Miami info

DMLJ

Hi girls.. i usually post over on the NJ boards but wanted to see if you could help me schedule the rest of my honeymoon.

We are going on a NCL cruise leaving from the port in Miami.  We are going to go 2 days earlier and play to stay in Miami (maybe south beach?)  Is this too far from the port?  Or does it not matter because there are plenty of taxis that will take us where we need to go.  We are also staying one night after we dock in Miami. 

Any recs on hotels/advice as to what to do/see when we are in Miami?  TIA

Islamorada14

I'd definitely recommend South Beach.  Great shopping, clubs, restaurants, and of course the beach are all within walking distance.  It should also only be a 15-20 minute cab ride to the port of Miami from South Beach.

We only had one day to play in South Beach before driving to the Keys, but we had a blast.  We stayed at an art deco hotel called the Essex House because they were offering a fantastic rate (~$90 on hotels.com) and we loved it. The Clevelander Hotel is next door and has several bars, great atmosphere and food (the ahi tuna sliders were amazing).  Since the Essex is a sister property we also had access to the Clevelander's private rooftop lounges. TripAdvisor.com was definitely helpful for us when making our decision and has great recommendations for things to do in the area.

BlueBoxBride

We spent a day in South Beach this past NYE/Jan. It was okay, though one thing that is kind of annoying about the hotels on Ocean Way is that their hostesses aggressively solicit you to eat a meal at their restaurant. Tipping is included on the bill though, because they get a lot of international tourists that don't tip. 

It wasn't at all what I expected, but I'm glad we visited. Everything in South FL is pretty easy to get to. From the Boca Raton area, we were in Miami South Beach in about an hour. After getting bored in Miami, we drove out to Monkey Jungle an hour south in the everglades. I'm going to sound like a nutjob, but Monkey Jungle is pretty effin' awesome. If I were spending more than one night in South Florida, I would fly into the West Palm Beach airport (best airport ever with NO LINES and tons of yummy franchises) and stay in the PB/WPB/Delray Beach area and then spend the night before departure in Miami. 

bean0408

I second the love of South Beach! I love the variety of food and sights to see walking down just Ocean Blvd alone. The beach itself is beautiful and there is the whole open market just a few blocks away. I have enjoyed every trip I have taken there. I will say they have not been cheap trips but definitely fun. My last trip we stayed at The Strand and had a great stay.

kristinanddan

We loved South Beach. We stayed at the Winterhaven. It included free breakfast and a drink during happy hour.

SummerBoston10

South Beach is a great place to spend a few days before your cruise.  It is not far from the port at all.

What is your price range for a hotel.  If you give me that, I can make a lot more recommendations.

Also, check out southbeachluxuryhotels.com.  You have to call to book and get prices but their prices are significantly lower than anything you can book online except maybe name your own price on priceline. 

FI and I like luxury hotels and we have had some bad luck with priceline in Miami.  There are a lot of small boutique hotels in SB that claim to be 4 star but they definitely are not 4 star hotels!  We stayed at Loews in 09 and the Gansevoort when we went in January of 2010.  Both were great and we got great deals through the website I gave you.   

DMLJ

Thanks everyone---- I normally would not spend more than 150 on a place to stay, but this is out honeymoon and the cruise portion was gifted to us so I think we can splurge a bit more.  If the place was really nice I would consider 250 a night with taxes/fees included. 

I will check out the websites.

SummerBoston10

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_miami-info?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:ee54c748-518d-491b-8e2d-6e23deed87e1Post:6e3376d9-28f5-4fbe-acfd-ab6bc2f4d9a9">Re: Miami info</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks everyone---- I normally would not spend more than 150 on a place to stay, but this is out honeymoon and the cruise portion was gifted to us so I think we can splurge a bit more.  If the place was really nice I would consider 250 a night with taxes/fees included.  I will check out the websites.
Posted by DMLJ[/QUOTE]

You should be able to get a room at a really great hotel for under 250 in July!  Definitely check out that website I told you about and check out travelzoo.com as well.