nikgolas

Hi there

We'll be in Miami at 11/21-11/23 and we don't know which side is best for a tourist so we chose Intercontinental but GoTravel thinks is not a good idea so please extend something else.Also we don't know what we can do in Miami it's just practical for us to go back so if you can, please suggest what we can do for the two days we stay there

Thanks in advance
Effie- Nikos

NeoPatrick

I guess it depends on why you're going there and what you like to do. If you mainly want to enjoy the beach, then by all means stay on the beach instead of fighting traffic back and forth all the time. If you want to do some shows and see some museums, or maybe go out to Monkey Jungle (is that reopened since the hurricanes?) or visit the Everglades, or to visit and shop in Coconut Grove and Coral Gables including seeing Viscaya, then the Intercontinental is hard to top.
I do hope you'll have a car?

nikgolas

NeoPatrick:Yes we'll have car and we are not very interested to the beach but generally we don't know what we could in Miami.I'm going to do some research now but any help would be invaluable.

Thanks again
Effie-Nikos

marilynl

IMHO any downtown hotel would not be a great choice: the area is virtually deserted except during the workweek. If you don't care about the beach, Coral Gables/Coconut Grove areas would offer better access to restaurants, shopping, etc., and just an overall livelier area. Downtown Coral Gables has a nice Hyatt Regency--stayed many times when daughter attended UM. Nice pool area, good walking neighborhood, many restaurants nearby. Also only 10-15 minutes from Miami airport.

NeoPatrick

Well, again I'll say it depends on what you want. That Intercontinental is practically adjacent to Bayside and the American Airlines arena. Deserted at night? I don't think so. It may not be the most upscale or residential neighborhood, but I'd hardly call the bayfront area "deserted".
If you want to walk out your door for upscale shopping and dining, then indeed it is not the ideal choice.

marilynl

Well, I'll amend that to "devoid of interest to the usual tourist in the area."

mark99

I'm assuming that when you say you are not interested in the beach...you are meaning you don't care to lay out in the sun.

South Beach is where all the action is, the restaurants, nightlife, shopping etc. You are also close to Parrot Jungle, Viscaya, Shops of Bal Harbor etc.

Gables would be a good choice too, but it is more suburban like....I would save that for an afternoon excursion for shopping and lunch rather than staying there. But given you only have 3 days...I think South Beach is the answer.

Definately the Intercontinental is NOT the place to stay as tourist. The downtown area is not like it used to be, it is on fire with development but the hotel is more geared to business than tourist.