New York - December 29, 2000

DailyCandy Goes to Miami

Guide to Miami

Okay, maybe it wasn’t the best time to hit Florida.

But with the first snow, we got inspired…

Really inspired.

Packing we went:

Some little hotpants for lounging around the hotel room (just like Sarah Jessica Parker wears in Sex and the City).

A red Moroccan-print string bikini

The perfect Audrey Hepburn hat. (Sun protection, ahem.)

And, to get us in the mood…our favorite album: David Byrne’s Beleza Tropical.

We needed some shades. Chloe makes killer ones.
Chloe Plastic Butterflies 26SB5

Chloe Plastic Butterflies.

And a Lambertson Truex bag to try to lug it all south.

Now for the flight. We checked out the Flight Wizard on Expedia. But JetBlue made the getaway a clean one.
Then we scoped hotels. Oh, the choices!

The Delano? No doubt amazing, but we opted to save a few bucks, play a few games of pool in the lobby, hit the gift shop, steal a Granny Smith apple, and hightail it out of there.

So we swung by The Raleigh, that bastion of Art Deco cool so old-school it hurts. The beautiful pool, the original 1940’s architecture, the coffee shop, and the insane high-pressure showers. If it was good enough for Billie Holiday and Marlene…

But in the end we couldn’t resist scoping out the newest of new, Jonathan Morr’s Townhouse, designed by India Mahdavi, the Parisian designer also responsible for that mystery restaurant we wrote about. (And the pictures looked so pretty on Room12.com!) It was so laid back and set us up for an endless night of one place after the next. And we could even sleep as a stowaway on the couch, gratis.

Post check in time, the beach was calling, but it wasn’t so sunny. So we hit the strip. Intermix, 634 Collins Avenue, just opened and — shhh — it carries Chloe cheap!

We were suprised to see the best shirts from Seize sur Vingt, at 203 11th Street (305-695-1177), had migrated from NoLIta. This is the last place we ever expected to stumble upon, so we picked up some coral striped shirts (very Coral Gables).

Now, for the big night out: first dinner in the hotel at the newly opened BondSt Lounge (just like New York! Wait, why were we here?), then dancing. B.E.D. was fun until we had a moment with the bartender. Please when you go, apologize to Sergio and Juan Carlos for us. We didn’t mean it. We were just thirsty.

And so the night went on into the morning. When in Miami you get caught up, and suddenly the sun is about to rise.

So if your paleness is afraid of the beach, we say enjoy the design. It’s deco, but the purists will hit the design district in Miami proper, two blocks West of Biscayne Blvd. and North of the 195 Expressway, 305-576-7650.

Also away from the beach the best snacks can be found on Calle Ocho (little Havana, or 8th Street), Cubanos make you weak in the knees they are so good.

In the end we were broke. Good thing we stumbled upon this: Where “Frugal Floridians Unite…to meet and…swap creative low-cost gift ideas.” Categories include FIND A DEAL, FIND GARAGE SALE, THEME-PARK DISCOUNTS, and CHEAP GAS PRICES.