South Beach Miami is an excellent place to go to for a bachelorette party. My sister is getting married this October and in order to celebrate her final days of being single in a big way we decided to head down to Miami!
Before I delve into the awesomeness of this trip, I should probably note that this whole thing could’ve got cancelled. Two nights before we flew out, I was scanning my Twitter feed and discovered that there was a possible chance that a hurricane would hit Florida while we were there.
However, news stories were also saying that the path of the storm was still unpredictable. There was a possibility that it could shift such that it would miss Florida or the storm overall could in fact weaken before it reached Florida. At the time of departure it was still only considered a tropical storm (not yet a hurricane) so we decided to take our chances and head down anyways. We figured that if the storm, dubbed the name Erika, did dissipate we’d be pretty disappointed if we missed out on a great weekend for nothing and that on the other hand if Erika did hit at least it would make for an interesting story!
After landing in Miami we grabbed a city bus that took us directly from the airport to a stop one street away from our hotel in South Beach for only $2.65.
During our stay in South Beach we stayed at the The Angler’s Hotel http://www.anglershotelmiami.com/.
Although the service was very disorganized upon arriving at the hotel, we were definitely impressed by the layout and decor.
Apart from an amazing pool, the hotel also offered some awesome extras such as free coffee and tea from 7am-10am every morning, water bottles and jogging maps…
and bikes…
and they also had free wine during their “wine time” from 5pm-6pm EVERYDAY. You could choose from a selection of red, white and sangria (oh yes, we definitely had daily attendance at this event).
I’m so happy we decided to rent a villa, it was 3 floors! Between 5 gals it only cost $270 per person for 3 nights.
First thing we did when we got here was hit up the beach. If a hurricane was to make an appearance we wanted to get as much sun and beach time as possible before it arrived.
The beach was amazing, warm blue water and soft white sand. I could easily see what was so popular about Miami Beach’s beach!
Out of all of the places I’ve travelled I’d have to vote this place as the second nicest beach I have ever been on, after the one in Manuel Antonio’s National Park in Costa Rica.
Slight warning, avoid the seaweed. I say this because I came into contact with poisonous seaweed – you think I’m joking but I’m not (same rashy oozy grossness as if you stepped in poison oak).
One great thing about Miami Beach is the restaurants! Mmm mmm! We just happened to go down to Miami during the slow season for tourists which is when they have Miami Spice – http://www.miamiandbeaches.com/special-offers/monthly-deals/miami-spice-month. For two months from August-September, 5 star restaurants offer three course meals at reduced prices (dinner for $39). The restaurant we chose was “Larios on the Beach” http://lariosonthebeach.com/ which is owned by Gloria Estefan and her husband and specializes in Cuban cuisine.
Not only was the service fantastic but the food was AMAZING!!! They even had live music woot woot Cuban music to enjoy with your Cuban dinner. (Warning: If you order the Mojito be prepared for a stiff drink. I’m pretty sure my drink was half rum).
A couple other spots that we ate at which I must mention are..
Bolivar, this restaurant had an assortment of Caribbean and South American dishes.
Pizza Rustica, a place that offers ginormous and delicious slices of pizza (great place for budget travellers).
Our girls night out took place at a nightclub called Mansion http://www.mansionmiami.com/dev/
One thing I have to say about the nightclubs in Miami is how impossible it seems to get on a guestlist! After emailing 5 different clubs (no response from any), I decided to focus my efforts on Mansion. I called, e-mailed and even sent a message to one of their promoters who I found on their Facebook page. I started following Mansion on Twitter and even texted the number they posted to their Instagram account for free cover. NONE OF THESE EFFORTS WORKED. As luck would happen, we ran into a promoter on the street on the night we were heading there. He was handing out free tickets (avoided paying $30 cover!) along with VIP bracelets (skipped the line!). The club was definitely worth going to (apart from the $15 cost of drinks). There was a small room in the front that was playing hip-hop and then a very large room in the back with a balcony that featured a guest DJ and aerial dancers.
I am happy to say that lucky for us Erika did in fact weaken and arrived in Florida with nothing but a downpour of rain, some wind and a bit of thunder and lightning.
This resulted in only one rainy day during the four days that we were there, allowing for the perfect day to do some shopping on Lincoln Road, a pedestrian road that is lined with different shops.
I guess at this point I should also admit that I watch “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” (don’t judge me) so I had to visit the Dash store. Expensive but actually has some really nice stuff!
Such a great weekend!
Until my next trip!
♥JS
carpe diem = travel 
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