Ah The Sherbrooke.
Let me start this review by saying I will never forget my experience in the Sherbrooke.
When you first arrive, you ring a doorbell because the front door is always locked. Mitch (the owner) answers and says go to floor whatever. There is a sketchy, slow elevator. By time you get off the elevator, Mitch is standing at the end of the hall and his dog would be running down the hall to meet you. I will say this...I was there a few years ago...and if you read other reviews about this place online...it seems like everyone has the same exact first experience. Hopefully the dog is still around. If you go and you see the same experience, please think of me. HA.
I stayed in a room that could sleep 3 people. 1 bed + 1 couch bed type of thing + a card table and few fold up chairs + kitchen.
Mitch is essentially your only contact throughout the stay. Any questions, go to him.
Ok. The review.
1) Kitchen. If you were like me, you probably came up on this place because you were looking for a kitchen in Miami Beach - which is very rare. Yes, the rooms have kitchens, BUT, my stove didn't work and kitchen supplies were very limited. Nevertheless, I have a microwave, and a large frig. I would not be able to make meals here, but I could cool and heat leftovers, and I could make meals that only require a microwave.
2) Cleanliness. I won't lie, the room wasn't clean. The wood floor had huge gaps in between each wood plank and you could see the dust and dirt. Shades were dusty. Window sills had dirty and bug repellent. Bathroom was flat out dirty.
3) Bed had no support in the middle. If I sat right in the middle, I would sink down a good 1-2 feet.
4) Size of the rooms was great though. As I said, I had a suite type of room that could sleep 3-4. Plenty of room to move around.
5) Location. Can't beat. One block from beach (aka 30 seconds walking).
6) Noise. It was loud from all of that street noise outside.
Deep down I think the Sherbrooke is an okay place to stay, but I have to hedge that claim somewhat.
- If you have kids: Definitely not a great place to stay.
- If you are older/married/with a girl: Probably not a great place to stay.
- High maintenance: Definitely not a great place to stay.
Those three groups need a lot more from a hotel in order to get an adequate experience - like a pool, proper room service, etc.
Sherbrooke is a no-frills place to stay. I just checked their rates: $140/night (summer). Regular Miami Beach hotel would probably be $220 or so for same night. Nice Miami Beach hotel would be $300+. You can see that the price is really attractive, especially over 4-5 nights, HOWEVER, there is a reason for that...there are no amenities, no pool, not exactly clean rooms, etc.
So why 3 stars and not 1?
I do think a certain slice of the population would have absolutely no problem staying at this hotel:
1) College kids
2) People (probably guys) under the age of 26-27 (who maybe live in apartments or dorm-like settings)
3) Single guys that just need a bed and that's it.
If you fall into that camp, I actually don't think you will mind this "hotel".
Couple other things:
1) Mitch would just come storming in to do "housekeeping" each morning i.e. empty the trash and give you one tower. That's it. His small (and cute) dog came storming into the room. I was just laying on the bed, but there was no knock or anything. You can see the issue if I was actually in the middle of something or didn't like dogs.
2) The locks on the individual room doors seemed very weak. Not sure if there would be a problem with it, but I was a little sketched out.
3) Mitch lives in the building so you really can't do anything crazy (like throw a party), because he will hear it and come over.
4) Place had free Wi-Fi that worked well.
Will I ever be back? No. I can no longer stay in such a place, but if I was a bit younger and just with a group of guys, I would think about it again.
P.S. Mitch was very nice and helpful with anything including questions about Miami Beach and the room. A cool dude. read more