The Miami Review
So I'm only about 3 months late on the Miami trip post - but better late than never right? Miami was beautiful and gorgeous, same as the people who wander the beach in their less than there bathing suits. Upon arriving we checked into the Fountainbleu hotel. It is gorgeous, however, it's massive. There are multiple entrances and "towers" and finding your way around can be a bit confusing. There were a ton of people wandering about and surprisingly a lot of children (full disclosure: I don't have children so I can in no way weigh in on parental choices, however, Miami would not be my first destination to go to with the kiddos). We had arranged for flowers, champagne and strawberries to be delivered to the room before our arrival for the birthday girl. However, due to the size of the hotel they couldn't accomodate this request until we checked in since they didn't know what room we would be in (not sure why they couldn't have preset a room for us). The flowers luckily arrived shortly after we got to our room, however the strawberries/champagne didn't arrive for quite sometime (and after we made several phone calls). We checked in around 9ish, they arrived around 1030ish....That was a bit of a disappointment as a lot of boutique hotels will let you have things delivered to the room before you check in....
We ate dinner that night at Spris - a fantastic pizza place on Lincoln Road (if you plan on drinking wine I recommend getting a bottle as it ends up being cheaper than a glass). We asked our waiter for a suggestion on where to go out after, as we wanted to go out as "locals". She suggested Foxhole Bar and it did not disappoint. Highly recommend, especially if you are trying to avoid the notorious $18.00 Miami cocktails.
The next day we spent lounging at the pool/beach before getting ready for the birthday girls big night out. Dinner was at a place called Juvia. It has one of the best views of Miami and the coolest bar (looks like one big geode). It has indoor and outdoor city so you can get the view in full effect (also a great place for a photo op which we took full advantage of). However, it is incredibly expensive (an appetizer was $45.00 and there were only 6 tiiiny pieces of salmon - please note: there were 5 of us at dinner). Once appetizers were ordered, entree's, multiple $18.00 drinks per person the total bill was...well...a lot. In all fairness to them almost every "nice" restaurant in Miami is exorbitantly priced, and the food was really good, but if you're looking to save money, come here for a drink and the view and then head to a more affordable place for dinner. After dinner it was off to Liv nightclub in the Foutainbleu hotel. We wanted to get the "Miami nightclub" experience. Please note: this includes a $40.00 entrance fee for girls, $60.00 for guys. However, at midnight confetti shot in the air while girls dressed in white leotards and neon lights danced. Was it worth $40.00? No, but the altercation I had with the man who repeatedly called me "disgusting" when I wouldn't give him my name totally was.
The next two days it was just me and the birthday girl since the other girls had to head back home. A friend of ours (who has an apt in Miami) was also in town and drove us to the Shops at Bal Harbour. It is a gorgeous upscale outdoor mall full of merchandise I cannot afford, but love to dream about. It is one of the few remaining family owned malls in the nation. I highly recommend going as it is rated the No. 1 mall in the country (in productivity based on sales per square foot). There is even a waiting list for new retailers to enter the mall as it has operated at 100% occupancy for several decades. Another great store to check out is The Webster. It has an edited assortment from the top luxury designers and is beautifully merchandised. Plus there's a fully stocked bar as soon as you enter the store.
Overall it was a fantastic trip and the dirty 30 was a success. Miami is a fun and vibrant city and I recommend everyone go at least once. There are great restaurants and shopping and of course - the beach. There is no getting around the fact that Miami is one of the most expensive cities in the world (I've been to Paris, London, Las Vegas, Dublin, LA, NYC, etc and have yet to spend as much on alcohol as I do in this city), so you must be prepared and have a good amount of spending money. There are definitely ways to cut costs. One night we looked up local asian restaurants to find the highest rated one - plus asked our friend who lived there - and ended up getting food to go, eating it in our room, and enjoying our gorgeous view. We picked up bottled waters from Walgreens so we weren't continuously paying 8.00 a bottle from the hotel. We went to several local "Cortadito" shops for our morning coffee. Cortadito is cuban espresso - aka: crack in a cup. It is beyond amazing if you are a coffee junkie (don't be alarmed by the tiny cup - you don't need more than that - it.is.strong). We saved where we could, but in the end most of my bank account ended up strewn along South Beach....
....Save up, buy a ticket, pack some granola bars,
and get yourself a Miami tan....It's worth it.
