Hello everybody,

I know the Hilton Hotel at Miami Airport has some rooms having an excellent view on the airport that offers a excellent photography opportunities. However I know those rooms are very small expensive (USD 600 dollars per night?). Does the Hotel have a restaurant on the roof that offers the same excellent view? Those rooms are too expensive for me so I was wondering whether I can book a cheaper room and go spotting on the hotel roof if they have a restaurant there that offers the same view as those flights expensive rooms.

Or are there cheaper rooms that also offer unobstructed airport views?


Any tip is welcome.

A388

There is not a roof top restaurant etc. However, you can get a room with a balcony overlooking the terminals for less than US$200 ( I just checked on their website for availability in June). Winter rates are expectedly higher. Note that while they will not guarantee a specific room, I know that rooms 520,620, 720, 820, 920, 1020 are ideal. You will have obstructions from trees below the 5th floor. I've photographed from Room 920 which is a corner Suite with a balcony and is ideally placed. I'm pretty sure the specific rooms are the best ones--call the hotel to make sure!

Jehan

jelpee wrote:

There is not a roof top restaurant etc. However, you can get a room with a balcony overlooking the terminals for less than US$200 ( I just checked on their website for availability in June). Winter rates are expectedly higher. Note that while they will not guarantee a specific room, I know that rooms 520,620, 720, 820, 920, 1020 are ideal. You will have obstructions from trees below the 5th floor. I've photographed from Room 920 which is a corner Suite with a balcony and is ideally placed. I'm pretty sure the specific rooms are the best ones--call the hotel to make sure!

Jehan

Hello Jehan , would you please show me some photos there ? I haven't been there so far but i am interested in it , but i don't know what view does it look like ?
Cheers,
Harry

Jelpee/Jehan,

Thanks for the tips. Are the room numbers you mention the expensive rooms? Do the cheaper rooms you mention have small balconies or do you have to take photos through the room window?

What was the price of the suite you used?

A388

HarryLi wrote:

jelpee wrote:

There is not a roof top restaurant etc. However, you can get a room with a balcony overlooking the terminals for less than US$200 ( I just checked on their website for availability in June). Winter rates are expectedly higher. Note that while they will not guarantee a specific room, I know that rooms 520,620, 720, 820, 920, 1020 are ideal. You will have obstructions from trees below the 5th floor. I've photographed from Room 920 which is a corner Suite with a balcony and is ideally placed. I'm pretty sure the specific rooms are the best ones--call the hotel to make sure!

Jehan

Hello Jehan , would you please show me some photos there ? I haven't been there so far but i am interested in it , but i don't know what view does it look like ?
Cheers,
Harry

Here are some examples Harry taken from Room 920. Note that most of the time, arrivals into MIA are from the west; the Hilton is suitable for arrivals from the east. On the other hand, its also good for departures to the east although I have never spotted from there for it. Always good for ramp action. Since they are east-west runways, the light is always good especially most months of the year except the middle of summer. MIA is a great airport for photography. Plenty of areas to spot from and good variety of airlines and airframes and very busy.

Jehan
https://www.airliners.net/photo/Lufthans ... UxMg%3D%3D
https://www.airliners.net/photo/SBA-Airl ... UxMg%3D%3D
https://www.airliners.net/photo/TAM-Carg ... BRNvMTE%3D
https://www.airliners.net/photo/Lufthans ... BRNvMTE%3D

jelpee wrote:

HarryLi wrote:

jelpee wrote:

There is not a roof top restaurant etc. However, you can get a room with a balcony overlooking the terminals for less than US$200 ( I just checked on their website for availability in June). Winter rates are expectedly higher. Note that while they will not guarantee a specific room, I know that rooms 520,620, 720, 820, 920, 1020 are ideal. You will have obstructions from trees below the 5th floor. I've photographed from Room 920 which is a corner Suite with a balcony and is ideally placed. I'm pretty sure the specific rooms are the best ones--call the hotel to make sure!

