Miami Pre-Cruise Stay Review - December 2022

[cft8]

We spent 3 nights (Dec. 16-18) in Miami ahead of a cruise on Royal Caribbean. We did 2 nights in Miami Beach, then moved to a hotel in Wynwood for the night before the cruise. My mom, sister, and niece were driving down from NC the day before and it didn’t make sense for them to spent the money for a beach hotel when they wouldn’t have time to enjoy it.

 

Our first two nights, we stayed at the Royal Palm South Beach (https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/miatx-royal-palm-south-beach-miami-a-tribute-portfolio-resort/overview/). We used DH’s points from work travel to stay here. Right before we left, DH was trying to figure out if the Royal Palm had a spa, and came across some negative reviews, so we were nervous, but it was lovely! It’s a historic hotel, so it has a vintage vibe, but very beachy and we liked it. There was definitely a bit of wear in some places but we would stay again. We got a suite upgrade because of DH’s Marriott status, but the living room furniture was super uncomfortable and so I would probably not pay for it. It was nice to be on a high floor and we had two tiny balconies (just big enough to stand on, no furniture). They said it was a city view, but it was on the corner so we could also see the beach. We had the breakfast buffet included (I think that was also because of DH’s Marriott status) and it was good, but I would not have paid for it separately. I’m sure there are less expensive places for breakfast in the neighborhood. We got drinks and dessert one night at the pool bar. The drinks were delish but the key lime pie was terrible. One thing to know about Miami Beach is they have a rule that if your pool/hot tub doesn’t have a lifeguard, it has to close at sunset. Which is early in winter. We usually love a post-dinner soak in the hot tub and so we missed that.

 

The first day, our flight arrived around 5pm. We took a Lyft to the hotel, relaxed a bit, and then headed out to find some dinner. Our driver had said that Espanola Way was a good spot for restaurants, so we decided to check it out. The atmosphere is great (it’s a little pedestrian street with lights and outdoor seating at the restaurants). But, the restaurants are pricey. We ate at Hosteria Romana, which was one of two Italian places. The food was good, but it was nothing special, and for the two of us it was over $200. I should have done more research to figure out a place to eat that night. After dinner we went and hung out at the pool bar for a bit as mentioned above.

 

The next day, it was really overcast when we woke up. We went to breakfast and then walked down to look at the beach. It was still pretty cloudy, so we hung out in the room debating what to do. Finally we decided to give the beach a try. We headed down and they set us up with a couple of loungers (there is a resort fee but it includes beach access with loungers, umbrellas, and towels). It wasn’t warm enough for me to want to go in the water, but it was nice to just relax, read, and watch the water. When we got hungry, we headed up to the pool, because it was a little windy and we didn’t want to get sand in our food, but they do have waiters come to the beach. We got some drinks and appetizers from the pool bar. I highly recommend the frozen mojito! We got the wings and the quesadilla and they were both yummy. We stayed by the pool until it was time to go get ready for dinner. When we got up to the room, we realized we had an amazing view of the channel where the cruise ships go out, so that was fun to watch while we got ready.

 

For dinner we went to the Setai hotel (way, way, out of our price range to stay). It started pouring right before we needed to leave, so we took a Lyft even though it was only a few blocks. We were eating at their Ocean Grill restaurant, which you do not get to from the main entrance of the hotel, which we didn’t know, but a very kind valet got us some umbrellas and walked us back there. We loved the restaurant. The atmosphere was lovely, the service was attentive but not overbearing and the food was amazing. I forget what starter we got, it might have been burrata. I had salmon and DH had steak. We got two sides to split but if we could have decided on just one, that would have been fine. One of them was potatoes au gratin that were to die for. For dessert we ordered creme brulee to split and the waiter also brought us a plate from their main restaurant, which is Asian fusion. One of them was an amazing chocolate mousse. I don’t remember the others, but they were delicious, too.

 

Sunday was the World Cup final. I had wanted to go drop our stuff at our new hotel, and go to the art museum, but I got outvoted. We had late checkout, so watched some of the match in the room while we packed up, and the rest in the lobby with a bunch of French people who were staying (apparently the Argentinians were at the pool bar, because we saw a bunch of them come in after). Once the match was done, we headed over to our new hotel, The AC Miami Wynwood https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/miaaw-ac-hotel-miami-wynwood/overview/. 

 

At the AC, our room wasn’t ready, so we went up to the rooftop bar to wait for my family. We had some nice drinks and hung out for a while. We headed early to dinner, because I’d read here about the Cuban restaurant Versailles (https://www.versaillesrestaurant.com) and wanted to try it. They don’t take reservations, so we wanted to get there early. While we were waiting, we talked to a mother and son who are Cuban. The mother came over during the revolution. She was interesting to talk to, and we figured if they were eating there, it must be decent. It has a very old-school, diner vibe, which I enjoy. I forget what everyone had, but we enjoyed it all. We got some pastries to go from their bakery and took them back to the hotel to eat, then called it early since we had a big day the next day.

 

Monday was cruise departure day! We had the breakfast buffet at the hotel. There was a resort fee for this hotel, too, but it was applicable as a credit for dining. There was an a la carte menu as well, but we didn’t realize that, and I think the buffet was expensive for what we got. We might have come out better if we had just ordered off the menu. 

 

My mom, sister, and niece drove to the cruise port. With all our luggage, there wasn’t room for us, so we took a Lyft. There are two routes into the cruise port, and our driver started to take the bridge route but it was backed up, so he turned around and went to the tunnel. Even though we left after my family, we beat them to the port. I’d told my mom that the information from the cruise line said there was traffic and to plan extra time, but she didn’t listen. They did make it eventually and were able to get a spot to park pretty easily. 

[Flymia]

Thanks for the review. Always interesting to hear about visits to Miami. Glad you enjoyed Versailles. It is not the typical place locals go, but the food is good there. It is very "old school" and a classic Cuban restaurant. It is a staple of the Cuban community in Miami. 

 

Hispanola way is a good suggestion. Surprised to hear the food was not that good at Osteria. I have not been in many years, more than 5-6 years so maybe it has changed. 

 

Overall seems like you were able to enjoy the area. Glad to hear it.