Questions and Answers

Hope its okay to ask a totally non airline/airport question…………Any recommendations as to where to stay in Miami? I can do the research and find the right hotel but cant figure out if its best to say in Downtown Miami or over the water on Miami Beach. Seems like maybe it could be a little bit of a hassle going back and forth between those 2 areas so would like to choose the right one. If anyone has a hotel recc. that is appreciated too but moreso just what area is better to stay in? My top priorty is food followed by being able to explore and check out diff areas/neighborhoods and i guess night life would rank 3rd. Going to the beach is not a factor whatsoever as i live 5 minutes from the beach in LA. So staying on a South Beach hotel on the sand or w/e isnt a perk for me. Also, i am more of a high rise or nice boutique hotel person than a huge resort style hotel. I just have no clue if i should be looking in downtown Miami (and if so which neighborhood) or over the water on Miami Beach (and if Miami beach what part)

Thanks in advance

My favorite website is TabletHotels. It has a good website with maps, many pictures, and customer reviews. It’s a hotel website that would include Shutters in LA, that Casa hotel by Loews across the street in Santa Monica (because you mentioned the beach in LA)….. Miami Beach has water that you can swim in and has alot of nightlife due to all the hotels.
A new hotel by Swire Group (that owns Cathay Pacific) is called EAST and it is in downtown on Brickell. Nearby, Swire also owns the land that the Mandarin Oriental resides.
Brickell is filled with locals in their 30s. The Beach is much more transient and wider range of ages due to all the tourists. It’s about 15 mins from MIA to Brickell and maybe 30 mins to the Beach.
Soho Beach House is one of the most popular beach hotels, along with Edition, the W is very popular, too.
Hope that helps from a Miami native living on Brickell.

[QUOTE=”Rob in Miami, post: 66600, member: 1690″]My favorite website is TabletHotels. It has a good website with maps, many pictures, and customer reviews. It’s a hotel website that would include Shutters in LA, that Casa hotel by Loews across the street in Santa Monica (because you mentioned the beach in LA)….. Miami Beach has water that you can swim in and has alot of nightlife due to all the hotels.
A new hotel by Swire Group (that owns Cathay Pacific) is called EAST and it is in downtown on Brickell. Nearby, Swire also owns the land that the Mandarin Oriental resides.
Brickell is filled with locals in their 30s. The Beach is much more transient and wider range of ages due to all the tourists. It’s about 15 mins from MIA to Brickell and maybe 30 mins to the Beach.
Soho Beach house is one of the most popular beach hotels, along with Edition, the W is very popular, too.
Hope that helps from a Miami native living on Brickell.[/QUOTE]

Thank you very much. That was extremely helpful and all those suggestions look great.

Would you say the better food is on the downtown side or Miami Beach ? There are probably great places on both sides and also tourist trap places on both sides also?

Brickell looks really cool

I’m actually in the midst of planning a trip to Miami with some customers from work, and I am finding that literally every hotel in Miami Beach charges resort fees. I don’t mind it as much for this, since we are planning to use the beach, but it sounds like you are using your hotel just as a base to explore restaurants and such from. So for you, an extra pesky $35/night or more might be unnecessary.

These resort fees are getting out of control. I think Hyatt waives them if you’re a World of Hyatt member. I was looking at a Hyatt on Collins which seems to the main, or one of the main drags.. However, it isnt just the resort fees its just an extra $100 in comparing similar hotels in downtown vs on miami beach.

I have to do some restaurant research tomorrow and figure out where i am going to be eating and that may help decide where to stay exactly. Seems like more diff things to explore and a better feel for the overall city by staying in or near downtown

There is a nice Hyatt on Collins called The Confidante. Nicely located. There is also a more budget hotel nicely located off Lincoln Road called Centric by Hyatt.
(The Hyatt downtown is soon to be demolished for a bigger development.)
Foodie restaurants are all over the City. There is the established area south of Fifth on the Beach with alot of NYC restaurants in place (Marea, Milos) . Joes Stone Crab and Prime 112 are popular. Also, there are new hipster places in Wynwood that draw huge weekend crowds.
We are just ending the Miami Spice months of August to Sept 30.

[QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66614, member: 5445″]These resort fees are getting out of control. I think Hyatt waives them if you’re a World of Hyatt member. I was looking at a Hyatt on Collins which seems to the main, or one of the main drags.. However, it isnt just the resort fees its just an extra $100 in comparing similar hotels in downtown vs on miami beach.

I have to do some restaurant research tomorrow and figure out where i am going to be eating and that may help decide where to stay exactly. Seems like more diff things to explore and a better feel for the overall city by staying in or near downtown[/QUOTE]

Hyatt only waives for Globalists BTW.

[QUOTE=”Gaurav, post: 66618, member: 79″]Hyatt only waives for Globalists BTW.[/QUOTE]

Maybe i get them waived with my corporate rate. Not sure. Maybe i am confusing hotels.

Hey Rob i hit you up on private message with a couple more Miami questions. Whenever you get a chance, no rush. Thx for the help

[QUOTE=”Mikewarren1000, post: 66602, member: 5445″]Thank you very much. That was extremely helpful and all those suggestions look great.

Would you say the better food is on the downtown side or Miami Beach ? There are probably great places on both sides and also tourist trap places on both sides also?

Brickell looks really cool[/QUOTE]
You will like Coral Gables — 1930s art deco and bungalows sort of era. . If you want a wild experience, try the Biltmore at Coral Gables.

Thanks, looks cool for sure