Jehan

Hello Jehan , would you please show me some photos there ? I haven't been there so far but i am interested in it , but i don't know what view does it look like ?
Cheers,
Harry

Here are some examples Harry taken from Room 920. Note that most of the time, arrivals into MIA are from the west; the Hilton is suitable for arrivals from the east. On the other hand, its also good for departures to the east although I have never spotted from there for it. Always good for ramp action. Since they are east-west runways, the light is always good especially most months of the year except the middle of summer. MIA is a great airport for photography. Plenty of areas to spot from and good variety of airlines and airframes and very busy.

Jehan
https://www.airliners.net/photo/Lufthans ... UxMg%3D%3D
https://www.airliners.net/photo/SBA-Airl ... UxMg%3D%3D
https://www.airliners.net/photo/TAM-Carg ... BRNvMTE%3D
https://www.airliners.net/photo/Lufthans ... BRNvMTE%3D

Thank you for sharing these photos with me. It is really a good place to spot , what lens are required here ?

In my opinion it's the best spotting location but booking for a suite is very expensive I would imagine. What would the rate be, 600-800 dollars per night?

A388

A388 wrote:

Jelpee/Jehan,

Thanks for the tips. Are the room numbers you mention the expensive rooms? Do the cheaper rooms you mention have small balconies or do you have to take photos through the room window?

What was the price of the suite you used?

A388

In February (peak demand season) I had reservations at US$240 per night and it was for one of the designated rooms (King suite with balcony). But you must get the rooms that I mentioned due to best angle of approaching aircraft as well as of the ramp. Remember that it is best when aircraft are arriving from the east. The most common landing pattern however seems to be from the west probably due to ocean winds from the east. The less expensive rooms (as I understand it) do not have balconies. Therefore, you 'd be photographing through the glass. I have heard that you could use the emergency stairs located on the outside of the hotel as an alternative location for spotting. However, hotel security may have an issue with that! The hotel is quite familiar with photographers using those rooms (*20) suites. If the landing pattern is from the west, head over to the El Dorado spotting location or The Holes and you will get excellent arrival shots.

Jehan

HarryLi wrote:

jelpee wrote:

HarryLi wrote:

Thank you for sharing these photos with me. It is really a good place to spot , what lens are required here ?

Harry,
Either a 70-300mm or a 100-400 mm should work fine.

Jehan

jelpee wrote:

HarryLi wrote:

jelpee wrote:

Harry,
Either a 70-300mm or a 100-400 mm should work fine.

Jehan

Is it for APS-C ?

I used a 200-500 mm on a FF (Nikon D800) and I used a 70-200 + 1.7 TC on a APS-C D7100. A lens between 100mm and 400 mm works well for all sizes of aircraft.

Jehan

jelpee wrote:

I used a 200-500 mm on a FF (Nikon D800) and I used a 70-200 + 1.7 TC on a APS-C D7100. A lens between 100mm and 400 mm works well for all sizes of aircraft.

Jehan

Ok , thank you for prividing these information !

Jehan thank you for all your valuable tips. I guess the months of June to October give a lot of heat distortion is that correct?

A388

A388 wrote:

Jehan thank you for all your valuable tips. I guess the months of June to October give a lot of heat distortion is that correct?

A388

I expect that during the summer month (June- Aug) there's be a lot of HD and haze from humidity on the ground shots. November - March would seem like a good time to visit, but it is peak tourist season and hotels can get expensive due to vacation and cruise ship traffic. FYI, starting around Aug and running throughthe peak season for November is Hurricanes. While not a huge risk, there's always the chance that you could get caught in a storm.

Jehan

If blue sky doesn't bother you, you don't even have to set foot INSIDE the hotel. I took these on the hotel grounds. Paid $5 or so for parking.

727LOVER wrote:

If blue sky doesn't bother you, you don't even have to set foot INSIDE the hotel. I took these on the hotel grounds. Paid $5 or so for parking.

True. I've also heard that you could try the emergency exit stairs to get up in elevation. I've seen some nice shots with reflections from the "lagoon". However, you will miss all the ramp shots including touchdowns. And you might be asked to leave by hotel security if you are not a customer at the hotel.

Jehan