Review of South Beach hotel, restaurants and trip

Hi,

Just wanted to give an update on our trip to South Beach at the end of April since I got such helpful information from you all. We had a really nice time overall so thanks for the info. We stayed at the Hotel Atlantica and Suites which I highly recommend to anyone on a budget. I got the idea from the forum here so thanks for the good tip. We stayed in the king bed suite which was great since we were there for 3 nights. It was definitely large enough for 2 people and there was also a sofa pull-out if needed. Our only complaint was that the a/c blows right above the bed so we were cold. But great free breakfast. And you can%26#39;t beat the $10 parking, although it is first-come first serve.I reviewed the hotel elsewhere on this site.

We didn%26#39;t get to hit all the restaurants Advisor Girl had suggested but they looked good from the outside. After landing in MIA airport it took soooo long to get our rental car (DON%26#39;T recommend the Budget rental counter to anyone!) that we were famished and went straight to Joe%26#39;s Crab Restaurant, close to the hotel. Really good key lime pie. That night we walked around Ocean Dr. Have to admit I felt a little overwhelmed by the crowded sidewalks and crowded cafes. We ended up at a quieter outdoor bar. The nightclubs we seemed to pass seemed to have mostly 20-somethings queueing up outside. The next day we walked down to Lincoln Mall taking in the local stores along the way. We enjoyed the art galleries we saw including the Romero gallery. It started pouring and we ended up eating at Cafeteria that makes ';fancy'; diner food. It was good. That evening we drove over to Coral Gables to see the Biltmore Hotel and then the rest of the town. It was really quiet and not really worth the drive. Best to go during the day I guess. That night we ate a fun, good and cheap(er) meal at Tap Tap, a Haitian restaurant. Cool decor.

Sunday was our anniversary and we went to Key Biscayne. We took a short walk but it was quite hot. Bikes would have been good to do there. We ate lunch at News Cafe which was just awful. I don%26#39;t know what the fuss was about. Food was so incredibly bad and the scene wasn%26#39;t worth it. But we had dinner at Nemo which was quite nice. I can see why people recommend it for brunch. The tree covered patio is lovely. We spent one more night later in the week at Coconut Grove since we were then staying near the airport (Springhill Suites--good one-night stay). It was nice to see but i don%26#39;t have to rush back. Advisor Girl had suggested Big Pink and we didn%26#39;t get there but it looked a lot of fun. So thanks again for the good info!

Review of South Beach hotel, restaurants and trip

GC%26gt;

Wow!

Thank you so much for the follow-up!

I am glad you had a nice visit to our city. It%26#39;s a lot of responsibility suggesting places to stay and to eat. I fear for the clunkers and hope for the best. Glad it all worked out for you.

It%26#39;s always nice to hear from folks who visit the forum. Thanks so much for taking the time to offer such detailed feedback.

Happy Travels... Come back soon.

AG

Good comforters with a gray-blue room