keli22o

inexpensive nice clean Hotels:
Crowne Plaza
The Palms
Double tree Surfcomber
Courtyard
Four points by sheraton
wyndham miami beach
claridge hotel
lily leon hotel
Retsurants:
News Cafe
Davids Cafe
Van Dykes
Novecento
Tamarind Thai Food (great)
Oggi Caffe
Da vinci Cafe
Larios
Spris
Grillfish
Pizza Rustica
Big Pink
Go to lincoln road for Miami style shopping!
Have a wonderful time. Miami is wonderful.
Another option is Key Biscayne there is a Sonesta there. Or there's also Coral Gables: Hyatt, Omni, Biltmore.

joanna_00

Thank you for that whole list keli22o

GoTravel

The Palms
Four Points
Wyndham

Aren't in South Beach and aren't cheap during mid March.

The Crown Plaza
Doubletree Surfcomber

Are both expensive this time of year.

The Biltmore is very expensive.

joanna_00

The Palms ..is that the Royal Palm?? because I know that thats really close to South beach..about a block or two??isnt it...but it doesn't have a good price for a kitchenette so forget that..

joanna_00

What I also might do is get a hotel near the airport since theyre pretty cheap around there, and drive everyday to South Beach and spend my days there.

joanna_00

argh, I hate planning.

rjw_lgb_ca

The Palms South Beach is NOT the Royal Palm Crowne Plaza. The latter is just south of Lincoln Road, the former far north.

I just put your various threads together. Let me get this straight: You're driving from Toronto to get to South Beach, then driving back. That's 24 hours of driving each way, which practically will spread over two days each way. Are you leaving on the 13th, planning to be back in Toronto on the 19th? That's an awful lot of travel time to spend precious little in South Beach (sounds like the Batang Death March to me). Or are you planning to be IN South Beach by the 13th, leaving on the 19th? Still a lot of driving. Air travel is out of the question?

And no, don't spend your vacation by the airport. What fun is that?

joanna_00

I'm going to be staying in South Beach from the 13th which means that ill be leaving the 11th, and returning on the 21st..and plus , its not like i'll be staying in the hotel?? thats just a place for me to sleep and get myself ready..It's not like im looking for a hotel with a 5star restaurant and all of that..I can just drive to South Beach....HOWEVER....

I just found a great deal at the Bayliss Guest House. They're offering a suite with a kitchen for 60$/night and the hotels only 3 blocks away from ocean dr.. not bad i might say??

keli22o

I would stay away from hotels or guest houses that no one has heard of. SoBe has some seedy areas.
Believe me u do not want to stay at the airport area. It is a long drive. If you want maybe the area of Miami by Biscayne Bay (Intercontinental, Sheraton, Radisson, and Marriott, Doubletree) may have cheaper rates and not too far from the beach or the expressway.
Under $200 and look ok in Sobe:
Hotel Chelsea
Double tree
Claridge( not too far from South Beach)
Essex House
Blue Moon Hotel
Try thouse our they should all be under $200/night for the 4 of you

joanna_00

Alrighty,

What about the Clevelander Hotel? That sounds pretty nice.. Or the Claremont?

rjw_lgb_ca

The Clevelander is a dump, and Party Central during Spring Break-- college-age frat boys and sorority girls hanging out glassy-eyed at the poolside bar, occasionally crawling to the curb to throw up.... You know, charming people (think "Girls Gone Wild" without that finishing-school sheen). Just what you want your kids around....

The Claremont is a dump too. Avoid at all costs.

joanna_00

Oh gosh. . . I think I'm going to start looking at something in Ft.Lauderdale..

GoTravel

Joanna, you've been to South Beach before and didn't know the Clevelander was ground zero for party central?

You do realize the beaches are topless?

joanna_00

No they are not. All of you are being waay too over-exaggerative..(if thats a word).. I went there in the summer last year and no one was topless. There were a few ladies with thong bikinis, but hey, everyone has an ass.

joanna_00

?

GoTravel

joanna, I'm probably in South Beach at least six to eight weekends a year because I have family there.

I've seen hundreds and hundreds of topless women on the beach.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6822385/

forbes Top topless beaches

• Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Black's Beach, San Diego, Calif.

• Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia

• South Beach, Miami, Fla.

• Anse du Gouverneur, St. Barts, French West Indies

• Plage de Tahiti, Saint Tropez, France

• Paradise Beach, Mykonos, Greece

• Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa

• Playa d'en Bossa, Ibiza, Spain

• Playa El Agua, Margarita Island, Venezuela

bamakelly

joanna, I can second GoTravel here. Though I am not terribly familiar with Miami, I've been to South Beach at least 3 times and YES it is most certainly full of topless people. Many are NOT topless, but you absolutely will see them. Many of them. Especially on spring break!

joanna_00

It's not like people with families dont go there for spring break. I know so many people who go there for a family spring break, and they come back saying everything is fine. Don't you guys ever go on vacations in Europe??!!..The beaches there are filled with topless women.

bamakelly

Hey, that's fine. I think GT was just making sure you knew, and in your other post, it appeared you didn't believe it. Do whatever suits you.

Laurie

Try priceline for an inexpensive hotel in or near South Beach. I booked the Holiday Inn South Beach for $100 per night for our Mid March stay.