I’m so happy I had the opportunity to return to Miami South Beach this year. Miami is always a breath of fresh air and fun half way through the year. I visited Miami last year with one of my best friend for a Miami girls weekend in August and we had so much fun!  I was very excited to go back this year and have even more places to share with you.

I felt like I needed some time for a break to lay on the beach and by the pool. Although I’ve been traveling a lot this year, check my Instagram @msjenniferdanielle story highlights to view more of the places I’ve visited so far in 2018, I felt like this trip would be one of the most relaxing yet. It was also fun because I would have the opportunity to spend time with my sister whom was visiting from London. I’m also posting a video of this trip on Best Kept Style Youtube soon, so be sure to subscriber and check it to see more places in Miami to visit and my hotel stay.

During my trip in 2017, I stayed in Brickell at the JW Marriott which is about 30 minutes from Miami South, Beach. Brickell is gorgeous and has a lot of new restaurants and developments, but this time I felt like being closer to the water, parties and South Beach downtown area.

This time I stayed at The Shore Club on Collins Avenue for 5 days. I arrived on Friday morning and left Wednesday morning. Collins Avenue has tons of hotels, restaurants, shops, and things to do. When I visited Miami for the first time in college, I stayed on Collins at The Catalina hotel which I realized  was not very far from The Shore Club or SLS hotel. If you like to be in the middle of the action, I would recommend staying in this area. This was the first time I stayed in the Shore Club and it did not disappoint. The hotel had a modern classic and comfortable space with minimalist design mostly all white with touches of color here and there.  The customer service team was great about accommodating all of my wants and needs, and even welcomed me with a bottle of Champagne and fresh fruit to the room.

 

 

 

 

 

The room service staff was very friendly, attentive, and polite throughout the entire stay. I stayed in two different rooms during my stay. One with a Loft Junior Suite which included two balconies, one with a partial ocean view and the other with a city view. The sunsets in the room with the city view were gorgeous. I couldn’t pull myself from the balcony until it set to get dressed to go out at night.  The second room was a spacious elegant two-bedroom, two-bathroom, suite that included two balconies with gorgeous ocean views of South beach.

 

This was one of the best views of Miami I’ve ever seen. We spent a lot of time on the private deck drinking champagne, and it’s a great space if you have a group visiting to get together and lounge. Shore Club has furniture included outside to lounge and it was directly over view of the pool so you could watch the different events below at the hotel below.

Travel Tip: One travel tip that I usually recommend when people are planning a vacation is requesting a high floor with a balcony view if available in advance to increase your chances. If you know you will be somewhere tropical and enjoy the beach, I would suggest placing in a request for an ocean view or city view depending on your preference. It guarantees me a view every time.

 

 

This location was also amazing because I could stand on the balcony and see everything going on around the city on parallel roof tops, hotel pool parties, and on the beach. The energy and vibes were great and it seemed like everyone was in a good mood. I also enjoyed this hotel because of the pool and pool party events for the weekend. If you do not like a lot of noise, the balcony was also soundproof, so  you could go inside and close the door and not really be involved in the south beach festivities.

 

The pool is known to be one of Miami’s hot spots. Shore club has two infinity pools including lounge chairs and beds covered with pillows and throws to lounge. Located in the center of the two pools is Rumbar which serves 75 different rums and drinks options as well. The hotel also has a spa onsite if you need any services throughout your stay. My sister went for a manicure and said it was very relaxing! It looked really pretty when I saw her afterwards.

The beach is easily accessible directly from the pool which was perfect for lounging on the beach, parasailing, or renting a jet ski. They also provide their own area on the beach including lounge chairs with staff to assist you with set up of an umbrella and will bring you a menu of food and drinks during your stay.

 

On Saturday Miami Beach Shore Club was hosting a Rose Pool party for #nationalroseday which was perfect! Anyone that knows me knows Rose is my favorite thing to drink. The pool is spacious and not over crowded. It’s nice when you want to have fun but not feel right on top of people.

During my trip a couple of my other bloggers friends that were at an event nearby came to visit and took a few pictures with me during the pool party.

On Sunday The Shore Club hosted a Sunny Side up themed Pool party which had egg floats. Watch my YouTube Miami video for video from the pool and views.

 

Travel Tip: I also recommend researching a few restaurants and events nearby within your budget that you may be interested in ahead of time and calling to make reservations at the restaurants so its not sold out or fully booked while your on vacation. Usually the best places are the most popular and you do not want to miss out on a great experience during your trip, or spend unnecessary extra cash somewhere you do not like because its the only option available.

