Hotel Review: Royal Palm South Beach

The Royal Palm South Beach is part of Starwood’s Tribute Portfolio. The Tribute Portfolio is a collection of distinct and unique independent hotels that offer SPG member benefits.

Royal Palm

Royal Palm Hotel Check-In

Like all Starwood hotels, there was a separate line for SPG Gold and Platinum members, but the regular line was shorter, so we skipped that line. We got to the hotel at about 2:30, and upon check-in, we were informed that our room wasn’t yet ready even though I had requested early check-in. We were also told that the credit card system and internet was down, not a great start.

Royal Palm Suite

We waited a little more than an hour for our room to be ready, and was surprised that we had been upgraded to their 1,100 square foot two-bedroom two and a half bathroom poolside suite. The room had kind of a weird layout with a single chair in the entryway, a large counter, and island, the living room was nice, and the bedrooms and bathrooms were spacious. This room would be really nice for a family or two couples traveling together since it is so large and has separate sleeping areas. There was an outside sitting area, but it wasn’t closed off from the regular walkway, so anyone could use access it and sit there.

Single Chair in the entryway

Half Bathroom

Living Room

Bedroom 1

Bathroom 1

Breakfast area of the Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Huge Master Bathroom shower

Master Bedroom

The Large Island and Dining Table

While the room was large we noticed it wasn’t especially clean. There were stains on some of the sheets and a used washcloth was left hanging on the shower rod in the master bathroom. The beds and pillows were both comfortable, but the WiFi was pretty slow at about 5MB/s

Royal Palm South Beach Food

The Royal Palm has two dining options The Florida Cookery, which also has poolside dining, and Byblos an Eastern Mediterranean restaurant. After we got our room we went down to the poolside area of the Florida Cookery for a drink and a little snack. Mallory had a Bloody Mary and I had a Manhattan and we shared some guacamole.

Drinks at The Florida Cookery

Mallory also got a shrimp cocktail. The chips and guac were delicious! Mallory said the Bloody Mary was a little underwhelming, but the shrimp was very good.

We decided to check out Byblos for dinner and it did not disappoint! The service was top notch and the food was delicious. I started with the Duck Kebbeh, had Lamb Chops for my entrée and finished with a Yogurt Mousse with pistachio crust and a interesting cotton candy-like topping. Mallory started with some spicy olives and had the Spanish Squid for her entrée. The star of the meal had to be their Black Truffle Rice with Buffalo Mozzarella, Halloumi, and Tartufata.

Our Dinner at Byblos

Chateau Musar

We also tried a different wine to go with the meal. Since it was Eastern Mediterranean food I chose a Lebanese Red Wine “Chateau Musar” and it was amazing! Byblos was definitely a great pick and would visit again if I had the chance! If you are in South Beach go check it out!

Final Thoughts on The Royal Palm South Beach Hotel

Royal Palm is an interesting hotel with a great location and great dining options. From our one-night experience, I think they could use a little work on their customer service and housekeeping. If you are going to market yourself as the most suites in south beach, you should make sure those suites are completely clean before you check in the next guest. For a less expensive option, you could check out the aloft South Beach

Royal Palm from the beach

Since this was my first stay in one of Starwood’s Tribute Portfolio hotels, I am intrigued to see how my experience at the Royal Palm would compare to one of the other hotels in the portfolio. I think I may have to visit the Royal Palm again to see if my experience is any different.

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Have you stayed at any of SPG’s Tribute Portfolio Hotels? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments.