Travelling with my girlfriend from the U.K in November we've more or less decided on South Beach as our Florida stay for a week.Having looked at rants and raves however I'm confused as to the best accommodation and a trawl through the previous postings here doesn't really help.
My budget is approx $200 a night.We are not really into clubbing and want to relax on the beach or by the pool.We would like to have bars and restaurants nearby and I plan to drag my girlfriend to watch a Dolphins game I understand Baltimore are in town when we are there!In return she will want to drag me around a few good shopping malls.
Any advice out there?
Mike

Sorry, should have read So Be!

Anyone?

Mike, try The South Seas Hotel. Also, no one calls is "SoBe".

Can someone help Mike out?

ttt

Sandy, I did give Mike the name of a hotel and you would see that if you would take the time to read the above post.

Also, check out www.islandoutpost.com as they have many hip hotels in South Beach.

I've only spent a couple of nights on South Beach. First place we stayed was Essex House on Collins. It was fine, I had no idea what to expect. The rooms were expensive though. Next time I was there was immediately post 9/11, stranded, waiting for the airport to reopen. The only hotel name I could remember was The Clevelander and that was because we enjoyed their outdoor bar. Great people watching and relatively inexpensive drinks. Big mistake. The room wasn't awful, just not very nice. I didn't see any bugs or anything, but the bed was very, very soft and it squeaked. We'll be spending one night in Miami in December and I'm trying to figure out where to stay then. Thinking about the Kent. Tides and Delano look incredible, but they're way more than $200.00 per night.

Mike I was there for a week a year or so ago, and loved the area. I love art deco and several of the hotels on the beach have been rennovated and are now really beautiful.

I would recommend the Cardoza as a nice hotel, not very pricey and a nice restaurant/bar with outdoor seating right in the hotel.

There are several restaurants and bars right in the area that you can walk to.

We also found a restaurant not far from the hotel that was very good and one of the appetizers was alligator, we didn't try it, but would make for a good story when you get home.

Have a great time.

tweedy