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This summer, we opted for the quiet lushness of Palm Beach instead of action-filled Miami. A perfect getaway if you're looking to disconnect on a beach with a book, a cocktail, and not much more. What it lacks in hipness, it makes up for in natural beauty and old money glamour. The absence of crowds and lower rates make Florida one of my favorite summer destinations. As long as you don't mind the possibility of a hurricane strike, the weather is glorious on the eastern coast. Our friend Laura convinced us that a deal was to be had at The Breakers, where standard room rates can run to $780 (and beyond) in high season. May-September rates are as low as $249 per night, and include free amenities Sunday through Thursday. For those with children, like Laura, this was a true value, as those amenities include kids' camp and kids' meals.

Though we tried, Dan and I did not navigate Palm Beach as well as we should have. There is a way to get more value out of a trip, and we learned some lessons the hard way (see $75 breakfast). Here are some tips to create the perfect balance between luxe and low cost.

Dine locally - often. The Breakers has a number of fine and casual dining establishments, but somehow they all cost the same -- $100+ per meal (for two). Dinner entrees run $24+, and $32 for an underwhelming Chicken Marsala seems excessive. The hotel automatically adds a 20% gratuity to each bill, plus a service charge and tax.

The resort is within walking distance of a variety of restaurants, so it's simply a matter of sourcing and planning. We had two nights out, at Nick and Johnnie's and Bistro Chez Jean-Pierre. Nick & Johnnie's is a fun, casual place with outdoor seating, while Cz Jean-Pierre is old Palm Beach glamour and excellent French food. Our meal there was better than any we'd had at the hotel. Both recommended. Laura tried Todd English's new casual dining place, Wild Olives, located a short cab ride from the hotel. Good with or without kids, and her report was that happy hour was a great value ($7 for two drinks), and the food was excellent.

Sunday-Thursday complimentary breakfast, and an on site Gourmet shop. A bonus to being there during the week, the hotel offers complimentary continental breakfast in the Circle restaurant from 7-11am. For $10 more per person, you can add on the full breakfast. A much better deal than the $75 breakfast we had the Saturday morning we arrived, not knowing the deal ahead of time. Because Saturday is out of the complimenary breakfast window, we could have picked up coffee and a bagel (or other breakfast food) at the Gourmet shop for $8.

Take advantage of the 5-7pm Happy Hour. In the Tapestry Bar, $6 drink specials paired with homemade potato chips (complimentary) and spinach dip (a delicious add-on) make a perfect cocktail hour pairing before dinner.

Stock your room with wine, beer, or your beverage of choice. This may seem gauche in a place like The Breakers, but I don't mind telling you that I like a glass of wine at the end of the day and don't want to play $20 per glass. You can purchase a few bottles at a local wine shop or at Publix, and it will go a long way towards the value of your trip. Bonus activity: A bottle of wine + some plastic cups poolside after hours, to enjoy the ocean view under the stars.

Always ask. We were upgraded everytime. The staff at The Breakers is unbelievably accommodating, so when we arrived early (looking a little weary from our 6am flight, I am sure) the front desk attendant upgraded us to an ocean view room. Much easier during the summer season no doubt, but a nice gesture on her part. Late check-out? Granted. Car rental so we could go to Miami for a day? No problem. Hertz has a desk in the hotel, and the concierge handles the rentals. She upgraded us as well, charging us an economy rate for a standard car. Always ask.

Posted at 01:30 PM in florida, food+drink, hotels | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Tags: florida, luxury vacations, palm beach, the breakers, value vacations



dreaming of south beach pool at the Ritz Carlton, SoBe

...cause it's 20 degrees in NYC.

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Tags: florida, miami, ritz carlton, south beach



Miami Local TapTap restaurant, Miami

Dinner at the vibrant Tap Tap. I'd never tasted Haitian food before, but dinner was incredibly flavorful, drinks were strong, prices extremely reasonable. Spinach in coconut sauce, shrimp in a red curry sauce, melt-in-your-mouth whole fish, and gorgeous murals to gaze at. One of the best local culinary experiences in Miami.

