Miami Hotels / Restaurants / Must Do's

[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.

[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.