With months of planning, saving and excitement – Spring Break 2019 has come to an end. Instead of overplanning before our arrival, we had things in mind we wanted to do and played it by ear once arriving! We had a very diverse vacation – day parties, beach days, Miami nightlife, dessert specialties, fine dining, simple eats, hidden gems we found and a little bit of shopping. Here are a few of our favorite things after our six-day stay in Miami, Florida!
Where We Stayed:
We stayed at a boutique hotel on South Beach – The Clinton Hotel. The hotel had a pool, live music/ DJ on certain nights, a 24-hour gym, and a restaurant attached with brunch and drink specials! The hotel was conveniently located with about a five-minute walk to the beach and only a street over from the iconic Collins Avenue. Collins is the shopping strip of Miami – expanding from local beach shops, vintage thrift and a wide array of luxury brands.
Places To Eat:
This week we wanted to eat at as many local Miami spots as possible, never repeating the same place twice (although we made an exception to this rule for Rosetta’s Bakery).
Rosetta’s Bakery.
A local gem! We stumbled upon this place on a walk we took on one of our first days. It is a Miami chain that serves fresh pastries, gourmet sandwiches and pizza. They have an array of drinks to choose from including Italian coffee and tea, beer and wine, fresh squeezed orange juice and quality water.
Pura Vida.
Pura Vida is the perfect place for a refreshing smoothie bowl or cafe fare that’ll leave your mind and body satisfied. It was started by a couple that wanted to serve nourishing, health-conscious food to the South Beach community where every day is a day in paradise. One of the aspects that drew us in was that they use organic and locally sourced ingredients in a sustainable manner. They’re well known for their delicious acai bowls, fresh-pressed juices and cafe dishes with fresh-caught seafood.
Plant Theory.
Situated in the Whitelaw Hotel, Plant Theory had an art deco, modern-cafe vibe that we couldn’t help but post on our insta stories right away. Plant Theory is a vegan-friendly, botanical burger cafe. The restaurant was formed on the idea that we should truly care about what we feed our body, and thinks of creative ways to step up everyday vegan fare. We highly recommend the portobello classic steak burger or the Southern baked artichik’n burger!
Joe & the Juice.
Joe & the Juice is a chain that started in New York and has now gone abroad. It is an absolute must when in a city that has one! Perfect for a nice, refreshing juice or their iconic coffee shake – served by a trendy, all male barista staff.
Naked Taco.
Naked Taco is a highly recommended, trendy restaurant that serves a variety of authentic Mexican cuisine. Naked Taco is located on Collins Avenue, walking distance from our hotel, and a few steps away from the beach. The vibe and staff were super cool, definitely recommend if you want to spice up your normal Mexican restaurants.
Bodega Taqueria y Tequila.
Little did we know this cute little Taqueria is one huge party in the back! Bodega is where we ended up on a very first night, fresh off of the plane. It was authentic Mexican cuisine with a bar located in the back if you want to have a little bit of fun too.
Pizza Rustica.
100 percent better than our local Christian’s Pizza. That’s all.
Subway.
Nope, not a joke. It was 24 hours! Heavenly on late nights and even for a quick lunch before afternoon beach trips.
Places To Shop:
KITH.
KITH is a streetwear and lifestyle brand, founded in Brooklyn, New York. The company has expanded by having two locations in New York, one in Miami, one in Los Angeles and a few pop-up shops around New York City as well. The brand is very special and making it super worthwhile – they have a TREATS section. You can create your own ice cream or milkshake combinations or pick from a menu curated from a few celebrities.
Round Two & Round Two Vintage
Originally founded in Richmond, Virginia! Round two was founded by Richmond native Sean Wotherspoon – with a concept of vintage thrift finds. He buys and resales rare forms of every brand you can think of! Since it’s Richmond origin, Round Two has expanded to Los Angeles, pop-ups in New York with the Miami location being the most recent addition.
Day Activities:
South Beach.
