In a city where tourism is king, what the world thinks of Miami's hotels is important.
And tripadvisor.com, which gets 25 million hits each month, says its website visitors found two of the dirtiest hotels in America right on Collins Avenue in South Beach.
Their filthiest flophouses? The Continental Oceanfront ranked 10th and The Parisian ranked seventh.
Tripadvisor.com compiled the top ten dirtiest by totaling up the number of negative comments about cleanliness posted on its website, giving the power to the consumers.
Testimonials on tripadvisor.com on The Parisian aren't kind. "Worst hotel ever! Absolutely revolting!!" reads one. "Don't let the bed bugs bite," reads another. "OMG. The health department should be notified."
Another commenter didn't mince words: "Worst hotel in Miami."
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The Parisian owner, Jay Cohen, agreed to let an NBCMiami reporter in to see a room, and the conditions seemed to confirm a lot of the negative comments.
A Kleenex was being used to fill a broken window, a half bottle of rum sat in the kitchen cupboard. A funky smell was present throughout the room, and the bathroom had significant stains. Not to mention the dirty sheets.
And they knew the reporter was coming.
Cohen said he suspects competitors have posted those comments. He disputed the findings on tripadviser but admitted he gets complaints. Still, Cohen doesn't understand how his tiny hotel got more complaints than the mega hotels that are a hundred times bigger than his.
The Continental Oceanfront hotel at 1825 Collins was given the same request for a tour to dispute the ranking, but no one called back.
The testimonials on tripadvisor.com were just as unkind to to the Continental Oceanfront. "The worst, dirtiest hotel ever!' one said. "Hotel of horror," another. "Bugs bugs bugs filth filth filth," read another.
A manager from a neighboring hotel said he gets guests who've made a quick exit from the Continental Oceanfront.
"Many people call. And I say ‘Oh, the Oceanfront?’ ‘How do you know?!’ Oh, everyone in this area knows it is that hotel," said Luis Zaldana.
Despite the negative press, the Parisian is still doing well.
Rates at The Parisian go for $79 to $129 and Cohen said they're "pretty much" booked for the Super Bowl.
