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

[LasciviousXXX]

Haven't been through Miami in a couple years but when my wife and I were there we stayed at the Sofitel Resort. I couldn't recommend it more highly! We had an amazing stay there and it just made our vacation that much better.

Don't remember the specifics on restaurants but we hit up a few great Cuban restaurants in the area around our resort as well as a little hole-in-the-wall seafood restaurant that was every bit as good as any four star restaurant.

Have fun bro!

[Blueface]

Well, here goes.....

Cigars:
For Saturday, not much you will find in the world of cigars as most of them are either closed or close early.
I would try to go on Monday if possible. However, don't go during rush hour as Miami is not nice at all at that time.

Some that are open partial day:
La Glorida Cubana
El Titan de Bronze
Padron
Padilla

All of the above are within minutes of each other.

Hotel:
I would stay in South Beach if short term as you are.
There are plenty of quaint, art deco hotels that have been totally revamped and you can get great rates on due to the economy.
Search South Beach online and you will find tons of them.
There is Collins Ave, all of which is on the water but the best is to stay right on Ocean Dr., which is a short strip of a street of about 15 blocks, at the beginning of Miami Beach.
I would look to stay right on Ocean Dr., across from the beachfront and where all the action takes place in the evening.
I bet you will find a great room for around $100 a night.
There is so, so much to do on South Beach that you will not have time to go cigar seeking so you may want to bring your own.

Food:
If on South Beach, the world is at your feet, door to door, non stop, with many, many choices of restaurants to sit on the sidewalk and enjoy the weekend parade of tons of people, some of which will leave you with your jaw dropping.
For Cuban food, while many go and do the Versailles thing on SW 8th, about 20 minutes to half hour away from South Beach, you can visit Gloria Estefan's restaurants quite close by. On Ocean Dr. in South Beach, she has Larios on the Beach. If you drive towards downtown Miami, about 10 minutes away, next to the Arena and Bayside, she has Bongo's. Both are very good but I would do Larios and stay right on South Beach.
Bayside is a fun place to go visit. It is a mall right on the water, all open, with lots of restaurants and lots of bars, boat rides, music, etc., well worth visiting to hang out. There is an awesome Nicaraguan restaurant there that I just don't recall the name due to my age, as much as I have visited it. They have an incredible Argentinian/Uruguayan/Brazilian churrasco that they make their style that is absolutely incredible. I think it is called Los Ranchos.
To hangout also there is Coconut Grove which is about 20 minutes away, south of downtown. Lots of restaurants, bars, etc.
The best of all, on South Beach, just kick back and enjoy the sand and water or sit at a sidewalk restaurant/bar and drink the day/night away.
There is no way anyone on this earth can ever be bored there.
One thing on staying on South Beach is that on the weekend, the night is quite long. This area does not know what it is to tuck in early. Early means early, next morning that is.

Lastly, if time permits, let me know and can try to hook up with you.

BTW, last year, I stayed at the Colony, right on South Beach for $129 a night.
That hotel was a new experience for me. The room was a large as an average closet.
The hotel is very, very old but remodeled as all in the area have been.
It was a riot to say the least and a very memorable experience that I would definitely recommend as "something different".
You can find their information online.
http://www.colonymiami.com/

It was a neat place indeed.

[Blueface]

Forgot to mention, if you seek luxury, contact Leow's right on Collins, not too far from all the action (walking distance).

http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels...FRJdxwodvRtEpw

This place is simply amazing.

If a bit less luxury, Fountaine Blue will save you a few bucks from Leow's but still be upscale.

http://www.fontainebleau.com/gcm/nar...FRJdxwodvRtEpw

Lots and lots to choose from.

[floydpink]

Interesting Carlos....

Bongos in Orlando is horrible, but I have heard the Miami one is way better. I always go to Versailles, but need to venture out.

I never did anything at the Colony except use the rest rooms, but thought it would be outrageously priced,

If you have some extra $$ to throw around, I can tell you the Ritz Carlton is awesome, or this Marriott... http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-3503..._south_beach-i

A really fun place in Coconut Grove has always been Cafe Tu Tu Tango , with great tapas food, live entertainment, and the best sangria I ever had.

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.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by floydpink

Interesting Carlos....

Bongos in Orlando is horrible, but I have heard the Miami one is way better. I always go to Versailles, but need to venture out.

I never did anything at the Colony except use the rest rooms, but thought it would be outrageously priced,

If you have some extra $$ to throw around, I can tell you the Ritz Carlton is awesome, or this Marriott... http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-3503..._south_beach-i

A really fun place in Coconut Grove has always been Cafe Tu Tu Tango , with great tapas food, live entertainment, and the best sangria I ever had.

Big difference between the one in Orlando and the one in Miami.
The Orlando one truly sucks but I think that is more due to being around Disney and a limited Cuban population so they can get away with crap.
In Miami, she would not survive trying to feed Cubans junk food so I think they kick it up a notch.
Haven't been there in a while though so don't know about "today".
The neat thing is to not have to venture out into Miami when one can do so much right there.
Heck, if venturing out it is, Versailles is Mc Donald's compared to Molina's Ranch in Hialeah.
That is where the locals go that know about where it is.
Another well kept local secret is Havana Harry's.
Heck, contact rresplencia and see what he can chef up for you as he is a chef at a local restaurant. Just don't recall which one.

When speaking of luxury, no doubt the Ritz Carltons are up there. However, I look at it that I can stay at very many Ritz Carltons all over the place. In South Beach, I don't think I would consider any other when it comes to luxury other than Leows. The place is absolutely amazing. It is not a remake of a hotel. It is a new structure, built from scratch.

There are just so, so many places to stay that the best thing to do is shop online for price and take the tours, then look to see if anyone has anything negative about the place. It is like flies in a pile of fresh dog ****. Lots to choose from.

[floydpink]

I'm kinda biased when it comes to hotels and go where my associate rate works, due to the affordability. To be honest, I really try to stay in a timeshare whenever possible, but that's another story....

I almost forgot another of my favorites down there; Joe's Stone Crabs.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by floydpink

I'm kinda biased when it comes to hotels and go where my associate rate works, due to the affordability. To be honest, I really try to stay in a timeshare whenever possible, but that's another story....

I almost forgot another of my favorites down there; Joe's Stone Crabs.

Pete,
There is one reason and one reason alone I didn't mention Joe's to him.
It would be a tease as I believe they are already closed for the season when he gets there.
Don't recall if they close in May or June.
No doubt that is an experience one must do when in South Beach, including the 3 hour wait.

Just checked.
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".

[floydpink]

You're right, stone crabs will be out of season. Forgot about that.

I recently had dinner with some friends, one of which was on a first date with his new girlfriend. he was trying to impress her and asked the server to bring a plate of stone crabs. When the bill came, they charged him 15 bucks a claw!

Needless to say, I was glad I had a seperate bill as her plate was $180 BEFORE the fancy shmancy French wine he ordered. Luckily, there was an ATM machine outside.
Note to Mike: ask the price when it says "market"

We teased him the next day at the water cooler quite a bit and hoped it was worth it.....

When they're in season, Joe's is great!!! If you go before Orlando, the wait outside will make you think the lines at Disney in season are like the express lane at the supermarket.

[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.