The Shepley Hotel

Cool, comfortable, restful, beautiful Shepley

Liked: The exterior is comparatively unassuming - a white stucco building in the middle part of a block in South Beach, but the minute I walked in, I knew I was someplace wonderful - the lobby was cool, and smelled wonderful, and looked unique - this is not your average Holiday Inn looking place. The staff was so nice, and while I'm not quite sure how someone who was in a wheelchair would manage all the steps (there is a handicapped entrance, so there's a way - but there are steps off the street, and another set of maybe 5 steps from the lobby to the single hallway), it's beautifully appointed and peaceful. The room was glorious - we had the last room at the end of a hallway covered in photos; inside, the floor was smooth-sanded pale pine, and the room was huge - ample space for a king sized bed and a full living area with couch and chairs, plus a desk and a huge closet. The bathroom was likewise enormous, and had several fixtures which looked original, from the black and white checkerboard floor tile to the 2 vanity sinks. I loved the Shepley - we will be back. Food and entertainment and the beach are between 1 and 2 blocks away, which was perfect. The breakfast is mostly continental; we went to a restaurant, but the families munching down looked happy with it.
Disliked: Parking. Parking was awful. The attendant in the lobby told us we could park in the deck across the street, but it was full. South Beach is not good for parking at all - next time, we will uber and rent bikes. The shower is a converted full size tub, which sounds good, but it's very deep and the shower head is oddly heavy - I'd be careful with it, although it looked like a good place for a soak. We struggled a bit with finding plugs for the phones, and there was not anything resembling a view, unless one likes parking lots - but again, it's on the main drag in South Beach. If you want a view, get out and walk!