A. Outside the Miami Metro Police station.

Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show?

A. Somewhere in Miami.

Q. When did we see it on the show?

A. Only once, in Episode 11, of Season 2: "Left Turn Ahead", during a phone conversation between Lundy and LaGuerta.



LaGuerta is in Haiti, trying to find evidence to exonerate her friend, Sgt. Doakes (who is suspected of being the Bay Harbor Butcher).

Lundy is sitting on a bench, eating his lunch (as usual).

LaGuerta phones Lundy to tell him that she found out that Doakes was trying to get the blood slides analyzed in Haiti - something he probably wouldn't do if he were the murderer.

During the call, we see that Lundy is sitting outside, next to a building.  A sign in the background tells us that it is the Miami Metro Police station.

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. The exterior of a seaside hotel.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. We're back at our old friend, the Hotel Maya, at 700 Queensway Drive, in Long Beach,  where they shot the earlier scenes of Lundy & Deb kissing on the bench outside the Miami Tribune office, of Dexter & Lila at the poolside cafe, of Dexter & Lila at the fancy restaurant at night, and of Doakes shooting the guy on the boat.

All they did this time was put up a small black directional post with the words "Miami Metro Police", and have a few extras in police uniforms stroll through the background.

(Notice that the metal bench Lundy's sitting on is identical to the bench that he & Debra shared in the Miami Tribune scene.)

Actually, the Miami police station in "Dexter" has been created using several different locations over the first two seasons. The location most often used is outside a sound stage at Sunset Gower Studio.  But they also used a county building at Marina Del Rey, and even a parking lot in Long Beach.
Usually, the shots are kept tight enough that viewers can't see much of the surrounding scenery.

(I'm not sure about LaGuerta's location.  It sure isn't Haiti. It might well be just a studio set. But the stock photo they show of Port au Prince isn't even Port au Prince!)

The Hotel Maya is located right on the water, just southeast of the southwest end of the Queensway Bridge, just north of the Queen Mary. It has a fine view, across the river, of the Shoreline Park and the downtown Long Beach skyline.

And just to the north are the launch ramps where they filmed the crime scene on the rocky breakwater.


The hotel can be reached either by taking the Long Beach (710) Freeway to it's south end, or from downtown Long Beach by taking the Queensway Bridge across the river.

If you plan to visit, be warned that the hotel can be rather difficult to reach. It's basically at the end of the 710 (Long Beach) Freeway, but the main roads leading on and off that dock offer little access to the hotel.  For that, you have to turn off on a small, winding side road known as Queensway Drive.  Be sure to study a map of the area before you go

Here is an aerial photo of the area.  And here is a map link.

Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?

A. After visiting the hotel to research other scenes shot there (such as the restaurant scenes), this was an easy one to recognize.