Review: The Stadium Hotel is a nice alternative in Miami Gardens

The Stadium Hotel in Miami Gardens has many benefits for vacationers.

Over the weekend, I spent time at The Stadium Hotel in Miami Gardens, and despite the cheaper price tag, it compares well to other area hotels.

Located a short .80 miles from Hard Rock Stadium, The Stadium Hotel is a great place to stay for more than just a football game. Not quite in the heart of Miami, its location makes it easy to get anywhere.

The hotel is located off the Florida Turnpike and is only a 15-minute drive to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. A 40-minute drive will get you into Miami. Have a few hours to spend? Try heading south to the Everglades into the Florida Keys. They are both relatively close considering.

Inside the hotel, there is a bar/dining area named The Legends Bar and Grill. The food is modestly priced but the portion size suffers on the “side” side. The issue we ran into and this is only one of two real problems we had with the hotel, was that the service took far too long. A woman was still waiting for a simple salad almost an hour after she ordered. We had to wait 35 minutes for a chicken sandwich and fries.

This is unacceptable at any restaurant and while you may have time to wait, it’s a long wait for food that is average at best.

My second complaint has to do with the elevator system. You must have your room key on you at all times. You must swipe it to call an elevator let alone get into your room. The issue here is if you run out to your car and forget it, you need to have someone bring it to you or convince the desk clerk to let you up. If you have more than one person, as we did, it made it a little more inconvenient.

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Overall both are only minor issues and neither would discourage me from staying again. There is a pool on site but it is only open from dawn to dusk, each room has a private walk-on balcony to go along with spacious clean rooms and televisions that actually work and are easily navigated.

The view will either be facing the city of Miami but don’t expect a skyline view, or a view of the turnpike. There is fast food located a short five-minute walk under the turnpike and I felt completely safe in the middle of the evening.

The Stadium Hotel doesn’t charge any stupid resort fees or parking fees for guests, that I am aware of. The prices ran us around $110.00 for the night but compared to other hotels within 5-10 miles, this was a bargain where other hotels, like the Rennaissance Hotel, can set you back over $200.00 and the rooms are smaller.

Overall, I would recommend this hotel. It may not be loaded with a lot of amenities but if the price is important, you are getting a lot more for your money than you are at other places.