Cavalier Hotel: Cozy and Reasonable on South Beach

Miami Beach has always been a vacation spot, but around the start of the new millennium, Miami gained multiple personalities. One of those subsections is South Beach. If Miami Beach is a playground, South Beach is an amusement park. It's a place for some of the city's best art, beaches, hotels and parties. It's also full of incredible hotels, many of which are quite pricey.

When the place I was supposed to stay for the South Beach Wine and Food Festival fell through just two weeks before the event, I was staring at a list of hotels that would cost me upwards of $350 a night. I had not budgeted anything for accommodations so this was quite a sticker shock. There had to be an alternative and I quickly found a dozen hotels on the beach for less than half that. It didn't make a lot of sense to me, so I called a friend in the area to find out if it was a safe option.

It turns out the South Beach section of Miami Beach has its on version of Bed & Breakfasts -- without the free breakfast. The hotels line Ocean Drive one after another for blocks. I ran a couple of the names past my friend and he knew of someone who stayed at the Cavalier. The option of paying for three nights what I was looking at for one sounded like a good one, so I booked my room.

As I mentioned, these hotels are in a row overlooking the beach. My flight was late and the cab driver actually took me to the "Carlisle" instead of the "Cavalier," and sparing the details, I ended up comfortably in a room before the mistake was learned! It was around 3:00 am when I did arrive at the Cavalier. The entrance to the rooms is through the Crab Shack restaurant where there is area for the front desk. I was given a room on the third floor and took the small elevator up.

The rooms at the Cavalier aren't at all fancy, but I found them quite cozy. I had a king-sized bed in a room big enough to walk around it. There was a small refrigerator and, though it was a bit old, everything in the bathroom was in working order. I found a nice set of toiletries awaiting me, including a Venus razor and Secret deodorant (nice touch). The internet and the satellite television worked great.

I had no problems during my stay at the Cavalier Hotel. Everyone was friendly and the few things I asked for (like non-feather pillows) were available. I did not eat at the restaurant as I'm allergic to seafood and that was the basis for a large majority of the menu. I wasn't leaving until 5:00 pm my last day to head out of South Beach and they were accommodating in locking up my luggage until then.

The location for the Cavalier Hotel is ideal. It is in the middle of many other hotels and restaurants (there is even a Starbucks diagonally across the street). It is right in front of a beautiful public beach. You won't find a pool here, or room service, or a bellman, but the Cavalier Hotel is a cozy and reasonable option for a South Beach Miami stay.