My go-to hotel at Miami airport is the Hyatt House. It is about 15 minutes from the airport, has a free shuttle, provides a decent level of service, can be secured at a good price normally and gets me another Hyatt status stay. I wrote a review in 2013 which you can see here.

There is a small shopping mall which is about 10 minutes walk away which has a food store as well as Starbucks etc if you are staying for a few days.

I was back here recently on the way to/from the Caribbean. Endless American Airlines flight schedule changes landed me a reasonable evening stay 8pm to 12 noon the next day.

Imagine my surprise when I walked in and they refurbished Reception:

 

Comfy chairs, tiled floor, arm chairs – how nice. At check-in they also mentioned that they had a bar now and that it provided food until 10pm. This was always a problem at Hyatt House properties – food was sparse at the ‘Managers Reception’, and there was no room service. Menu’s for the new bar food were in the rooms:

Well the real surprise came at breakfast the next morning where their previously fairly dismal area had been ‘Placed’ as it Hyatt Place’d – bright, fresh and airy with a new layout for the food – super:

 

There was a pretty good range of hot and cold food now, and it was freshly prepared and serve yourself. Something to everyone’s taste I think. The odd thing is that the hotel seem to provide breakfast for a number of the local cops who come and sit down in full uniform. Still find it odd as a Brit to see a gun at the breakfast table.

The rooms are pretty much the same as usual – they can be a bit dark for my taste but I did manage to secure what I think was my first ever upgrade at this property. Long fairly dismal corridors still exist but I think that is new carpet:

 

The room had two bedrooms – one with a full bath and one with a half bath, a sitting room and kitchen.

 

I did have a good nights sleep and after breakfast caught the shuttle back to the airport. They run every 30 minutes from 5am, but you need to book a cab if you want to get away for an early flight.

So, a great refurbishment at a property that is close to MIA. There will be a new Hyatt House property even closer to MIA from the autumn, so I am going to be torn between the two when my travels require me to go MIA!