Is the area around Biscayne Bay all corporate businesses, or is there any shopping/restaurants etc that you can walk to? I am not at all familiar with Miami and am thinking of staying a night at the Sheraton Biscayne Bay when visiting my sister-in-law in Naples. Can anyone recommend a website that has a good map of Miami? The fodor's site does not have one that is broad enough. We basically just want to relax by the water with a few frozen drinks. Is Biscayne Bay the spot, or do we need to consider South Beach?

Thank you!

ttt

We stayed at the Sonesta Beach resort in Key Biscayne last spring-is this the area you are wondering about? If it is, I can tell you that there are some shops and restaurants within walking distance-and some that I really enjoyed. But, you don't have far to drive over the bridge and get to Miami-plus it's a beautiful drive-I never minded it. I have only been there once-hopefully others can fill you in more but I'd be glad to answer any other questions.

Kcapuani, Biscayne Bay is much further from the action. Have you tried mapquest.com? I believe they've had beach erosion problems there (although so has South Beach but it's now up to snuff). I'm not the best source for information because it's been awhile since I was down at Biscayne Bay but I would stay at South Beach. There are many price options. But I don't think there are tiki hut bars close to the beach. You might want to bring a thermos to take your drink to the beach.

If you mean the Sheraton on Brickell Avenue, it's not the spot. It's in the middle of downtown - nice enough pool but no beach. Look at Key Biscayne or South Beach.

It is indeed in a purely commercial area and not a good choice for what you're seeking, unless you are content to just sit at the hotel or drive to various places. It will also be incredibly dead at night or on weekends. Why not look at Yankee Clipper on Ft. Lauderdale Beach where you can walk to various places? What's more it is much quicker to get to Ft. Lauderdale than Miami from Naples.

Thanks everyone! Patrick - that's exactly what I was looking to find out. So, I think I will skip Miami entirely. I am using Starwood points for this overnight stay and am not interested in staying at any of the other Miami area Starwood hotels. I have another post running about side trips from Naples and I am now leaning towards going to Clearwater instead. I'll save Miami for another trip when I can splurge on a good hotel in South Beach.