Miami 3 days before cruise

[krugs006@gmail.com]

We fly into Miami Thurs night for a Sunday cruise. We will have a rental car but are unsure where to stay. We are in our early 50's and want a nice pool, evening cocktails and good food. We love the beach but the pool is more important. Looking for suggestion. Should we stay in Miami, South Beach or maybe FLL. Mid priced hotels are best. Not looking for budget but don't need luxury.

 

 

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[LizzGo]

We fly into Miami Thurs night for a Sunday cruise. We will have a rental car but are unsure where to stay. We are in our early 50's and want a nice pool, evening cocktails and good food. We love the beach but the pool is more important. Looking for suggestion. Should we stay in Miami, South Beach or maybe FLL. Mid priced hotels are best. Not looking for budget but don't need luxury.

 

 

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I'm not familiar with FLL. South Beach is pretty wild but the beach is gorgeous and you will certainly be within walking distance of many bars and restaurants. Coconut Grove is not too far away. It has a very funky more relaxed vibe. No beach, but a marina. Lots of bars and restaurants. I like Coral Gables. No beach but there are so many restaurants and bars on the Miracle Mile. The Hotel Colonnade has a very nice rooftop pool.

 

 

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[Host CJSKIDS]

A lot of it will depend on what time of year and your budget. You fly into MIA but is your cruise out of Miami or out of Fort Lauderdale?

 

If you could give a few more details then many on here will give you some great suggestions. There are also so many threads with great hotel information for all areas if you do a search.

Lots of great hotels with great pools in all of the areas that you mentioned.

[JohninDC]

If you are staying in Miami I would skip the rental car and use Uber, Lyft and taxis -- traffic is a mess and parking is expensive! :eek:

[Flymia]

As usual it depends. Certain times of the year you can get good rates at nice beach side hotels, other times the rates for a 3 star by the airport are insane.

 

If you are set on a rental car I would open up the search up the coast a bit and check out your options in Surfside, Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles Beach along with the usual Miami Beach/South Beach options for seaside hotels.

 

If the beach is not important at all, take a look at hotels in Downtown Miami and Brickell. Intercontinental, East, EPIC and others have nice pools to use and its a great central location with lots to do near by and an quick drive/uber over to Miami Beach and other popular areas.

 

If you end up staying in Miami Beach or Downtown/Brickell I would think twice about the car. Parking at many of those hotels is very expensive and parking the car around the city can get expensive sometimes too. Traffic is pretty miserable for much of the year. Its a bit better in the summer months.

 

However, if you want to explore a bit, and check out areas outside of the city like the Everglades or upper Keys, then a car is a good choice. If you plan is to walk to drink and eat, and relax, maybe going to a few of the popular spots like South Beach and Wynwood then a car is not really needed. Uber will be fine and its pretty cheap. Getting around Brickell and Downtown is easy with the Metromover, which is free.