Miami Airport/Doral Area for Business

West Miami is nothing to write home about, but it can be used as an effective base for exploration. SoBe is only 30 minutes away (out of rush hour), for example.

Quick Tips:

Stay OFF of the Palmetto Expressway at all costs. Take the Turnpike to go N/S if you have to travel during peak hours. Surface streets may even be better than the Palmetto.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking is an option to get from hotels to restaurants, but not much else. Taxis are scarce, at best.

A very solid mix of classic Miami Deco and modern, I first read about it here! Smallish hotel with an outstanding restaurant, just enough off of the beaten path to make it nice and calm. The reception and lounge areas are quite small, but it's not the kind of hotel where you'd hang out all day.

The rooms are a bit smallish, but good-sized closets help. There are TVs and phones and plenty of lighting. And GREAT beds. VCRs as well. It's not a great business hotel, and most rooms are good for lounging around, but it's in a nice, quiet spot across the street from a museum/park; a block off Collins and far enough north in South Beach that the late-night madness is walkable but not on top of you.

And it's a VALUE for SoBe. I paid $139 per night for 4 nights during the week. My parents stayed there as well for two of the nights and had only nice things to say. So if you're looking for a nice, manageable hotel in SoBe, try the Abbey!

This was a disaster of a hotel. It was quite possibly the worst Marriott property I've stayed in (and that is probably approaching 100).

The rooms have an outside door entry and are smaller than average Fairfield rooms. Mine was a bit moldy. They definitely need a complete overhaul.

The lobby/breakfast area was so small that about 10 people can sit in it to eat breakfast. TEN! It was completely inadequate.

The location is the worst part! It is almost on top of the Palmetto Expressway, one of Miami's busiest streets.

It’s just bad all around. Avoid it at all costs.

This was a very average Hampton at best.

The location is on a fairly main drag, so it's not quiet and a coworker never felt safe. There are a few okay places to walk for dinner, and sometimes you have to because the nearby traffic is terrible.

The rooms, breakfast, etc., was from the book for a Hampton. There were okay rooms that were big enough without being interesting. Breakfast had enough variety without being tasty, and service was just fine.

I'd stay there again if the StayBridge nearby was booked, but not for any other reason.

This has a perfect mix of value, location, and amenities for a value/business hotel. Nestled just far enough off 87th Avenue and 41st Street to be quiet, it's right next door to a Holiday Inn.

The rooms are good-sized suites with full kitchens, including all cooking utensils. The TV has three or four times the normal number of channels. There is a spot downstairs to get supplies if needed. There are free laundry machines and a decent gym for a hotel. It’s steps to Doral Ale House.

From an interest standpoint, there is nothing going on, but for a business hotel or for the Doral golf tourneys, it is the perfect spot. A coworker had been sold on the nearby InterContinental until they tried the StayBridge. Now they've switched.

The only negative is a slight lack of parking space.

Candlewood Suites Airport is a classic 'good and bad' hotel.

The good:
-Quiet, as it's a good block off of a main street (87th Ave)
-Good value, as it's a good $10-20 less than other good chain hotels
-In-room: Kitchen, fridge, good TV channel selction, videos to borrow (not rent)
-Pantry for little items
-Location is close to a lot of small restaurants (walking distance even)
-Free laundry

The bad:
-Only weekly full service for maids
-Small gym
-Front desk is not 24-hour (though someone on-site all night)
-More of an apartment feel than hotel as it's more designed for long stays

I probably won't stay here again, as I only stay 2-4 nights. If I were to be in one place for a week or more, I might consider it. It's part of the Holiday Inn chain for frequent guest points.

The InterContinental West Miami seems a bit out of place in its neigborhood as a higher-end hotel where the closest hotels to it are moderate or standard business-class hotels. The IC has some of the things that one expects from this fine chain: A good restaurant, nice pool, comfortable rooms with classy amenities, nice gym. The lobby and hallways are very well appointed, and the soon-to-be completed expansion will only enhance this. However, I do have some major issues. High speed internet is $10 a day. Valet parking is assumed, and not cheap. No HBO (whoever heard of that in a chain hotel!). No refrigerator of any kind. While these are little things, I can stay 2 blocks away for $20 to $40 less (StayBridge Suites), get points in the same rewards program, and get these things plus a WHOLE lot more. The IC is okay, and I'd stay here again. But it's not worth the extra money, and I'll hit the StayBridge the next time.