Posted at 10:50 PM in florida | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Tags: Florida, Haitian food, Miami, Tap Tap restaurant



Dodging Hurricanes in Miami Ritz Carlton, South Beach

Miami, in between Fay and Gustav, we found refuge at the Ritz Carlton South Beach. The sun made an appearance for 2 1/2 days, and while I wasn't sure that traveling straight into the potential path of a hurricane was the best decision, it turned out to be a good time to go. Mainly because Miami is a lot cheaper when storms are threatening, and everyone who lives there is out of town.

Posted at 08:31 AM in florida | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Tags: Florida, Miami, Ritz Carlton South Beach hotel, South Beach

 Outside my window, a band plays latin jazz by the pool as hotel guests in bikinis and swim trunks enjoy their first - third - or fifth cocktail of the day. I'm at the Ritz Carlton South Beach, a hotel that on first glance was somewhat ho-hum. There is a lot of competition for eyeballs in South Beach. I toured the hotel this morning with the sales director, and it has since surpassed my expectations. Incredible attention to detail and gorgeous architecture. And, amidst all of the noise in South Beach, it is a quiet spot.

I am here to take a break, and revive portablemind while I'm at it. While I've been way overdue for a good post, I've spent much of my time posting 140 character "mini posts" on Twitter. Today, I realized that Twitter is a perfect writing tool. I "tweet" throughout the day, and then have the perfect set of notes to construct a longer post or article.

I love it. Despite technology replacing my memory, and my handwriting continuing to deteriorate.

Posted at 06:06 PM in florida | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Tags: Ritz Carlton, South Beach, Twitter


 from Rubell and Fendi to Jimbo's, we ended the day of Total Miami Immersion with the ultimate destination, South Beach. I purposely split the group up and sent them out in trios to different hotels so as to experience the SoBe lifestyle, interact and, god willing, drink. After cocktails we reconvened at Casa Casuarina, otherwise known as the Versace mansion. Barton G, the Miami events company that worked with me all week and provided us with a backstage pass to Fabulous, designed an outrageous dinner in the courtyard by the pool.

It's interesting to watch people who don't get out much experience a place like South Beach. Later on in the evening I asked one colleague who was sitting by himself, no drink in hand, whether he was alright. Incredulous stare on his face, he replied "Fine, I'm just happy to look ... I can't believe that people actually look like this!"

For godâs sake, doesn't anyone watch CSI Miami?

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Tags: Miami, South Beach

 In a potentially disastrous move I didnât realize I was making until it was too late, I took my fellow travelers to the Rubell Family Gallery in Miamiâs Design District. It was all part of the plan to remove them from the everyday, get them to think differently and draw inspiration from other cultural sources. The exhibits were so provocative that I canât really write about them yet (and those who know, know why) but I will post about the experience soon. I will just say that the particular exhibits we were shown were created by artists who decided to use sex as a way to express themselvesâ¦

The design district is still a bit edgy as it undergoes revitalization, so I thought to myself while wandering around - if I lived here, this is the neighborhood I would buy in because itâs got to be really cheap. I later learned that as Miami begins to supplant New York as the place where international artists show their work first and/or exclusively, it's actually some of the most expensive real estate in town. We weaved in and out of galleries and furniture stores like Fendi Casa, where I coveted everything (this was clearly an aspirational outing for me as I learned that my taste is way more expensive than I thought). Even if you cannot afford anything, it is worth a visit for so many reasons - the brand, the design, the quality of fabric, the colors. And thankfully the sales manager who chatted with us was gorgeous, making everyone forget all about what they had just seen at Rubell.

