Hi All!

I am planning a bachelorette party in South Beach and would like to know if anyone has any recommendations for a good hotel that is lively and close to all the action but also moderately priced and clean. I was reading some reviews on trip advisor and the Clevelander Hotel seems to be the "party" hotel but yet the hotel only received 1 star which makes me a little nervous. Does anyone have any comments on this hotel or any others that would fit the criteria for a bachelorette party? I appreciate any replies. Thank you!

You don't want to stay at the Clevelander unless you are 18 years old.

When are you visiting? A $150 a night hotel room in September is $450 President's Week in February.

I like:

South Seas
Doubletree Surfcomber
Marseilles

I wouldn't stay on Ocean Drive but a little north on Collins. You are walkable to everything.

Don't pick a hotel above 21st and Collins.

The Celebs usually stay on Collins at the Delano, Shore Club, Setai, Loews, Ritz-Carlton which are all in the exact same area as the above hotels I listed.

Thanks for your suggestions! We are coming down the second weekend in June so the prices that I've found are pretty moderate. We are definitely not 18 anymore (we are all late 20's early 30's) but we still wanna have a really good time being that it's a bachelorette party. Although a good time to us now is a little different then when we were 18! lol..I was considering staying on collins but liked the idea of being right across the street from the beach, having an ocean view and being close to all restaurants and bars, although I know collins is pretty much the same. I did check out South Seas but thought it seemed a little bit further away toward the north end. I will check out Marseilles and doubletree tks! If you have any info on some ocean drive hotels please let me know! tks again!

Try the National Hotel. It's right on the beach, awesome art deco decor, etc. and I think it's more moderately priced than the Delano, etc. I have stayed there and loved it! Great pool and beach. Enjoy!

While I have stayed at and liked the South Seas, I agree that for June, it's a bit further north than you want to be. You'll need to take a cab to avoid arriving anyplace sweaty, though cabs are always an option.

LOL Brian! The only problem with that theory is that you'll have to avoid stepping outside if you don't want to show up sweaty!

islndgrl, clubs don't open until 10PM and many of them stay empty until 1AM. The thing to do by day is hang out at a pool bar, the trendier the better (Shore Club, Delano, Raleigh), take a nap, go out about 10PM for dinner, then hit the clubs.

For the time of year you'll be in South Beach, I highly recommend The Loews which is in the Collins Avenue area.

The hotels on Ocean Drive either do not have pools or they are teeny tiny. Think 8x10, the size of a rug.

The hotels on Collins are ocean front with massive pools.

I was considering the Loews also but read some reviews that said it was more of a family hotel with lots of kids - not the environment we're looking for on a bachelorette weekend. We are mostly beach goers so I think that a pool is not really necessary for us except maybe to hang out at night and drink like was mentioned. I really am leaning toward staying on ocean drive maybe not in the clevelander but close to it in a decent hotel. Does anyone have any suggestions for me within that area? Also, what are the "must do" clubs? We like hip-hop, reggae, salsa, house - but no techno please! Thanks to all for your help!!

islndgrl, the trendier places have definitely moved up away from Ocean Drive/Washington area.

Don't say I didn't try and tell you!

Mansion
Sky Bar
Prive
Delano
Touch of Glass
Mynt (was being remodled)
Rok Bar
Hotel Victor

now your making me nervous! lol...About 7 yrs. ago we religiously went to SB every memorial day weekend and Ocean Drive is always where we stayed. Needless to say we were younger and didn't really care about the hotels because we rarely slept but that's where all the partying was. From other reviews I've read it seems that the action is still within that area although I know the hotels are not as nice there. I definitely want to stay in a nice hotel but I also don't want my group of girls to feel limited in that it's too quiet or not really the "party" atmosphere they are all looking for and I read the north end was a lot quieter. I will take your advice though and look into some other options now. Thanks for the warning and tks for the listings of the clubs I will be sure to check those out as well. One last question, does anyone know of a male revue in miami? Nothing too sleazy though! Tks!

