Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - S. Beach and Keys Trip Report- part 1

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S. Beach and Keys Trip Report- part 1

Just returned from a 10-day trip to South Beach and the Keys. Thanks to all the advice from everyone who posted information. Here's the good and the bad of the trip: S. Beach - Stayed at the Clevelander for two nights. Holy Crap - that's all I have to say. Since we are in our 30's the Spring Breakers were quite annoying. Unfortunately I did not research the Clevelander prior to booking it. We couldn't sleep due to the morons yelling for "Frankie" both nights at 4 in the morning. We ate a Joe's Stone Crab which was exactly what everyone said - expensive but good. My other half did not think it was worth it but I enjoyed the crabs. Off to the Keys - (thank God) We stayed in Key Largo one night (big mistake). As opposed to S. Beach, there is NOTHING to do in Key Largo. We searched for a bar and found ourselves in "Chilly Willy's". (No it's not a strip joint.) But very boring. We ate at Coconuts. The food was just ok. Off to Bahia Honda State Park- We stayed overnight in Ramrod Key just to enjoy Bahia Honda. The hotel was quite scary actually - the Looe Key Resort and Dive Center. We were in redneck heaven. But we enjoyed the outdoor tiki bar and watching all the drunks. Bahia Honda State Park was very pretty and I would recommend going there for a day. The water was beautiful. Key West- Ahhhhhhhhhhh. That's all I have to say. We should have flown right in to Key West and skipped everything beforehand. We stayed at the Wyndham Casa Marina which was exactly what everyone on this board said it would be - "kiddie heaven," but we didn't mind it too much except at the pool. It's true that parents just don't watch their kids on vacation. Casa Marina is very pretty. The pools were nice and the beach was good too. They have bar service on the beach and send a man around with a "myster" to myst you with cool water. Awesome. We thorougly enjoyed it. The only drawback was that you needed to cab it to Old Town. We walked several times but it was pretty far. on to part II (THE FOOD!) in another post.....

Thank you for good trip reports. I agree with everything you said that I'm familiar with.

Can't wait for part two of your report. I love trip reports and part one of yours was fun. Thanks for reporting. KathyH

KathyH- Thanks. Here's part II. The food in Key West was very good. Here are the highlights: Dinner- Lattitudes - Hilton's private island. It was very good and I highly recommend it. Though I really thought we would be literally in the sand but the table was "beachside." Which meant very close to the sand I guess. Romantic though. Lunch and Breakfast - Blue Heaven. Thanks to all who posted about this place. They were right. The food was awesome! And I really loved the low key atmosphere. I had a lobster melt sandwich which was one of my favorite meals. Mangoes for Lunch - definitely good food. We had the Blackened Mahi Mahi salad and Cuban pork sandwich. (The margaritas were outstanding by the way.) Hogs Breath for Dinner - your basic pub food. We found that the conch fritters were better in Hogs Breath than in Margaritaville. We also had lunch and breakfast a few times at Casa Marina which was good. Their breakfast buffet was excellent. We flew back to Miami for one night and stayed at the Doubletree Surfcomber on Collins ave. I wish we would have stayed there earlier in the trip. It had a nice pool, beach and lobby. It was also close to Lincoln Road. I thoroughly enjoyed the restaurats and shops on Lincoln Road. We ate at World Resources which is an Asian/Sushi place. I had the ginger scallops which were good. My other half's surf and turf was not a large portion at all. If you go there - don't order it!! We had coffee and tiramisu at Paninotea (809 Lincoln Road) the tiramisu was very good. Lincoln Road is also home to an Anthropologie store which always has interesting things. Oh yeah, we stopped at the 7 Mile Grill on our way back to Miami. The food was good. Great tuna melt! That's all folks. Thanks for the advice. I found that I should have booked all hotels based on info. from postings instead of "winging" some of them!!! But you live and learn!

Thanks for the report. My wife and I are heading down to Miami/Key West for 8 nights. We are flying into Ft. Lauderdale to get a cheaper flight and renting a car. She wants to stay in Miami the 1st 2 nights and I want to go straight to Key West. Do you think it would be best to stay in Old Town?

Travis - It absolutely would be best to stay in Old Town. If you do, everything including restaurants, sunset celebrations and other tourist activities will be within walking distance.

I'm glad you enjoyed the trip and appreciated the tips on South Beach - I hope to stay there for a few days next time I head to Key West. Also glad to hear that someone else's reaction to Latitudes was similar to ours. My lady fy friend and I had a "beachside" table when we ate there in December and it was wonderful. I know there is likely better food, more imaginative menus and lower prices available in KW but the atmosphere was so memorable and romantic that I still think back fondly on that meal. Also... the fresh mango sherbet I had there was incredible!