating of 8.4. Check the Expedia rates for your dates.
I chose this hotel because a one night airport stay is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the $50 credit available through the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. So my net cost for this room was just $49.89. Booking through the Chase portal is a good chance to look outside the chains where I’m maximizing rewards points and see what a Best Western has to offer.
Best Western MIA Airport Location
The hotel is two miles from the terminal drop off point. It’s a pretty quick Uber ride, especially in the early morning, but it’s also far enough away that the property feels more like a city hotel than an airport hotel.
MIA Airport is slapped down smack in the middle of urban Miami meaining that once you get just a little distance away from the airfield you’re in the heart of Miami, which is a good description for this location. It’s not actually in Coral Gables, which is a pretty high-toned neighborhood further to the South than this map makes it look. It’s also not in Little Havana but it’s very close to that neighborhood and to Loan Depot Park. The Little Havana shuttle bus route stops outside the hotel and the east-west route 11 city bus is easy to navigate.
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Note that the hotel’s free airport shuttle doesn’t start service until 6:00 am. If you have an early flight you may want to look elsewhere if you want a shuttle.
Best Western MIA Airport Property
I had heard from someone with a lot of road experience that the BW Premier brand is very nice. After staying in one they may have oversold it a little, but the hotel was definitely nice enough to recommend. To me this property is very comparable to a Holiday Inn Express but priced significantly less.
Best Western doesn’t have the best reputation for quality on the hotel industry and their branding scheme is not helping that perception. I won’t explain the entire chain here but within the Best Western-branded part of the chain there’s regular BW, BW plus and BW Premier, escalating in quality and features in that order. This property turns up as a BW Plus in searches and online materials, despite having the Premier branding in Internet photos. Photos aren’t always trustworthy because properties do change. As of this writing the Best Western MIA Airport is operating as a Premier location.
Best Western Miami Airport Guest Rooms
Rooms here are overall pretty nice. Mine was clean and the wear and tear was minimal. Bathroom was fine with no issues. And the rooms are pretty large.
The bad news is that when you have a large room you have to fill it up. This room felt under-furnished. It had a comfortable chair, but no side-table or ottoman in sight. The room is large enough to fit a sofa and/or a cafe table in addition to a chair so a single piece of furniture way over in the corner doesn’t feel like enough. What furniture is there is very functional but a little cheap and boring.
That’s kind of the vibe throughout the room. The walls are the chalkiest shade of builder-grade white with very little in the way of decoration to break them up. Floors are made for easy cleaning over guest comfort. Rooms here are overall fine but no one would call this a home away from home.
About The Neighborhood
When most people close their eyes and think of Miami they picture Art Deco condos and the beach. The vast majority of the City of Miami is a lot more like East Houston than it’s like Miami Beach. It’s stroads and car sprawl everywhere. Humble little one-level houses with security bars on the porch and a questionable car on the lawn. Taco trucks and check cashing places and Latin beauty supply shops.
That’s pretty much what this neighborhood is like. 42nd Avenue is a large commercial street and Flagler Street is one of the main thoroughfares of Miami. The rest of the area is just modest houses. The location is overall good for its centrality and it’s not dangerous to walk around in this area.
There’s a grocery store a block from the Best Western MIA Airport and a few restaurants: a Lebanese carry out, Chipotle, Pizza Hut and IHOP. You don’t need much because you probably aren’t staying here long.
Bottom Line
That’s the thing about this hotel: you probably won’t be staying long. It’s good for a one night pre-flight stay. Two days max.
It’s a clean room and a good quality property for a very low price. Any faults that can be found here can be forgiven for just a quick stay. If this property works for you hop on Expedia and book it with confidence.
