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Miami Hotels... Where to Stay? Where to Eat? What to do?

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AmosCruisers

AmosCruisers

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Has anyone sailed out of Miami?

I will be sailing on the Carnival Valor in November.

I am looking for a decent Hotel to Stay at a couple of nights before we depart on the cruise.

Any fun places I should check out?

Any good restaurants you suggest?

Hopefully we can get this thread going!

Any brides or guests have any suggestions? Any good deals?

Any information would help!

Thanks in Advance!

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xxjulzxx

xxjulzxx

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When we sailed out of Miami 3 years ago, we stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay. Nice hotel. I have to suggest Loews Miami in South Beach though, because I work for the company and was just there a few months ago! And, it's an AWESOME hotel. But it is expensive!

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shetryed

shetryed

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We stayed at the Miami Hyatt Regency; could see the cruise ships from our balcony. The best part is we got it on Priceline for $35 per night! Sweet, huh? A 4 star hotel with a balcony and it was $42 with taxes per night! Good luck:D

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  • 3 weeks later...
chap0150

chap0150

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Has anyone sailed out of Miami?

I will be sailing on the Carnival Valor in November.

I am looking for a decent Hotel to Stay at a couple of nights before we depart on the cruise.

Any fun places I should check out?

Any good restaurants you suggest?

Hopefully we can get this thread going!

Any brides or guests have any suggestions? Any good deals?

Any information would help!

Thanks in Advance!

 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn - Port of Miami. It was really nice to be close to the port and there is a nice outdoor shopping mall area within walking distance. The only bad thing about the Holiday Inn was poor customer service. We wanted to check in at 3 and they weren't ready for us. The front desk staff was rude but I'd say otherwise, it was a nice place to stay.

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flyerso6

flyerso6

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We were just in Miami ( 5/ 12/ 08 wedding ). We had a group of 24. We were just in Miami one night. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn Miami Airport East, it was not too expensive and right by the airport so transportation to/from airport was easy and free. La Quinta staff was very nice. The provided a shuttle to the port at 10am, which I was a little worried about cutting it so close but we made it to the port with plently of time to spare. La Quinta upgraded our room to a suit for the price of a regular room. They even let us who drive leave our cars there for free ( beats the $20 a night parking at the port ). I was worried about that but our cars were fine when we got back.

 

That night we were there we went to Bubba Gumps to eat ( downtown I guess, it was close to the port ). We took a shuttle there and back for $10 a person. It was a great time, we got free hats and dessert ( whole group ). They played trivia with us and other games. Everyone had a blast.

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hollidaygal

hollidaygal

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I live in Miami. I would check priceline and bid on a hotel downtown near the port. There are plenty of hotels in downtown and most are expensive but you could probablly get a cheap rate on priceline. If you are staying in Miami a few days then check out some hotels in South Beach. Be careful though, cause some hotels are nice and some are old. Alot are old! South Beach is a fun place to stay if you have a few days. Do your research though. A nice hotel by the airport is the Soffitel. It is also close to Coral Gables which is a fun place to eat, drink and shop. There are many great restaurants in Miami. What kind of food, price and atmosphere are you interested in? The best areas in Miami to hang out are: Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Downtown and Miami Beach. Let me know if I can help you further. :)

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sjg1002

sjg1002

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I live in Miami. I would check priceline and bid on a hotel downtown near the port. There are plenty of hotels in downtown and most are expensive but you could probablly get a cheap rate on priceline. If you are staying in Miami a few days then check out some hotels in South Beach. Be careful though, cause some hotels are nice and some are old. Alot are old! South Beach is a fun place to stay if you have a few days. Do your research though. A nice hotel by the airport is the Soffitel. It is also close to Coral Gables which is a fun place to eat, drink and shop. There are many great restaurants in Miami. What kind of food, price and atmosphere are you interested in? The best areas in Miami to hang out are: Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Downtown and Miami Beach. Let me know if I can help you further. :)

 

hollidaygal - I will be staying at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown and would love to know some places to eat. Could you email me at sjg1002@aol.com?

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hollidaygal

hollidaygal

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Most of our guests are staying at the River Park Hotel and Suites on 4th. I read that the people mover stop is a block away from the hotel. Does the people mover drop off at the Bayside Mall?

