Miami Hotels / Restaurants / Must Do's

Okay, so some of you folks know I'm being dragged to Cabo for the bachelor party...and well, the wedding is in Aruba in June so we have to go through Miami so I figured since mrsreindeer is due with our first baby in September, this trip will most certainly be our last HURRAH!

So...we're going to spend 3 nights in Miami, Saturday May 30th and heading to Aruba on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Where should we stay in Miami? Ideally, the Delano would be awesome (I guess)...anybody have any hookups for a great rate?

Where should we eat?

I can't possibly think there'd be any good cigar shops in town ...but if there are, let me know! (although I'm not sure how much time I'll have to leave pregnant mrsreindeer to lounge around grabbin' a smoke otherwise I'd definitely be looking to set up a herf too).

I definitely want to hit Little Havana at some point to grab some good grub; what else should we do in town?

This will be my first real full vacation in over a year so I'm looking to do more R&R than anything else...where should we do it? The R&R, that is...

And if you have any tips on Cabo.... please let me know too!

And yep, stay tuned for an Aruba thread if I can't find any info in the search on here.

And yeah, you could say I'm a planner.

Anyone??

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Blueface]

Just got back into town and jammed with work.
Give me a day or two and can share plenty of things to do and restaurants/cigars, etc.

Excellent, you got it. Thanks Carlos!

[68TriShield]

Don't get your hopes up.

He couldn't even find a bathroom in Miami.....

[floydpink]

I'd definitely follow Carlos' lead, but if you ask me, a trip to Calle Ocho would be nice and a dinner at Versaille is a must, although the mom and pop places are great as well. Just don't ask the guys at Sosa for directions to El Rey (Pepin's place)

South Beach is great for people watching as well.

Aruba is frickin awesome and you'll Love it

The Delano is tight. Haven't stayed there but every time I go to South Beach I hang out there. You can smoke a cigar pool side and people watch. Lots of people hang out there. If I had the cash I would stay there.

[Don Fernando]

This topic is quite useful, thanks for all the suggestions. After doing an online search for reasonable hotels, I reserved rooms at the tropics hotel on may 19 and 20. Don't need anything fancy or expensive, I will only be in the hotel for a couple of hours of sleep anyway.

Originally Posted by Blueface

They close mid May so he will unfortunately miss one heck of a South Beach treat.
They don't reopen until mid October.
This was in fact a "tease".

Dabnabit!

Great stuff here guys, I really appreciate it!

This is the first chance I've had to log in since Friday...I was also talking to another friend on Saturday who mentioned the Westin Diplomat up in Hollywood...whataya think about that place? I'm a Starwood guy and can use points for a free stay (all 3 nights!)...the Ritz Biscayne looks really nice too, that's for sure.

I'm going to check out the joints in South Beach, though, for sure....but is it more party than relaxing? mrsreindeer is pregnant so I think she's going to want to spend more time by the pool or at the beach than in the bars & clubs...

Hey, Versailles...is that the same Versailles as we have out here? http://www.versaillescuban.com/index.html

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by mrreindeer

Dabnabit!

Great stuff here guys, I really appreciate it!

This is the first chance I've had to log in since Friday...I was also talking to another friend on Saturday who mentioned the Westin Diplomat up in Hollywood...whataya think about that place? I'm a Starwood guy and can use points for a free stay (all 3 nights!)...the Ritz Biscayne looks really nice too, that's for sure.

I'm going to check out the joints in South Beach, though, for sure....but is it more party than relaxing? mrsreindeer is pregnant so I think she's going to want to spend more time by the pool or at the beach than in the bars & clubs...

Hey, Versailles...is that the same Versailles as we have out here? http://www.versaillescuban.com/index.html

I have been to the Versailles out by you. Not the same that I am aware of.

South Beach will offer you both relaxation and partying.
If more for relaxation, stay on Collins. Walk over to Ocean Dr. or catch a very quick cab ride.
Ft. Lauderdale is awesome. It is just not South Beach. Two different worlds but both have much to offer. The River Front area of Ft. Lauderdale, which is minutes from the beach has tons of stuff to do as far as restaurants go.
The thing is South Beach offers all right there. Ft. Lauderdale entails moving around.
Not familiar with that Westin but they are very nice hotels in general.
Check out for a Startwood on South Beach. No way they cannot have one.