There are tons of restaurants locally to visit and I’ll name a few, however Diez Y Seis is also a great place inside of the Shore Club hotel that serves breakfast lunch and dinner. The food was great and I actually had breakfast one morning there during my stay.

Another AMAZING brunch spot that I found during my trip is called Orange Blossom which is on Collins Avenue about two blocks from the hotel. I ate here twice during my stay, and I know a couple of my friends whom were also on the trip went multiple times. The atmosphere is fun and the restaurants provides so many healthy options. One of my favorite dishes was the waffle and I don’t even eat waffles like that. I have to say it was so good it made me go back the next day.

If you’re just looking for drink, Redroom Bar is a great place to visit downstairs on the first floor of The Shore Club right before the pool and outside of Diez Y Sies. Hotel guest also get 30% off. It’s like an outdoor living room to lounge, order drinks, and listen to music. Its open every day 4:00PM to 2:00AM most nights and is a great place to relax at night if you don’t want to head to the party scene.

However, if you do want to head to the party scene I recommend either club LIV or club Story which during my stay had special DJ guest AOKI. Story is big with a lot of space and different VIP sections. It’s not a far Uber or Lyft ride from the hotel.

A few other restaurants I tried while in Miami were Yardhouse, Yardbird, (yes those are two different restaurants I learned the hard way), and The Gale South Beach Hotel has a great Italian restaurant inside called Dolce which I also ate at twice. The carrot soup , pizza, salmon and spaghetti were all delicious.

My favorite place to eat however is Brunch at Bagatelle Miami and Barton G because of how much fun these locations are and because I’m EXTRA. It’s like a party during dinner. I took my sister to Barton G to celebrate her birthday and it was definitely a night she will not forget, however It’s not cheap if your looking for a place to eat on a budget, then I would recommend the other locations. If you want to witness the party that takes place when eating at Bagatelle just youtube brunch at Bagatelle Miami to get an idea of the party taking place while eating.

 

 

Lincoln road is a few blocks from the hotel and another a fun area in Miami to walk around the strip and browse for more restaurants and lounges that include both indoor and outdoor seating. There are also a ton of great new shops in that area for shopping, or just areas to relax and spend the afternoon while site seeing.  I bought ice-cream from Hagen Daaz to cool off while on this street and love to look at the swimsuit shops in Miami since its one of my favorite places to shop for new looks.

 

 

 

If you want a quick treat, stop by KYTH the pop up one block from The Shore Club which has an amazing custom cereal and ice cream blend with color cones I am still reminiscing on. I got the Vanilla ice cream blended with fruity pebbles and Oreos on a red velvet cone. THIS WAS SOOOOOO GOOD. Thank me in the comments later! It was so good after I finished it I almost walked back to order another if I did not have to make it to my flight.

Another fun place to visit as I mentioned earlier is Brickell, and my favorite place is SUGAR rooftop. You can access sugar rooftop from the Brickell Mall elevators. The rooftop has amazing views of the city, some of the best drinks and shrimp tempura sushi! I also had this chicken platter at the bar which was really good. This rooftop has a gorgeous lounge area to relax and enjoy the views and sun with friends. It’s like a garden on a roof that you can either sit in your own private area or at the bar.

 

One of my nights I went to an industry event at The W Hotel which is about a 7-minute walk from The Shore Club off Collins. The hotel is gorgeous and the pool party was a lot of fun. I think I will consider staying in this hotel when I return. I also liked the giant hello kitty in from of the venue and sculptures throughout the lobby and pool.

On the last day I strolled over to the Faena Hotel to see the woolly mammoth bones of Pure Gold. Of course, I had to see it because. Well…it’s made out of gold.

There is soooo much to see and do in Miami that honestly it was hard to leave. I still had more that I wanted to visit, but will have to plan a trip to return soon since I began contemplating moving there after this trip for a bit.

Other areas I visited in the past in Miami are the Boca Raton and Aventura areas which also has great beaches and shopping destinations. If you need recommendations of places there, comment below.

Also recommend visiting: The Wynward district- tons of great art and parties, Choices Café- Great organic food

I had so much fun I’m planning my next trip and it was hard to leave. Let me know what you think of this post. Also comment below if you want to visit South Beach Miami one day, are planning a trip, or visit Miami and share other places you love in the area. Feel free to send me any other questions you may have I would love to share more with you and help you plan your trip! xoxo

As always, with love,

Jennifer Danielle