Friday - Flew American Airlines Newark to MIA – perfectly fine, but having flown mainly shuttles or discount airlines (jetblue, independence) lately, I’d forgotten how, well, dowdy the major carriers are. No Direct TV here.

Rented a convertible Sebring from Alamo - $40 per day plus taxes (which added about $15 per day to the total) through priceline. Drove to the Greenview on Washington between Lincoln and 17th. $140 through hotels.com.

The hotel claims to have parking at the municipal lot “across the street.” Well, it IS across one street, and another, and another. Basically, you have to walk through two giant outside lots to get there, which could be a problem with luggage. But at $8 a day, it was a steal.

The hotel was, well, basic (we euphemistically dubbed it “minimalist.”). No refrigerator, radio, clock, etc. But it was clean, and moderately stylish, and the bed was comfy. For the price, it was definitely worth it, but don’t expect Delano-style amenities.

Was there the first night by myself, and arrived too late for my planned dinner at Rumi. Headed instead to the Ritz for a cocktail and snack, as I love to check out the various Ritz’s across the country. It is actually a very nice space, looking out on the pool, though obviously not a SB hotspot. Service was lovely. 3 exceedingly drunk 50-year-old women were basically causing a scene (and harassing the bartenders, who took it in stride. Though I do sometimes wonder about reverse sexism – if three drunk males were putting their hands all over a female bartender, I am quite sure the cops would have been called). This being the Ritz, they were not asked to leave, but rather were assigned a personalized security guy whose responsibilities included smiling a lot, keeping them out of the ice (they had a tendency to just reach over the bar and help themselves to whatever they pleased), and ensuring that they didn’t skip out on the bill.

Headed to Sky Bar, which was technically closing but the “security consultant” (which is apparently not the same thing as a bouncer) let me in for a cocktail. Really just an excellent space, with a good crowd.

Lesson #1 – South Beach is shockingly expensive. We live in Manhattan, and still never got over it.

Lesson #2 – if you are a young single girl out by herself, you can avoid a lot of this cost, as bartenders will take care of you. They are obviously told to assume that any customer is a guest of the hotel, and treat you accordingly. Thus you can get Ritz service at Greenview prices.

More in a bit...

Saturday – Woke up late, headed to an early lunch at Nexxt Café. Eh. I am sure it would be a great place to sit outside all morning and drink mimosas while watching the world go by, but I was just there for a quick bite and the food was barely OK.

Then off to get the car to drive to the Homestead Speedway for the Miami Grand Prix (E works for one of the teams). It’s an easy, pretty drive, except for a bumper-to-bumper stretch on Rt 1. But navigating by oneself in a convertible is somewhat difficult as the directions are always about to fly away. Race went well, and, as the weather was perfect and I had a book with me, it was a great time.

Back in the car and off to SB. Went to the sushi place in the Delano for a quick dinner. Again, eh. Presentation was impressive, the food was not, and I would have been a lot happier with my $17 kir royale if it hadn’t arrived 25 minutes late. In fairness, I know the spot is more about style than substance, but I don’t recommend it. The bar on a Saturday night was packed.

Walked over to the Clevelander for drinks. Fun, but definitely a MTV Spring Break vibe.

Lesson #3 – the cars in SB are beyond ridiculous. Classic cars, sports cars, $20K cars with $80K of work and 22 inch rims. Craziness.

To be continued...

Sunday – Slept late, walked downtown to Smith & Wollensky for lunch. It’s right on the beach, and just absolutely gorgeous. Food and service were excellent too.

Headed to the beach for a bit, and then wandered into the Delano. Snagged two pool lounges and spent the afternoon drinking mojitos in the sun. This is not a bad way to live.

Dinner that night at Wish. I had been REALLY looking forward to it, and maybe my expectations were too high, but I just wasn’t very impressed. The cocktails were over-sweet. Service was nice, but rather absent. (They were busy, but at those prices I shouldn’t have to sit for 15 minutes after finishing my entrée before a waiter at least asks if we need anything else.) The seared foie gras appetizer was amazing, but the tuna and lamb entrees were merely OK. Not to harp on cost too much, but at that price point I expect better. Perhaps my expectations were unrealistically high, but I don’t think I would recommend it.

Had hoped to hit Nikki beach that night, but left dinner tired and tipsy, and cab to bed instead…

Lesson #4 – you really can just wander into the Delano and sit at the bar, use the pool, etc. Not sure how ethical this is (no one ever asked us if we actually were guests, so we never really lied) but no one gave us any problems.

Final installment coming soon...

Can't wait to read the rest. Very informative so far! I am leaving for Miami Beach in a few days, so I'm interested in all the details!

Sunday – Woke up, packed, checked out. Went for a walk, then had lunch at a Cuban diner on 6th and Collins. Great food, cheap prices, no atmosphere, Jersey diner service.

Off to the beach for the afternoon. Rented two lounge chairs and an umbrella for $26. (It’s the only way I can get red-headed E on the beach. Lack of pigment and all...)

E and I both had flights back to NY at 8 – but his was from Ft Lauderdale, and mine was from Miami. Left at 3:30 to make sure we would have time to drive, return the car, check in, etc. While we could have left a little later, there was enough rush hour traffic that I was happy we had allowed the extra time.

Now back in NY, and it is snowing, and I am desperately missing Miami…

Happy to answer any specific questions.