You cannot come to Miami without a beach day on South Beach. It’s sung about, rapped about and a prominent location for many celebrities. The beautifully blue water has calm waves that’ll allow you to relax if the on-beach scene gets too rowdy. There is always excitement and an overwhelming amount of people keeping the scene super lively!
SLS pool party.
The iconic, high-class hotel chain, The SLS, hosts day parties throughout the week! The lively pool party included a DJ, huge unicorn floaties, unwavering sunshine and was jam-packed with excited spring breakers. It was super nice to do this in addition to the nightlife, to have a little bit of a change of scenery.
Versace Mansion.
One of the highlights of our trip was dining at the Versace Mansion and viewing the artistry of the mansion itself. After watching Netflix’s well-known American Crime Story based on Gianni Versace’s assassination, seeing the mansion and walking around it was almost surreal. The Versace estate had taken an unfortunate situation and flipped it around as they made the beauty and distinctive quality of Versace and Gianni’s former home, accessible to the public. On our last day in Miami, we splurged and went to our lunch reservation at Gianni’s Villa within the former mansion. We had a three-course meal ranging from dishes like burrata and prosciutto to beef carpaccio to Mediterranean fish. It was definitely worth the cost and was affordable when taking into account that we were able to enjoy the ambiance of the mansion and eat a delicious three-course meal at the same time.
Nightlife:
It’s safe to say that nightlife in Miami is unparalleled. Period. As college students, we’ve been to our fair share of frat parties, clubs, and so on, but the Miami nightlife experience was one for the books. Here are some of our favorite and most unique spots from the trip!
ILov305.
The first night we went out we went to Pitbull’s recently debuted restaurant and nightlife concept, ILov305. It was the perfect spot for our first night out because it wasn’t too packed at first since it recently opened, yet it was bustling with life. The club played hip-hop hits along with lots of tropical Latin music that we could get down to. One of the best parts of the scene was the live musicians that came down from stairs leading to the second floor. There was an electric violinist along with a saxophone player that used their instruments to create upbeat spins on the hits being played. That was definitely a nightlife experience we couldn’t get anywhere else!
The Clevelander.
At the center of Ocean Drive (the most well-known street in South Beach) is the Clevelander hotel where there is an immense outdoor patio and pool area that turns into a dance party at night. One of the most unique aspects of The Clevelander was how it was basically an outdoor club at night where you’re surrounded by palm trees and centrally located next to the beach. The DJ was playing top hits along with lots of EDM dance music, making it a bona fide outdoor dance party.
Rockwell.
One of our favorite clubs in Miami (that we went to more than once) was Rockwell Miami. It was smaller (but still super spacious) than some of the clubs like LIV and Story, but that’s what made it more unique. Not to mention, the first time we went to Rockwell it was their three year anniversary, and multiple celebrities were in attendance. Some of the celebs included Purple Miami (a Miami influencer), Bad Bunny, Tory Lanez and last but not least FoodGod (aka Jonathan Cheban, Kim Kardashian’s best friend). One of the highlights was that we both got to meet FoodGod, which was truly an amazing experience as foodies ourselves!
LIV Miami.
Our last night on South Beach meant that we had to go big or go home. We ended the nightlife portion of our trip at the exclusive LIV Nightclub located in the beautiful Fontainebleau hotel. As one of the most well-known clubs worldwide, frequented by celebrities and always packed to the rim, LIV truly lived up to the hype. It was an immense club upon entrance with cascading staircases on both sides of the DJ booth, a raised dome-shaped ceiling and vibrant light show. Our night at LIV was an experience, due to the experiential architecture and interactive aspects with all kinds of confetti and smoke coming from the ceiling. To top it off, hip-hop artist Ball Greezy took the stage at one point and performed live along with the DJ who was playing hits that we forgot about. Our night at LIV was to the fullest degree, an unforgettable experience.
All in all, Miami was one amazing experience that we would recommend everyone doing at one point in their lives! When you visit, check out some of our top spots to go to. We promise you won’t regret it!