About Miami…

ASWChronicles goes on vacation

Hey loves…

I’ve just returned to reality from a little vacation with friends. My girlfriends and I took a little trip to Miami this past weekend. It was amazing and much needed.

My Woes

I remember reading a blog post by Brooklyn Travel Addict titled How to Plan a Girls Getaway and immediately thought about the ladies I traveled with this past weekend. I basically had a representative from each category she named in her blog. It was a fun trip and I would do it all again if I could every weekend with those ladies. In the post she talks about 5 key players when planning a trip with the girls.  The organizer is basically the planner. She is going to have the accommodations set, flights arranged and transportation planned out. I can truly take ownership of this role. LOL. I mean I was the one who had, unintentionally, looked up flights, accommodations, and travel times via taxi from the airport to the room to the clubs to the beach. Pretty funny to face that fact today. But it is my nature…  We also had the other four players on the trip… Turn up Tammy… The Chaperone… The Historian… The Homies…  I will let them remain nameless to protect the innocent though.

Our Accommodations

Because there were 6 of us traveling together. We elected to stay off the strip of South Beach as most of those hotels accommodated up to 4 people in small boutique like rooms. The place I found to be the most accommodating was the Tradewinds Apartment Hotel. This place was in walking distance to South Beach (Collins Ave) and offered apartment like living arrangements. We had a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment with a sleeper sofa.  The room also had a full sized kitchen with stove, microwave, and refrigerator.

The Tradewinds has a pool and offered beach towels and beach bags to its guest.  The hotel also has a free shuttle to and from the airport during scheduled times. This hotel is also a part of the South Beach Group of hotels and offer FREE DRINK happy hours and free internet. This particular hotel did not have a bar but you could utilize its free car service to one of the sister hotels and partake in the free drinks.

The Party Passes

The main purpose for this vacation was to participate in an event called “No Sleep South Beach”. There is a lot I could say about the series of events that happened and didn’t happen in regards to the event and poor planning on the part of the host (party planners). From my understanding this was the 3rd year of the event and the amount of people doubled from 2014 to 2015. The party host we spoke with said they had about 250 people attend the previous year and this year there were over 600. Personally I don’t think they were prepared for the growth. The party package my friends and I paid for came with a wristband which covered a pool party on Friday as well as a club party. It also covered a all white yacht party on Saturday with an after party and another pool party on Sunday.

Leading up to the Friday we all received emails saying that the location for the Friday pool party was changed and it was beyond their control. This was understandable and the fact that they were communicating frequently was okay with me as well. The Thursday before the pool party on Friday we received notice that the pool party would be happening at a private location in South Beach at a mansion in a residential neighborhood and shuttles would be provided and that was fine as well. Well as my friends and I approached the shuttle pick-up location we got word that the pool party had been shut down already… It started at 4 pm and was shut down by 6:30 pm. Kind of crazy but we took an “L” on Friday night…  We elected to go to another club instead of the one included with the package as well.

Saturday was a little better however we were sent another communication advising us to meet at the all-white yacht party between 2 pm – 3 pm to board and we pull off by 4 pm.  My friends and I arrived at the location around 3 and people were just standing there not allowed to board.  It was the craziest thing ever.  Not only that but it starts to pour down rain and we all are getting somewhat soaked but definitely getting our feet and shoes wet as the rain was puddling. We finally were allowed to board the boat and that party ended up being pretty good because none of us made it to the after party… (Man Down)

Sunday was a bust as well because the roof top pool which was the event location only held about 200 people and about 500 were trying to get there.  So we elected not to go to that as well.

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

WIth the whole “No Sleep South Beach” being kind of a bust, my friends and I decided to fully take advantage of being in Miami’s South Beach. We had good food from restaurants such as the 11th Street Diner, Senor Frogs, and CJ’s Crab Shack. One thing that puts a smile on my face is food. We also were able to go to the beach and enjoy the water. My friends and I also enjoyed getting drinks from the Clevelander, Wet Willie’s and Fat Tuesday’s. Overall the experience was a pleasant one. We met new faces and friends. I would definitely go back to Miami South Beach but next time it will not be attached to any parties. The one thing I would say about Miami South Beach is be prepared to spend money when eating on Ocean or Collins avenue. Most, if not all, establishments automatically add on gratuity anywhere from 18 – 20% to your tab no matter how much you spend or how many people in your party. It was stated on every menu I read. To be more economical you can go to Washington or Lincoln street to eat and not have to pay gratuity and the meals will be a little cheaper. They also have bodega’s (stores) which also offer cooked food as options.

I hope you had a pleasant weekend as well.  Until next time

Peace and Blessings.