There's more to Wish than food. The vibe gets figured into the price. You can go somewhere else for food but you can only get that vibe at Wish.

Of course - but I just wasn't impressed by the vibe either. Sorry, I really did want to like the place, but I just wasn't impressed.

Interesting. I've only been to Wish once, and although I loved the garden atmosphere and the idea that there was a mile of space around us, I've always suspected the reason I wasn't crazy about it, was that it was nearly freezing cold and the space heaters ran out of propane so we got really cold. We also excused the really slow service as thinking the servers were staying inside to keep warm.

And while I'm all for "vibe", it's sad when the food has to be secondary to the vibe in a pricey restaurant. I still go to eat -- the vibe should be the bonus, not the other way around.

I enjoyed your report and I'm glad you're happy to answer any questions, KikiLee. I was in SB after Christmas and noticed Smith and Wollensky's. Is it a steak house?

Never mind, Kikilee. I googled and found out it is a NY steak chain.

patrick, it sounds like your vibe wasn't good at all. I was there when they had space heaters, and even a little rain. But the heaters worked great and the umbrellas too. I thought the food was very good. Wish is consistently at the top of critics' list for its food. It sounds like you hit it on a bad night.

There is also great vibe at the cuban spots in SB and at the terrific Haitian restaurant, Tap-tap. Both within a budget. Is there vibe at S&W? I don't know. But KikiLee liked it most of all her SB restaurant experiences. So it must have good food and good food value and the sort of vibe she likes.

Yep (one of a chain), though they have a lot of seafood selctions too. (I had a delish shrimp and lobster roll - figured noon was a little early for a sirloin.) They have an outside seating area right on the beach which is really pretty.

I wouldn't say that there is much of a "vibe" at S&W at all - just good food on the beach. More old-school than anything.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a good "vibe," and am willing to pay for it, as long as service and food are also up to par. Really wish we had a chance to check out Rumi, would have liked to see another SB spot known for both style and food.

Is there something especially nice about Ritz Hotels? I'm beginning to think so based on your experience KikiLee and my own. Husband and I were in Maui in Dec. 2004 and went to the Ritz up in Kapalua just to have a "look". Ended up first at the beach below the hotel and were whisked by golf cart up to the hotel (didn't ask if we were guests just saw us and offered). Then there we were standing in the middle of the most fabulous pool area ... lay down on a couple of the cushy loungers for a couple of hours (husband wouldn't do this until I asked a pool attendant ... admitting we weren't guests ... he said 'no problem'). Went back two days later and had brunch and then lay by the pool again for the whole afternoon. If I ever get that flush ... its the Ritz for me.

I don't know - I was talking to one of the guests at the Miami Ritz and he wasn't all that impressed with his room. I didn't see one, so I cannot comment. But I must say that I find their service consistently excellent, even to plebians like me who cannot (yet?) afford the place.

Loved your report Kiki!

Did you make it to the roof of The Hotel to see the pool the night you dined at Wish? Great mojitos.

Agree that the South Beach RC isn't impressive.

Love Sky Bar. It doesn't ever seem to be a Paris Hilton South Beachy crowd. More adult and laid back.

We've never had any problems at The Delano either. I think it is because the people who do come in and hang out, pay for the expense. $14 mojitos add up quick. Also, a lot of the hotel guests head for the beach in addition to the pool.

Oh GoTravel - yes....the mojitos at the Hotel are amazing. We tried them for the first time there and ever since we have been home, I have been mixing frozen ones here!

We spent last weekend in South Beach too, dining at Wish on Friday night. We were also totally disappointed. What vibe? Although the garden is beautiful, and the space heaters worked, the service was just plain awful throughout the meal, the drinks were totally over-rated and hawked by the waiter like a used car salesman. Topping off our dinner for 6 was a check for 9 entrees and 4 extra cocktails ($150 over what it should have cost), with a 30 minute wait to get it straightened out, a weak apology from the waiter for padding the bill, and a poor end to our meal. I will say one thing, the entrees were very good, but overall Wish was terribly disappointing.

Meal at the classic Pacific Time was so much better. I think the name of our 3rd evening restaurant was Ola, in Miami (not South Beach) which had a great ceviche bar in place of a sushi bar.

We were all very pleased with the location, cleanliness, beds and bargain price of the South Seas, even with the Winter Party going on next door all day long on Saturday.

I don't know what to say about Wish other than I don't know how you guys seemeed to have such a bad time at such a great place. And it does seem like Patrick and Edye did have a horrible experience. We had space heaters that worked fine, umbrellas that covered us perfectly when it drizzled, wait staff that jumped to our every wish with lots of smiles, maitre'd's who called another restaurant for us, found us a table, excellent food. Yes, it was pricey but it was good. I thought it was fun. I thought it was very Miami. I liked the vibe. The vibe was the best part.

TG, have you been to Wish recently? Maybe with all the praise they have begun to rest on their laurels and let things slide? Or maybe we just went on a bad night. I'm sorry, I know how much I hate to hear people knock my favorite places, but, in our experience, it just wasn't that good.

GoTravel, sadly, we didn't make it to the roof of THE hotel. We were running late before dinner, and after we wanted to get out of there.

And $14 mojitos are pricey, yes, but they are a lot cheaper than getting a room at the Delano.

Edye, we didn't have time to check it out, but Ola was HIGHLY recommended by the bartender at the Ritz. Will have to try Rodriguez's place in NY.