Please help with a place to stay in South Beach - one or two bedroom with kitchen on beach. Want to be near 2200 Liberty Ave. THANKS

Liberty Ave in Miami is technically downtown, not South Beach, and not exactly walking distance, either.

There is only one hotel technically on the beach, can't remember the name offhand. The rest are either across the street or a block away.

Also not many hotels have one bedrooms with kitchens, South Beach hotels are mainly small art deco hotels, and smaller than your average hotel room. For suites look into the Crest Hotel Suites, Hilton Grand Club, Bentley Suites, Casa Grande, or the St. Augustine.

So exactly how far is Liberty Ave from the South Beach Area - any good condos near Liberty Ave??

Actually, the Miami City Ballet is in Miami Beach-- Liberty Avenue is in the Collins Park area. It's the northernmost part of South Beach.

There is a highly-rated little Deco hotel farther south in South Beach called the Sherbrooke that might meet your needs-- one-bedroom units with kitchen. NOT on the beach. There's a Hilton Vacations Club (i.e., timeshare) property on Ocean Drive-- pricy, but all units have kitchens. Another possibility.

You may want to look into owner-rented condos-- check out www.vrbo.com for such properties.

Ah didn't realize there are 2 Addresses of 2200 Liberty in Miami, one is downtown, the other in the northern part of South Beach. My mistake!!

If it's the South Beach address, you can walk to South Beach from there, but it would be a long walk. (It takes longer to go from street to street than avenue to avenue here). You might also want to look into the Sagamore which is a few blocks away.

So is the Collins Park Area very nice?? Any beachfront property? Since my daughter will be at the Miami City Ballet for 5 weeks I wanted something close for 1 week. I want oceanfront but sounds like there might not be anything. If I have to, I could go to the South Beach area since I will have a car. What is the closest property in South Beach that is fairly close to the ballet and on the oceanside??

The Roney Palace is oceanfront and just a little north of South Beach. They are an all condo complex so they have kitchens.

Also check out VRBO.com. Lots of condos in the area that you seek.

The Roney Palace looks nice - so they have kitchens?? How far of a walk/drive would it be to the Miami CIty Ballet. Since we will also have a 17 year old son with us, a pool would be nice. Do you think it is possible to get better deals with VRBO or go to the property itself? Sometimes VRBO don't say what building their units are in. I guess you could ask! Any other good suggestions out there? Thanks!!

Roney Palace-- good idea, Go! It really is quite close to the Ballet-- and cabs aren't that expensive, so you don't have to drive all the time (and put up with the spotty parking in South Beach). There are some pretty nice hotels in the Collins Park area, as well as some of the hottest nightclubs in the District, so there's a lot to do when your daughter gets out of the Ballet....

Any beachfront units right near the ballet or would it be better to stay in South Beach

ballet, while technically Roney Palace isn't in South Beach, it bills itself as such and all of South beach is in walking distance. I don't think you will find oceanfront accommodations closer to the ballet.

Roney Palace is oceanfront about 23rd Street. The ballet is off 22nd Street.

South Beach isn't the name of a town. South Beach is a nickname for a section of Miami Beach.

You have South Beach, Mid Beach, and North Miami Beach.

Thanks for getting me straight on Miami - I have only been there one time. Is it really difficult in trying to find a place to park. We want to go to the keys one day so thought a car rental would be necessary.

The only day I would rent a car is the day I go to the keys. Parking is hard to find and expensive.

Hope you're aware that depending on where you are going in the keys and at what time of day and what day you're going, it could determine whether an overnight stay is in order.

Key West, for example is a 3-4 hour drive from Miami. Not exactly great for a day trip, and it's only 2 lanes for most of the way on US 1. (Which means God forbid there's an accident, the 3-4 hours could easily turn into 6-7!) The recommendation I have always gotten is if you're driving to Key West from Miami, you may as well spend the night.

Key Largo is only about an hour from Miami, and more doable if it's just a day trip. Of course driving down on a Friday and coming back on a Sunday is the worst for the Keys.

So a trip to the keys should be done during the week not weekend? Is Key Largo worth seeing? Does it have beaches that we could snorkle from??