 

When you say "people mover" do you mean the tram? I believe it stops close to Bayside. Maybe a block or two away. Bayside is a very touristy place so I'm sure it stops close enough for people to walk. I never use the tram so I'm not sure, but I will ask around for you if you want. :)

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hollidaygal

hollidaygal

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Here are some great restaurants in Downtown/Brickell area of Miami

 

1. Perricone's - 15 SE 10th Street

(Italian mostly but excellent and lovely atmosphere, not too exspensive)

2. Lombardi's - At Bayside

(American Continental/Italian located on the water and not too exspensive)

3. Gordon Biersch - 1201 Brickell Ave.

(American Fare, great bar and casual atmosphere and not too exspensive)

4. Novecento - 1414 Brickell Ave.

(Spanish food and fine dinning, but not outrageous)

5. Rosa Mexicano - 900 S. Miami Ave.

(Good mexican food with a great atmosphere and not too exspensive)

6. Big Fish - 55 SW Miami Ave.

(American Continental/Everything located on the Miami River with great views and mainly all outdoor seating. Not too exspensive)

7. Bongos Cuban Cafe - 601 Biscayne Blvd. Next to the American Airlines Arena (Excellent Cuban food, but tends to get a little crowded and a little exspensive)

 

Check out the websites for these restaurants or Zagats for reviews.

 

There are many things to do in Miami, it just depends on what you are interested in and what kind of transportation you have. Miami does not have good mass transit unless you spend the day in the downtown area. The cabs are not too exspensive though. Let me know what you might want to do and I'd love to help!

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miyucruises

miyucruises

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When you say "people mover" do you mean the tram? I believe it stops close to Bayside. Maybe a block or two away. Bayside is a very touristy place so I'm sure it stops close enough for people to walk. I never use the tram so I'm not sure, but I will ask around for you if you want. :)

 

 

I guess its the tram. If you would ask, that would be great. I think we are going to do a pseudo-rehearsal dinner at the hard rock cafe in Bayside. I know that seems cheesy, but it will accomodate a variety of tastes. We have some relatives that think blue cheese is exotic...

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hollidaygal

hollidaygal

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I guess its the tram. If you would ask, that would be great. I think we are going to do a pseudo-rehearsal dinner at the hard rock cafe in Bayside. I know that seems cheesy, but it will accomodate a variety of tastes. We have some relatives that think blue cheese is exotic...

 

Too funny!! I guess I'm exotic then cause I LOVE blue cheese!! Gotta love the moldy cheeses! ;)

 

Yes, the people mover stops one block away from Bayside. The Hard Rock is fine for a rehersal dinner. Afterwards you should go across the way from Hard Rock to this great Latin bar/restaurant called Mambo Cafe. It's outdoors with a great view of the Marina and it's lot's of fun! Enjoy!!

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Pug3636

Pug3636

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Wow! Thanks for sharing all of the tips about Miami hollidaygal! I will also be flying to Miami at the end of January/February for my wedding cruise. We are staying at the Deauville Beach Resort for one night. I was trying to come up with ideas for a late dinner or dessert party for the first night as a get together with all of our guests (about 25 total). Something affordable and fun. Any ideas?

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hollidaygal

hollidaygal

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Wow! Thanks for sharing all of the tips about Miami hollidaygal! I will also be flying to Miami at the end of January/February for my wedding cruise. We are staying at the Deauville Beach Resort for one night. I was trying to come up with ideas for a late dinner or dessert party for the first night as a get together with all of our guests (about 25 total). Something affordable and fun. Any ideas?

 

If you want a late dinner, than Miami is the city for you! The Latins tend to eat late and on South Beach, the fun never stops! You are staying on Collins Ave. so there should be many restaurants close to your hotel. Check out Lincoln Road area. It's a long pedestrian street that has restaurants, bars and shopping on both sides of the street. All restaurants have outdoor seating on the sidewalk and some of the best people watching ever! When you're in your mid to late 30's like me and have lived in Miami for a few years, you rarely go to South Beach unless friends come into town, so I can't name a bunch of places of the top of my head but I can definitely ask some of my friends for you. Give me a few days... :)

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pandabebe

pandabebe

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We stayed at the Mutiny hotel in Coconut Grove. Gorgeous suites w/ a view of the harbour/yacht club. And it was really convenient...across the street was a small complex w/ a Cheese Cake Factory, bar and a few stores, and we were only a $10 from South Beach.

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hollidaygal

hollidaygal

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We stayed at the Mutiny hotel in Coconut Grove. Gorgeous suites w/ a view of the harbour/yacht club. And it was really convenient...across the street was a small complex w/ a Cheese Cake Factory, bar and a few stores, and we were only a $10 from South Beach.

 

The Grove is great! The complex you are referring to is called Coco Walk and it's basically a little mall w/ restaurants, some shops and a movie theatre. The neighborhood around Coco Walk is cool too! Lot's of bars and places to eat. There is a fabulous place called Christabelles Quarter on Commodore Plaza. Here is the link www.christabellesquarter.com/ It is a New Orleans style restaurant with equisite decor that was rescued, restored and brought here after Hurricane Katrina. It has live Jazz daily and the food is good. I highly recommend it! I will come up with other suggestions for South Beach area soon...

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