Does your cruise leave out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale?
That would be a factor also.
Although either is a half hour to 45 minute ride, that can be a mess on a weekday.

[madurofan]

Key Largo doesn't even come up in this conversation?

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by madurofan

Key Largo doesn't even come up in this conversation?

I mentioned to him via PM about the keys but Bill, in your effort to draw human beings your way, you fail to see this poor guy is here on a "short" stay.

Do you have to stay in Miami? I would highly recommend staying at the Breakers in Palm Beach,,,a water front room you will never forget. If you have to stay in Miami and you want a great hotel I would suggest going with Hotwire and keeping in the 4 star and up but at least you will save a ton of money. Sooooo many cigar places to visit you would end up getting vertigo. South Beach is fun,,,wish I could tutor you there,,,used to be my old stomping grounds when I lived in S. Florida.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by Cigary

Do you have to stay in Miami? I would highly recommend staying at the Breakers in Palm Beach,,,a water front room you will never forget. If you have to stay in Miami and you want a great hotel I would suggest going with Hotwire and keeping in the 4 star and up but at least you will save a ton of money. Sooooo many cigar places to visit you would end up getting vertigo. South Beach is fun,,,wish I could tutor you there,,,used to be my old stomping grounds when I lived in S. Florida.

Haven't checked but I bet you can get a great rate at Breakers.
Only thing is if he wants to head down to the factories and all else, it is quite a ride.

Originally Posted by Blueface

Haven't checked but I bet you can get a great rate at Breakers.
Only thing is if he wants to head down to the factories and all else, it is quite a ride.

You're right about the ride to Miami,,,but there is alot to do in Palm Beach and The Breakers is a hotel that you just have to experience. You never have to leave the hotel but if you do there are all those amazing homes in the area,,,Worth Ave,,,some very good cigar places as well only a few miles away. There is Sabor Havana in Palm Beach Gardens only a few miles up the road and that is a B&M that rivals some of the best. As you said, Breakers have some very good rates right now,,,it's best to talk with Reservations and negotiate a good rate as this is a first time staying here,,,you've heard such great things,,you're so excited,,yadda yadda!

[Mr.Maduro]

Great thread! Thanks for the info. We'll be back in South Beach very, very soon!

Thanks guys.....as of right now we're staying at the Westin Diplomat since I've got a friend we're going to be visiting in Hollywood and it's not too far from Miami where we want to spend most of our short time....as for the rest of our time there, we're definitely going to hit up South Beach, Little Havana and I'd love to check out a factory or two....

[BlackDog]

A few years ago I stayed for a week at the Fontainebleu, and it's an awesome place if you are looking for an upscale hotel.

Well, finally getting a chance to log in, just got back last night. Thank you all for helping me with this...

A lot of our time was devoted to relaxing at the pool in Miami and the beach and hang out with my buddy who has moved to FL and my uncle.

We stayed at the Westin Diplomat which is the nicest freakin' Westin I've ever stayed at. Even better, we used points so it was free.

Across A1A from the Dip was an awesome bar right on the intracoastal called Nikki Marina. Went there twice it was so nice.

We drove through Miami, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and Calle Ocho..had a great lunch at Versailles (Cuban) and got a chance to stop in at Don Pepin Cigars and picked up a Tat, La Gloria Cubana and saw the rollers and I'll post pics on here as soon as I can...and last but not least, stopped in on Padron right before closing time. They only sell boxes so I was a little disappointed and saving up for Aruba...but the office itself is beautiful and had I had time and mrsreindeer not been pregnant, I would not have minded lighting up a Padron I brought along for the ride, just in case.

Hollywood, FL / Sunny Isles restaurants we hit up:

Hollywood Prime right in the Westin was off the hook. While I like my steaks without steakhouse, their homemade version is incredible.

Timo Restaurant @ 17624 Collins Ave was AWESOME.

[kydsid]

Thanks for the update. Headed to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow and plan on hitting the factories monday.