I had a good dose of envy on this particular visit. New Yorkers feel that they have an edge over other cities because we think New York is where the cream of the crop is, especially when it comes to design and international style (and food). In Miami, I could feel the rug being pulled out from underneath us.

check out the Miami art blog  / photo by Kaitlin Yapchaian

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Tags: Florida, Miami, Rubell Family Gallery


January 20, 2007 Photo by Whitney K.

I'm trying really hard not to cry as I read the weather report for today, knowing that I have to be in the city and will be walking...
Partly cloudy and windy. High around 35F. Winds NW at 25 to 35 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.Currently 28F, feels like 14F.

The beautiful photo was taken last week in Key Biscayne, just before we sat down to dinner. "Outside! in January!" everyone exclaimed, as they took their seats and wondered what the poor people were doing.
Walking the streets of Manhattan in the freezing cold, that's what.



Versailles, the kingdom of Little Havana Versailles, Little Havana
Versailles restaurant, 3555 SW 8th Street, Miami
We landed at the wryly named Versailles for a Cuban lunch and I was concerned about the menu translation problem. I knew it would start as soon as someone ordered a coffee, specifically cafÃ© con leche. Itâs not that I didnât want them to realize they werenât in Kansas anymore, so to speak â but Iâm smart enough to know that you canât mess with lunch. Anyway, itâs not your Starbucks cafÃ© con leche of course, so when the warm leche was served in the coffee cup and the coffee was placed on the table in a small beaker â to share - the cry heard around the table was âWhat is this?â

Deep breath. Once we got over that obstacle, lunch turned out to be a surprising smash.

The state attorney for Florida, Katherine Fernandez Rundle was lunching with the Miami Chief of Police John Timoney at a table nearby and one of my brilliant colleagues had to engage them, if only for a moment, to tell us somethingâ¦ anything about the city. They joined us for 5 minutes and I was amazed at the unbelievable power and presence that the two of them had together. Considering that Versailles is the spot in the neighborhood for Miamiâs powerful, paticularly in the Cuban community, I thought later how aptly named it really is.

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Tags: Florida, Little Havana, Miami, Versailles



Identity Part II El Credito Cigar Factory, corner of 11th Avenue and Calle Ocho, Little Havana. Overheard as we pulled up: âAre you kidding me? Iâm not getting off the bus in this neighborhoodâ¦â

Ok, so maybe from the perspective of a 40-something corporate suburbanite, Calle Ocho appears to be the wrong side of the track. However, the comment made me realize we were doing the right thing, because sometimes you have to hold that mirror upâ¦

Despite bars on the storefront windows and the dead (but still intimidating) pit bull lying on the sidewalk in front, the Latin charm beguiles. It is in the colorful buildings, carefully landscaped lawns and music radiating from unseen sources. In a billow of smoke, a fabulous Cuban woman opened the door to El Credito and welcomed us in to have a look around. It felt obnoxiously voyeuristic to me (my issue of associating myself with a group of 10 dressed in almost-identical golf shirts, I suppose)... but apparently visiting a local cigar shop to watch the staff of master cigar rollers make each one from scratch, then provide the customers with an opportunity to taste before purchase, is one way it's done. It is fascinating to watchâ¦ the staff is so focused on the work they didnât seem to notice our presenceâ¦

Outside, we met a Cuban man selling cantaloupes from a cart, eager to relay his story and give us a warningâ¦ when he arrived in the area in 1972, it was a proud and safe neighborhood, but now there are shootings every night and it is no longer anyplace to be after dark. He wouldnât allow us to film him, still believing that someone from back home might see his face on televisionâ¦

(post script about the golf shirts: I have linked to the Ralph Lauren site, as this seems to be the golf shirt of choice, and need to add a disclaimer ~ none of the men wearing the golf shirts in my group looked anything like the men on this site; and it is hilarious that there is a video to watch on RL TV about the lifestyle of the golf- rather, Polo Knit - shirt. Highly recommended viewing :)

Posted at 12:52 PM in florida | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Tags: Florida, Little Havana, Miami






