Miami Beach or South Beach?
 

We are going on a cruise but decided to fly in 3 nights early and see the South Beach area we are 2 adults and a 3 year old. I am going to use priceline but cannot decide if Miami Beach would be better for us or South Beach if we can get a decent rate. Some of the resort pools in Miami Beach sound terrific.

I really want to enjoy the South Beach area for meals and to walk around and don't want to have to take a cab for every meal if we stay in Miami Beach.

How far would it be if we stayed in Miami Beach to get to the "action" of South Beach?

Any recommendations either way?

Thanks

South Beach is just the southern end of Miami Beach. A quick look at the Priceline hotel list tells me 2 of the &quot;Miami Beach&quot; 4 star hotels are in Bal Harbor which is <i>lovely</i> and across from a very upscale shopping mall with Neiman Marcus, Tiffany etc. but definitely a cab ride away from South Beach. I'm not sure how happy you'll be in South Beach with a 3 yr old but that's another story.

Here's a map I found that doesn't have all the hotels, but will give you an idea of the area

http://www.florida.worldweb.com/Maps...24.html?map_id

Read this previous thread. I think you should either rent a car so it doesn't matter where you stay or don't use PL but some other discount website so you can pick a hotel

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34471343

Think of Miami Beach as a very long, narrow island. I live in South Beach and there is no where like the Lincoln Road &quot;mall&quot; for outdoor dining. The hotels in South Beach tend to be pricy and trendy but not very comfortable in the traditional sence. I would stay in Mid beach..around the 40-70 st. The Bal Harbor area is great if you can get a reasonable price.

what is there to see (not shops)in Miami or KEy biscayne area with 8, 17 yr old and 21 yr old college design student? considering new yesr's eve week. can swim then? are there any large opulennt or historical homes open to see?

The most amazing home I've seen in the USA (besides the Hearst castle) is Vizcaya in Miami.
http://www.vizcayamuseum.org/
You won't believe you're in the US.
Yes it will be warm enough for swimming.
There's an aquarium right next door for the younger kids.

I would also arrange to get a guided tour of the South Beach Historic District (the &quot;Art D&eacute;co&quot; buildings in the area). For students of design, looking at a neighborhood where building after building was streamlined, banded and ziggurated to death will be Paradise. It's just a lot of fun.

Either the Edec Roc or the Fountainbleu gets the most raves for its kid freindly pool.

I can never remember which one but they are right next door to each other.

Probably the Fontainbleau is better for kids as they have a big pool area and is very kid friendly. The Eden Roc would not be bad either. They are both on 44th street and there is a bus stop out front to take you to Lincoln rd it takes 7 minutes and is cheap.