Miami Beach Getaway
Greg and I decided to go on a spontaneous road trip down to Miami Beach for a weekend getaway. We were looking forward to spending a few days by the water and couldn’t wait to eat yummy Spanish food. Here’s our getaway guide to Miami Beach!
where we stayed
After a bunch of online hotel research, we decided to stay at The Redbury South Beach hotel and I’m so glad we did! It was one of the nicest hotels we’ve ever visited and it had access to a couple of other hotel properties in the area, like the Raleigh Hotel, and SLS. Our room was so spacious and beautiful and I loved the funky decor of the hotel lobby and restaurant.
One of my favorite things about The Redbury is their rooftop pool. We spent a relaxing morning at the pool and took a bunch of photos! The staff at The Redbury were so accommodating and nice as well. I definitely recommend this hotel, especially for a weekend getaway or anniversary trip.
what we ate
I think I was most excited to indulge in delicious food during our trip. Since we had never visited Miami Beach together before, I did some research and booked two reservations through Open Table to guarantee dinner plans for us each night. We ate at Havana 1957 at Española Way for our first evening in Miami Beach. It was a small and quaint Cuban restaurant that had great reviews on Yelp. Greg loved the marinated chicken and plantains. You get a lot of food for what you pay for, so it’s a great deal.
Our second day in Miami Beach led us to Shake Shack for lunch. We visited Shake Shack in New York last year, so we had to have it again. I’d say the vibe is a bit different in Miami Beach versus their NYC location – it’s much more slow-paced and relaxed. I love their burgers and crinkle cut fries.
Then we headed down to Cibo Wine Bar for dinner. Cibo Wine Bar was absolutely stunning. I love Italian food so of course I had to find a good place for our last dinner in town. Greg and I ordered two pasta dishes and they were phenomenal. He had a pesto spaghetti pasta with chicken and I ordered the classic fettuccine alfredo. When we walked into the restaurant, we were amazing by the size of the place. To the right of the entrance is a wine bar area and to the left is the dining room. They have a wine room with a harnessed staff member that selects wines in the air for customers and I love the brick textures on the walls. I would definitely visit Cibo Wine Bar again.
Each morning we would start our day at our hotel’s restaurant, Cleo. It’s a trendy restaurant with an outdoor patio. They serve a paid continental breakfast featuring pastries, fruits, and beverages. Greg tried their cappuccino and really enjoyed it!
what we did
We had every intention of exploring all of the sights and sounds of Miami Beach over the weekend, but ultimately we decided it would be more relaxing for us to enjoy the beach and take it easy. We visited Española Way on our first night – a cute and hopping area with lots of shops and restaurants. I loved the architecture and scenery of the area. We also visited the Lincoln Road Mall after dinner and stopped into a couple of shops and art galleries.
Our hotel gave us access to a private part of the beach with lounge chairs and towels so we were able to have a really nice time by the water. We spent the better part of our morning on our second day there. We then decided to visit a small park in the evening and Greg was able to grab beautiful sunset shots.
tips + tricks
We booked our stay through Booking.com and was able to get a pretty good discount on a two night stay. I recommend booking your hotel on a Tuesday or Wednesday because the prices are typically lower then other days during the week.
If you want to sight-see and capture hotspots, I’d look at Instagram to find cool places to visit. We planned on going to Wynwood Walls to take photos, but never got around to it. Next time we will definitely make a trip there. Instagram is a great resource to find out where locals go for food and fun things to do. You can search hashtags like #MiamiBeach and #SouthBeach.
