I’ll interrupt my ongoing trip reports to post a review, I’ve been meaning to post in a long time.
EB HOTEL Miami Airport
Address: 4299 NW 36th St, Miami, FL 33166
Phone: (305) 324-6835
Introduction:
Last summer we had to make a unexpected stop in Miami after missing our connecting flight to St. Maarten. After a short conversation with the AA representative at the Admiral’s Club near Gate D15, we learned that AA wasn’t going to provide us with overnight accommodations. Without arguing with the agents any further, I quickly whipped out my phone and opened up the Hotel Tonight App to book us a hotel stay for the night.
After consulting TripAdvisor, we immediately saw that the EB Hotel Miami was the best hotel near MIA. Though the rate for the night was going for a rather high $179 (the Airport Sheraton was only going for $104), I was able to book for $119 after using a $50 off discount code from being a Founderscard member. (Note: I may recieve a commission for this referral link) The EB Hotel was after all a much nicer option according to most travellers, and for an extra $15 it was definitely worth it for just reviewing a boutique, non-chain hotel 😉
The Shuttle:
Uncertain of the shuttle situation, I gave the hotel a ring. A very nice and polite receptionist answered the phone and assured us that he would have the shuttle pick us up within 10 minutes. The receptionist was right on the dot with his ETA because the driver arrived as soon as we walked out into the shuttle pick up area, which is in the second aisle across from the arrivals and baggage claim door.
The shuttle driver was a pleasant young man, who was working at EB for 6 months and seemed very excited and enthusiastic about the hotel chain. Apparently EB stood for ‘EuroBuilding’ (EB) Hotel Chain that has hotels in Argentina and Venezuela along with its first North American property in Miami. It is also apparently considered to be the only four star hotel in the vicinity of Miami International Airport.
The ride over to the hotel was less than 10 min long. The moment we arrived a bell hop was patiently waiting to take our luggage, ironically enough we didn’t have any. (This has somehow become normalcy for us these days). I believe that all the airlines we have flown are conspiring together to lose our luggage or even better, not giving it to us period! More on this later…. :).
Lobby/Check In
On a higher note though, our spirits were lifted as we entered the lobby. A bar just off to the side created an elegant atmosphere for the area as the furniture and decorations gave the room a sophisticated and clean look. The receptionists were very welcoming and efficient, they confirmed that we had pre-paid the rooms through Hotel Tonight. We had our room keys in a matter of 2 minutes and were on our way to our room.
The Rooms:
What caught my attention oddly enough was that the elevators at the EB Hotel intelligently (IMO) has you scan your room key before getting on in place of pressing a button. This is a nice contrast to hotels which will have you scan the keycard and not leave you enough time to press the button. This could be an especially annoying occurrence if you stay in a hotel in the middle of downtown New York or Hong Kong. Say Hello to all 80 something floors below or above your floor!
Our rooms were located on the third and fourth floors of the hotel.
Room 301 was my parents’ king bed deluxe room. The hotel had some snazzy mood lighting at the end of the corridors.
The Standard King Room
As I said, my parents were given the standard king bed room while my sister and I shared the standard double room.The king bed room was very spacious and included full bathroom, a standing shower and a single vanity At first we were confused on how to close the blinds that cover the bathroom (reason being that they exposed the ENTIRE bathroom. Yikes! That’s awkward!) but with just a quick call to the front desk they were able to explain where the switch was located . A master switch was also available by the bedside just in case you forgot that one last light.
Upon entering the room, the restroom was to the left while the main bedroom was located directly across from the entryway.
The room featured a large LCD TV in the center, lounge chair in the right corner, and large desk in the left corner.
The bathroom featured absolutely sensational design with granite countertops and a huge car wash like shower.
The hotel featured ARCHIVE toiletries which were Green Tea and Willow scented, and reminded me very much of the Westin brand Green Tea Aloe toiletries.
There was a large walk in shower as I said before, and an extremely large shower bench, which is an extremely awesome feature to have, especially for older folks staying at the hotel.
Oh, and I also thought the tile work was very much interesting in its depiction of some flowers. It seems that people who constructed this bathroom had some patience to design and place these in such a fashion.
The closet or wardribe in the room had two pairs of robes, a laundry bag, iron, and iron board.
The room featured a keurig machine and a couple of different varieties of k-cups for complimentary usage. 
The Standard Double Bed Room
Compared to the Standard King the only difference in the Double room was that there were two queen beds rather than one King size. The bathroom was the same size and had basically the same necessities as the King Suite. Its marble countertops and finished showers gave the bathroom that great fresh and modern look. The showers in the rooms were just simply awesome! They were easy to control and were able to keep you in the bathroom for hours.
The bathroom was a mirror image of the King Bed Standard Room:
As for Wi-Fi in the hotel: it was free and extremely fast. Definitely perfect for browsing, watching Netflix, and photo uploads.
Breakfast @ The Miranda Restaurant:
Breakfast at the hotel wasn’t included, however due to lack of choices we ended up having breakfast downstairs in the end anyway. Breakfast is open from 6:00-11:00 am and is served at the Miranda Restaurant, located next to the bar in the lobby.
We had the choice of taking the Continental Buffet or choosing from the a la carte menu. The menu contained everything that was already in the buffet (excluding coffee, tea, and some side orders of waffles and pancakes), so we decided that going for the buffet was a better and perhaps more economical option.
The Continental Breakfast served the usual suspects such as toast, scrambled eggs and some potatoes. We were in a rush to grab breakfast and head to the airport so I didn’t have time to capture any pictures, unfortunately. They also served a variety of cereals including one of my favorite of all time, Cranberry Almond Crunch. (This obviously made my day since I haven’t seen many hotels with this cereal.)
Bottom Line:
Overall the EB is in the ideal location for any traveler willing to make a quick stop in Miami. It is only 5 min away from the airport and has an airport shuttle running every half hour until 8:00. And though it is not part of any chain, it is hands down the best hotel I’ve stayed in near or in Miami proper let alone the airport. Definitely my go to hotel at the rate I booked this hotel at.
