Each week, thousands of cruise passengers fly into Miami International Airport, where they board buses that take them to the pier and their ship. Then they sail off on a Caribbean cruise, with port calls at exotic tropical islands. A week or so later, they repeat the process: pier to bus to airport and the flight home.
And that's unfortunate. By far the most interesting city they will visit on their cruise trip is the one they ride through on that bus--Miami.
For cruise passengers who want to sample fantastic restaurants, experience vibrant night life and enjoy the carnival atmosphere of one of the world's great cities, Miami Beach is the place to be. And in this sun-kissed paradise, the center of action is South Beach, which has it all: a long and wide beach, beautiful hotels, excellent restaurants, and neon-lit streets that pulsate with Latin and rock rhythms.
South Beach is the Art Deco district of Miami Beach where such stars as Madonna, Prince and Gloria Estefan own clubs, restaurants or hotels--and where their friends come to play. Cruise passengers can stay here and enjoy the beach by day and the restaurant, clubs and street scenes by night. Two or three nights is enough. Here's is a quick guide to what there is to see in South Beach.
Miami Beach's beach is world-famous. Just across busy Ocean Drive, this beach offers a wide and safe shore, with beach vendors who will rent you everything you need: chairs, towels, umbrellas and more.
But tourists cannot live on sun alone. And that's where South Beach makes this the perfect pre- or post-cruise stop. Here is where the color schemes favor day-glows or pastels, where sushi bars nestle close to retro diners, and where the miles of curling, colorful neon makes one wonder whether it is the mandated lighting source. It is also where in the one-square-mile historic district that you will find more than 800 Art Deco-style buildings, many of them recently restored, repainted and reopened to a new wave of residents and visitors.
One of the recent investors is Chris Blackwell, the Island Records recording mogul who promoted Bob Marley, U2, Steve Winwood, Grace Jones, Melissa Etheridge and The Cranberries, among others. Seven years ago, Blackwell opened the Marlin Hotel, (1200 Collins Ave.; 800/OUTPOST), which became the first of five properties he now owns in the Art Deco area (The Tides, the Cavalier, the Kent, the Leslie and Casa Grande are the others). Blackwell's creations are among the hippest--and hottest--in an area known for trends.
The Marlin features a popular lobby bar recently redone in brushed metals, neon and African fabrics and 12 suites all decorated in "Afro-Urban" chic, with textured stucco walls of red, ocher, brown and beige. Two on-site recording studios attract the bands: Aerosmith recorded their album, "Pink," in the third-floor studio, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince has used the first floor studio, the Rolling Stones, in Miami for a concert, held a party at the Marlin, and the Spice Girls, model Naomi Campbell and other celebs have stayed (or played) there.
Blackwell owns several other renovated Art Deco properties, the grandest of which is The Tides, the elegant Art Deco hotel at 1220 Ocean Dr. More than $9 million was spent to renovate the 62-year-old Tides and reduce the number of rooms to 45 (all with an ocean view). The stunning hotel offers subtle, simple elegance, a subdued color scheme of whites, greys and tans in the rooms (and telescopes in each room for beach-watching), plus a stunning lobby bar, a fabulous restaurant and the one thing that money cannot buy: guests whose names and faces are world famous. Recent guests have included actors Jeff Goldblum, Robert Loggia, Morgan Fairchild, Laurence Henderson and Jon Cryer.
The Tides sits on Ocean Drive, the major cruising spot where the music pounds seemingly from every doorway, and the crowds--in the outdoor cafes, on the sidewalk and even in the street--slow the enormous limos, colorful Ferraris and Mercedes to a crawl, giving all a glimpse of who's on the town tonight. Stallone, supermodels Cindy Crawford and Antonio Sabato Jr., Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith, to name just a few, have made this scene.
A few steps away from The Tides, at 1116 Ocean Dr., is the lavish 1930s mansion where designer Gianni Versace was murdered at his front gate. The mansion, guarded by an imposing and very large security guard, still draws those who find celebrities--alive or dead--an attraction. A few blocks south is the News Cafe (800 Ocean Dr.), a very chic bistro where the passing parade of flesh and fame is not on the menu, but on every patron's mind. And nearby is Lario's on the Beach (820 Ocean Dr.), a Cuban hot spot whose outside tables are the place for celeb spottings. Its owner, singer Gloria Estefan and her husband, Emilio, also owns the nearby Cardozo, a 43-room Art Deco landmark hotel undergoing renovation.
There are several other fine restaurants in South Beach: The Wish, a very stylish 120-seat restaurant in The Hotel (801 Collins Ave.), an elegant newly refurbished property on the bustling streets of South Beach, serves excellent and creative cuisine with Southwestern, Asian and Caribbean influences. brunch here is exceptional.
The Strand (455 Ocean Dr.) is Michael Castellano's first Miami venture. (He owns two Italian restaurants in New York--Castellano and Allegria.) The oceanfront restaurant offers dramatic decor with flowing drapes, but this scene is overshadowed by the fine dishes that fuse Mediterranean, Caribbean and French cuisine.
A short walk from the heart of South Beach is Espanola Way, where In the 1930s a young band leader named Desi Arnaz started beating out a rumba rhythm at a nightclub that is now the Clay Hotel, a youth hostel. On Sunday afternoons this stylish street offers cafes, and vendors selling everything from jewelry to bongos. Artlovers might enjoy a visit to the Bass Museum (2121 Park Ave.), which offers contemporary and historic art from throughout the world.
At the north end of the Art Deco district, not far from the recently renovated Lincoln Road and its trendy shops and restaurants, is the stately, 208-room Delano, designer Ian Schrager's dramatic Art Deco re-creation. The surrealistic lobby features an impressive array of towering columns, draped with flowing white fabrics that flutter with the breeze. At the back of the lobby, past the eat-in kitchen, the neon-lit nooks and the avant garde furniture, is the Blue Door, a restaurant co-founded by "Material Girl" Madonna (currently no longer an owner). The Blue Door's terrace features outstanding nouvelle cuisine and striking views of a twin rows of towering palm trees that flank a spacious lawn leading to the pool ("guests only," a guard cautions) and, beyond the back fence, the white sands of Miami Beach. The guest list here is so closely held that even the rooms have unlisted numbers.
The Lincoln Road area, recently closed to traffic and redeveloped into a pedestrian street with chic shops, trendy nightspots and even a few star-power spots. One such is the South Beach Brasserie, once owned by actor Michael Caine. The tropical American cuisine (with a few British standards) have attracted Caine's actor pals, model Niki Taylor and Miami Heat Pat Riley. And if you want to wind up your day with music (and keep a lookout for the ET crowd) drop in on the nearby Van Dyke Cafe, a bistro known for its nightly jazz and its primo location for people-watching. After all, in South Beach, the party never really ends.
If you want to rent a car, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (3251 S. Miami Ave.) are the best place to visit. Built between 1912 and 1916, this mansion was the winter residence of Chicago industrialist James Deering. The house, on Biscayne Bay, is open to the public. It contains 70 rooms, 34 of which are filled with paintings, sculpture, antique furniture, and other decorative arts dating from the 15th through the 19th centuries and representing the Renaissance, Baroque, rococo, and neoclassical styles.
So there is enough in Miami Beach to fill 2, 3 or even 7 days. Maybe next time you fly to Miami for a cruise, you will get there just a few days earlier to visit arguably the best port on your journey.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For general travel information on Miami Beach, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitor Bureau, 1-800-283-2707.
(c) 2000 Larry Fox and Barbara Radin Fox