I agree. A bit further north is just classier, and you can stay right ON the beach, as opposed to having to trek across the street with all your stuff and through the sand. During the day the enitre beach area is pretty tame anyway. People lounging, walking, eating at the sidewalk cafes. You don't miss too much not being on Ocean Drive during the day. You could always hop on a cab just to grab lunch if you wanted. I prefer staying right on the beach with easy access to the room. But, if you are dead set on Ocean Drive, I've stayed at the Cardozo and thought it was nice. It's at the north end of Ocean drive close to the Lowes.

I also wanted to mention. If you want a really great time for dinner you HAVE TO try "Taverna Opa". It's the perfect place for a bachelorette party. It's a greek restaurant, with handsome flirtatious waiters, VERY loud music, table top dancing, and belly dancers that pull you up on your table to show you how to shake your stuff. It's a blast!!! Not a refined, fancy dinner type of experience. Just a big party, and the food is reasonably priced and good. If you call ahead they can even set up a special menu for groups for like $25pp with like 4 course. Family style. Trust me, for a bachelorette party, you won't be disappointed. This place is such a blast!!! It's at the very south end of SoBe. Call ahead and see if they'll take resrevations. The place gets packed. Here's their web site:

www.tavernaoparestaurant.com

About the male revue. There's one and only one place left I think. It's called "La Bare". It's in North Miami, so a good distance from South Beach. Personally, I think it's a big waste. Being the only place left, it seems every bachelorette party ends up going there, and it just gets old. It has a cover and a mandatory parking fee. It's alright if the bride really wants to go, and you guys haven't really been to this type of place before. But if you have, just skip it. I's not like you won't see anything there you can't just seee on a regular day at the beach. They strip down to a stuffed thong basically. You'll have a much better time just going to Taverna Opa and being asked to dance by the hot waiters.

Hey mosey, thanks for all that great information! Taverna Opa sounds like just the environment for us! I would rather not do a strip club anyway but I just want to make sure that we have the best time we can. I was a little hesitant in staying on the northern end because I know that while the classier hotels are over there, we are a bunch of girls from the Bronx, NY and I don't want any of us to feel like we can't let go and party if we are in "too much" of a classy environment. I have been doing a little more research though and I think that I will change my mind and stay up on that end. I also don't want the price to be too ridiculous as we would rather save some money on a room that we will just be sleeping in and spend more money going out to eat, drink, and have a good time! Can I get some recommendations for a reasonable hotel in that area. We were going to stay at the park central for $430 p.p. air/hotel so anything around that price would be great...Thanks again to all!

For my best friend's bachelorette party, we stayed at the Hotel Nash, and one of the rooms had a great terrace with lounge chairs for hanging out, sunbathing. It's on Collins, in South Beach, not on the ocean, though, and I believe what made this one win out was the room with a terrace and someone wanted to eat at Mark's South Beach which is right in the hotel.

However, I second the Doubletree Surfcomber. Really nice property, great pool area, awesome location. Last time I was there (about 2-3 years ago) it was being refurbished, so it should be in pretty good shape.

Look at www.herald.com. There is a section on the hottest nightclubs called Velvet Underground that will give you an idea of where to go, what has just opened, and what is hot. Some of the best clubs and lounges are on the mainland now.

Price will greatly depend on what time of year you go. Honestly, there are times of year that ANY hotel in that are will be $$$$. At other times, even the fancier hotels like the Delano, National...etc will have good deals. I still think the Lowes might be good for you though if you wnat to be closer to Ocean Drive. I haven't stayed there, but I've seen it and it's beautiful. I wouldn't worry about the families and such. On the beach you can spread out, or walk a block down.

About the clubs. It's not easy to come by a non-trance club nowadays, at least on Saturdays. Often though, the main room might have trance/house/jungle type of music, but the secondary lounge or patio area will be more hip hop or latin. I highly recommed you try to get on a list somewhere though to save you the hastle of a wait. But, then again, a group of girls should have no problem getting in. Just be aware that cover runs $20-35 at most places.