I cannot even tell you how happy I am to finally be writing a travel review! Praise be! As many of you know, we are finally vaxed, waxed and ready to party! And ready to get back to our favorite thing: travel! In all seriousness, it was very important for us to not do any domestic/international travel by plane (especially to "hot spot" areas) until Stath was fully vaccinated to protect him. I also didn't want to travel until I was fully vaccinated as well, to ensure that I would be negative and be able to safely return back to work at the hospital. That being said, we still took all precautions including rocking lovely face shields and N95s on the plane ( a lewk that is my usual #ootd everyday but was new for Stath), dining outside and purelling every two seconds! It was soooo nice to kinda feel normal again and explore a new place! If you love traveling (or even if you don't), run, don't walk, to get your vaccine! Normalcy is around the corner if we all do our part! Anyway, I could talk about how much I love the Vax till my face is blue, so lets move on and talk all things Miami!
We had been to Miami one day a few years ago during a trip to Fort Lauderdale with our friends to ring in our 30th birthdays! We partied at pool party and it was one of the best days ever and we couldn't wait to return to Miami to explore more! We thought it was the perfect warm weather, easy to access travel destination for our return to travel post vax!
Where We Stayed
This trip was kind of a last minute add on trip that I booked after finding a cheap flight. That being said, since its not our big trip of the year, we didn't want to spend a lot of money on flights or accommodations, especially because I knew some of the places I wanted to hit up were a bit more of a splurge. I turned to my trusty hotels.com and found the Albion Hotel. It was only 87 bucks a night for a grand total of less than 300 dollars for the entire stay. It was in a good location, had cool vibes in the lobby, a pool and was accessible! Checked all my boxes. If you're looking for Miami Luxury, this isn't exactly it, but it gets the job done, especially if you're looking to save on the hotel and spend your money elsewhere. One little thing that I would have enjoyed is if there was a restaurant or bar, but that's ok!
What We Did
Anyone who knows me, knows that I actually don't love to relax on vacation! I'm always dragging everyone on walking tours or to historical sites, but on this Vacay, after the stress of the last year, I actually did want to relax, so that's what we did! Before this trip, I did what I always do, hit up insta for some inspo and I found some great places. On the first full day, we hit up Nikki Beach. A European inspired beach club with locations in some of the most luxurious places in the world. I booked ahead of time (which is a must on any trip these days in a pandedmic world) and scored us a day bed, which wasn't that difficult since we were going on a Tuesday. If traveling on a weekend, I'd definitely book way ahead of time! Given the lux nature of this place, I thought it would be v expensive, but to my surprise, it was only 25 bucks to rent to day bed and a 30 dollar minimum per person to spend on food and drink, which was easy to hit! They had THE BEST shrimp tacos I have ever eaten and amazing sushi! We were in heaven!
The next full day, we didn't have any actual plans which is rare for me. We walked to the beach, which was only a 5 min walk from our hotel and hung out there for a bit. Each hotel has a different blocked off area of the beach with chairs and an area to get food and drinks. But because it was kinda far from the boardwalk and would be difficult in the sand with the wheelchair, we just hung at the edge for a while and decided to try and find a pool to use for the day. We were right near SLS, which is where we had gone to the pool party a few years ago, so we gave it a shot to see if they had day passes. I was able to score us two days passes for only 34 dollars each on DayCation.com using a promo code. It got us access to their pool and there full restaurant. It was a much more relaxed vibe on a Wednesday compared to the crazy pool party, but it was perfect for us! They had great drinks and more delicious sushi! A fabulous place to relax and enjoy the perks of a luxury hotel, without having to pay the cost of staying there!
Where We Ate
Ahh my favorite part of a vacation. I essentially plan trips around food and restaurants so this is veryyyy important to me. This is where I spend the money! Even though some of these restaurants were a bit of a splurge, we balanced it out with cheaper accommodations and flights. And even though it was amazing food and atmosphere, I felt like they were all reasonably priced for what you were getting! BoujE on a Budget People! I also got inspo from instagram to find some good places for dinner. Since I'm kinda old now, it was easy to get a reservation at normal dinner times because apparently fancy Miami people don't eat dinner till 10 o clock at night. Not my style, I was in bed by that time every night of the trip! Despite that, I still definitely recommend getting reservations ahead of time, especially for these more popular hot spots! Opentable is my best friend.
Baia Beach Club, Mondrian Hotel
Obsessed is an understatement. First off, its located in an unbelievable hotel. The lobby was a dream and then when you walked out to the back it was something out of a movie. The view was unbelievable. Right on the water, with an incredible pool and a restaurant with all. the . vibessss. It was such a cool place! Our table had a great view and the food was amazing! I cant wait to go back!
American Social, Brikell
This place I literally found by googling "best water view restaurants in Miami" and it did not disappoint! This was a much more relaxed vibe than the other, fancier dinners we had during the trip, but the view was awesome and a perfect spot to eat some good American fare while watching huge yachts pass by. We had a great table on the patio by the water and the spinach and artichoke dip was divineeee
Cecconi's, Soho House
This was another hot spot instagram find! I've been seeing a lot of people going here, so I had to see for myself! This place was dreamy! Thousands of twinkle lights, open air patio and the most insane food that I have not stopped talking about! Seriously this was one of the best meals I have ever had! Everything was perfect! I highly recommend the lobster pasta and the profiteroles for desert! Just writing this is making me hungry! There was even a proposal when were there making it an even more memorable night!
Dolce Italian, Gale Hotel
Our last day, we grabbed a quick brunch at a cute little outdoor spot near our hotel. The avocado toast was delish with one last mimosa to toast the end of our trip! Can't wait to eat my way through the next destination!
And that's a wrap on our Miami Vacay! A return to Travel, post Vax and hopefully, the first of many more epic vacations in a post pandemic world!
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Elisa
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