This is a hidden Japanese and Korean restaurant in a grocery-store strip mall. There are about six restaurants in this particular strip, but only Sakura is worth it. I have eaten there twice and gotten takeout twice. It's definitely on our weekly rotation for lunches. The Korean we've tried was average overall, with a decent variety of standard dishes. It generally lacked much punch.

But the sushi and Japanese dishes were all quite good and a reasonable value for the quality. The decor is fairly typical Japanese strip-mall, the service just about right, and the selection of beverages average. The two selling points are the very good sushi and lack of capable competition nearby.

Just plain bad is the only way to describe it. There was bad service, terrible food, and Olive Garden-esque decor. Even the bruschetta was bad! Three of us ate three different appetizers, entrées, and desserts. ONE of the nine dishes was average, and even the wines they recommended were mediocre. It was not a good value either.

Part of a Florida chain of sports bar/restaurants, Ale House is a decent place for pub grub. It boasts a very diverse beer selection and affordable food, its two best attributes, that and dozens of televisions with sports from around the country, especially Miami sports at this location.

There are pool tables and games in the back, a bar area with seating in the middle, and more standard seating in the front. The decor is simple wood/paneling, and the service is not usually bad for a sports bar.

The best things to get are generally burgers, nachos, and fish sandwiches. Avoid steaks and the like for sure. Avoid it at the peak times (Doral golf tourney, Sunday afternoons) and the wait should be minimal.

Overall, it’s a very decent place if expectations are kept nice and average.

This has a very nice mix of well-prepared and presented food, great ambience, and solid service.

Situated on Ocean Drive, Avalon has classic seafood dishes, each with a unique twist. Tuna tartar with taro chips and basil-infused risotto are two examples of this. The dishes were quite tasty, if a tad more expensive than the quality.

But the ambience of live music and people-watching made up for it. The wine list was also well thought-out, with enough quality and variety for anyone.

I'd recommend a terrace table for better visibility.

Mixed in among the throng of other good but not great restaurants on Ocean Drive is Sea Cafe. We stopped in because they had a nice presentation of entrées at the front. Overall, it was a good but less-than-perfect experience.

The Good:
They had good seafood dishes, and a friend thought his steak was very good. All are presented well, but there is not a lot of creativity or originality (the paella was NOT paella). The taste was, again, good, but not remarkable. There was good people-watching, and live entertainment (a singer) made for a relaxed ambience.

The Bad:
Sidewalk tables were just too close together and too much in the way. The service was largely indifferent. That's not okay if you plan on adding gratuity automatically.

I'd probably try somewhere else before hitting it again, but I wouldn't hesitate to say that it was a good meal.

By far the best value on Lincoln Road, Pizza Rustica offers great pizza with very little fuss. It is located towards the middle of Lincoln, right in the middle of a pedestrian block. This affords a good opportunity to indulge in SoBe people-watching without paying SoBe prices!

The pizzas are Neapolitan style, which means square, and loaded with a range of exciting toppings (goat cheese, shrimp veggies, sausages, etc.) in 15 or so combinations. It's counter service, with a quick turnaround. Grab an outside table, get a big ol’ slice, and enjoy!

Zeitoun is a solid out-of-the-way Mediterranean cafe in the heart of the Doral area. Located in the backside of a large strip of stores and restaurants, it's possibly the best of the nearby group. The decor and service are fairly average for a moderately priced small restaurant.

The food is certainly above average for that same group, however--a wide range of Mediterranean specialties line the menu. I'd recommend a sampler to share, as each item on it is quite good.

Not a fancy or 'special' meal, but given the limits to options for good food in the area, it's worth a visit.

Outside of New York and L.A., not many places in the USA offer the nightlife that South Beach does. It's a wild mix of young locals showing off toned bodies, visiting families, and going to the beaches and dinners and rich Europeans. It's people-watching at its best.

The best way to do it might be this simple:
-Find a spot on Ocean Drive in the early evening for a drink to watch the sunbathers pile off the beach.
-Move up or down the street to get an on-the-sidewalk table to watch the world heading out for dinner.
-Walk off dinner, especially on Collins Avenue. And watch the clubbers start heading out for the night.
-Grab a coffee or gelato and watch the post-dinner crowd file home.

And don't forget to look up. There's not much like the neon and Art Deco look of SoBe!