Miami hotels in areas: Port, South Beach, Bayside or Downtown

I've been going through hotels on the pc and thought I'd look for any tips on AAM before I book one. I want to spend 3 nights in Miami before I embark on a cruise from the Port. I'll have just 2 full days there and one of those will be spent walking and shopping in Miami and another just relaxing at the hotel. I'm travelling solo. Any ideas for decent Miami hotels in areas of the Port, South Beach, Bayside or Downtown? Also, is it better to book direct on the Hotel website or use a site like ebookers?

We have stayed in the Fontainbleau on Miami Beach a couple of times. Nice enough pools & rooms.
Also stayed in the Diplomat Beach Resort once (north of Miami beach). Great resort but walls were thin enough in the bedrooms.

Food recommendations -
Yard Bird - fried chicken & waffles - awesome comfort food & service.
The Bazaar in SLS South Beach - fancy cuisine & fancy guests - dress up.

@Julius. Can l suggest you check out www.cruisecritic.com? Go to 'North American home ports', https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=495

Some reviews and recommendations for hotels in Miami.

Don't stay downtown/bayside unless you are going to rent a car. South beach is expensive, but it's where all the tourist bits are.

jhegarty said:

Don't stay downtown/bayside unless you are going to rent a car. South beach is expensive, but it's where all the tourist bits are.

Click to expand...

Interesting you say that. I read a strong recommendation for Bayside Marketplace for pre-cruise accommodation on cruisecritic.com.
It seems close to Miami/port.

Bayside is great if you are just staying the night before a cruise (as most Americans do). It's just over the bridge from port.

But the op is staying for 3 days.

jhegarty said:

Bayside is great if you are just staying the night before a cruise (as most Americans do). It's just over the bridge from port.

Click to expand...

I did think of Bayside as it appears to be a good area for shopping (I'm just going to fly out with a cabin bag and then buy a case and clothes in Miami). So tonight I'll either book a hotel there or on south of South Beach.

Julius said:

I did think of Bayside as it appears to be a good area for shopping (I'm just going to fly out with a cabin bag and then buy a case and clothes in Miami). So tonight I'll either book a hotel there or on south of South Beach.

Click to expand...

Good stuff. Can you let us know what you book and how it was as I am researching for next year? Bon Voyage!

Slim said:

Can you let us know what you book

Click to expand...

I went into one of the links you gave earlier and saw good reviews for the Hampton Hotel in Brickell (it's a Hilton hotel). Can anyone tell me if it's better to book directly on the hotel website or with ebookers or some other website?
Also, a link re cruises that you provided had a comment by someone who said not to book cruises directly with the cruise company as you don't get as good value (I booked directly!!). If this is the case then why is this?

Click through the process on each of the websites until you get the cheapest price.

Try hotwire.com too (discounted hotel rooms in all areas - you won't know the hotel name until you book but you'll know the location and the star rating - note, 4 star hotels in the US are not similar to 4 stars in Ireland as US hotels are generally much older so rooms might be a bit dated but the facilities are generally v good.

Thanks, I'll have a look through that: As to

Julius said:

Also, a link re cruises that you provided had a comment by someone who said not to book cruises directly with the cruise company as you don't get as good value (I booked directly!!). If this is the case then why is this?

Click to expand...

There are 3 camps as to booking cruises: Some book only through a travel agent, some book always via the cruiseline and others, including myself, book wherever the deal is best at the time. It seems many in the US can browse multiple agents to seek best value, special offers and added Onboard Credit, complimentary drinks or wine etc. Here in Ireland, we have limited access to bargains but that is changing, I use a US travel agent when I can get a better price available to North Americans but not available here. When travel agents screw up and the cruiser has a bad experience, it goes on Tripadvisor and Cruisecritic with many chiming in that that is why always book direct! It seems to me that Irish cruisers are priced quite high compared to US, European and sometimes UK cruisers.