Not knowing much about Miami, we figured a hotel in the medical center couldn''t be too bad or in a bad neighborhood. This assumption was correct, but ONLY if you know how to get there! Apparently, there is more than one "NW 14th Street" so the directions I got from an online map program were incorrect. We ended up in a not-so-nice neighborhood at 1:30 AM in a rented minivan. Well, using our intuition, we drove the other way down 14th and found the hotel amongst the hospitals. It''s a small building compared to the large hospitals around it, but still fairly visible from the street.
We drove in about 2 AM, and checked in. Even though we made our reservation on the Internet (Travelocity), everything went just fine, including our rate of $50/night and our non-smoking two double bed room. The motel has a small parking garage and another lot in the back of it, where we were supposed to park for our room. Since we wanted to see the sites of South Beach in all its glory on a Saturday night, we didn''t unload our car, but headed straight out.
Later that night (5 AM) we returned to the motel, and unloaded our stuff and went straight to bed! The room was just what we needed for our 6 hour stay. Beds, a TV, and a clean bathroom. The room was nice, not dirty like many Days Inns are. I think the motel had been recently remodeled. Our checkout at 10:30 was only inhibited slightly by the large group of cruise-goers checking out at the same time. Since this Days Inn offers a free shuttle from 5 AM to 2 AM to the Port of Miami (as well as the hospitals and downtown), I can see why staying here before a cruise would be very lucrative.