Yes, I read that back door entrance policy somewhere--can't remember which it was. We are hoping my husband will have somewhat of an easier time since he'll be wearing a badge for his conference. (mayyybeeee....) Even if not, he can hoof it over to the front door. He runs and walks daily so he will like the exercise. It will be worth it not to stay there among the conference goers. There's a lot of political mess in his organization that we want to stay far-removed from. I know the FB is big, but we think it will make more of a statement to the others that we really want to "keep out of the fray" when we can tell them we are not staying there. We don't mean to be snobby, but we do want to make a point not to get involved in the strange things that go on at this conference every year. Besides I am unimpressed with the FB reviews anyway.

The boardwalk sounds nice. Can't wait to take advantage of the view during a jog or two.

Will look into the tour you mentioned. I also have a list of good restaurants from other threads. Especially looking forward to trying Wish.

Will it be easy or hard to get a cab in Miami Beach for the times we do want to venture down to SoBe? Will we need to tell the concierge ahead of time, or will we be able to just hail a cab from the front door?

I plan on spending one day at the spa and at the beach, one day attending the conference myself, and the other two days halved between the beach and shopping. That still leaves an extra day for playing. Also, the conference ends each day around 3:00, leaving some of the afternoon for my husband to join into something fun.

If you think of any other things we can do to make our trip enjoyable, please do let me know!

It is usually very easy to get a cab but aren't y'all going to a large convention? That may make it a little harder to hail a cab.

You are literally right around the corner from my very favorite restaurant The Forge. Oh. My. God.

On any given night you can see anyone in there. Food is fabulous and it houses the largest and best wine cellar in the southeast.

The adjoining nightclub JimmyZs, is a lot of fun. Either Sunday night or Wednesday night is the hopping night for this spot.

One night we were in The Forge eating and Don King was throwing his 70th birthday party. The crowd boogied its way over to JimmyZs after dinner and you've never seen so much brillo hair a flyin'.

JimmyZs used to be a cigar bar/nightclub when smoking was still allowed and Harrison Ford, Madonna, Arnold, and tons of other celebs all had humidors.

Well, now I can't WAIT to go to THE FORGE! And JimmyZ's sounds like fun too! It's been too long since my husband has had the chance to go out to a fun club--he will love the chance to unwind there.

Just talking about all of this makes me look so forward to the trip...counting down the days!

My favorite evening.

A long leisurely dinner with lots of good red wine at The Forge, then boogie down at JimmyZs until I drop.

I'm envious.

I will say if you have to do any wining and dining with clients or need to be wined and dined, suggest this restaurant.

www.TheForge.com

Sounds perfect~! Maybe I'll report back with some good stories! Thanks for the tips.