Any thoughts on South Miami Beach?

[matthew6]

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical before going there for the first time. I really wasn't expecting much. However, to my surprise I found that I liked it.

- It has as far as I can tell one of the nicest beaches in South Florida. Very wide. It has a park that parallels the beach so that while walking on the beach the traffic from the nearest street in not noticeable.

- The hotel/restaurants along Ocean Drive seem rather cheesy, however the Art Deco style architecture is well preserved/restored.

- Collins and Washington are interesting commercial streets. A lot of diverse shops and restaurants.

- Lincoln Road is a pedestrian only outdoor mall which as far as outdoor malls go is not bad. It seems to include a lot of original architecture.

- The side streets have an interesting mix of two and three story buildings. I wouldn't call them world class but they are pleasant.

- The main streets are flooded with tourists. And while I dont dig crowds I have to admit that there is an energetic vibe.

Overall I thought it was interesting and enjoyable place. Very walkable too.

[SHiRO]

-The only place in the US where I couldn't find a hamburger (or anything other than icecream) at 2 AM.

-Great architecture and a nice atmosphere

-Not as walkable as I expected. iirc our hotel was at 18th Street, pretty close to Lincoln Road but everything was way further apart than I'm used to. My friends even wanted to take cabs all the time. Same thing goes for Atlantic City btw. Medium walkable is as far as I want to go.

-Great parties, went to some outdoor stuff that was real laid back and inviting. Don't know about the clubs though. I'm not the standing in line kinda person.

-I fucking hate a/c and the way they crank it up in the stores in Miami is just ridiculous. It was like walking from an oven into a fridge whenever entering a store. The heat in Miami isn't even that bad from what I remember.

-Drive tru banking? There? Really?

-All in all spend too little time there. Was there 4 days but spend most of the time visiting other parts of South Florida (Everglades, Key Largo and Key West which was the third awesomest place on our trip after NYC and Philly, Charleston coming in at 4).

-Really want to go back and check it out some more.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by SHiRO

-The only place in the US where I couldn't find a hamburger (or anything other than icecream) at 2 AM.

Didn't look very hard? Even the McDonalds and Burger Kings are open 24 hours along with dozens of other late night burger/food places.

Not as walkable as I expected. iirc our hotel was at 18th Street, pretty close to Lincoln Road but everything was way further apart than I'm used to. My friends even wanted to take cabs all the time. Same thing goes for Atlantic City btw. Medium walkable is as far as I want to go.

South Beach a big place. The South Beach local busses would be a lot cheaper if you were trying to go from say 18th street down to south of 5th. Too bad they tore out the street car lines in the 1940's-50's.

[Crawford]

Miami Beach, south of Lincoln Rd., is, along with New Orleans' French Quarter, easily the best urbanity in the Southeast U.S., IMO. If I have to pick I would go with French Quarter, probably, but South Beach is great.

North of Lincoln the density remains (or is probably higher, at least on the beach side) but it isn't really pedestrian friendly/urban. It's more giant highrise resort complexes and self-contained apartment complexes.

[novawolverine]

Miami Beach is a lot of fun. I agree that the beach is nice and wide, but I'd have to think that there are better places for laying around and swimming. I agree that there are areas that are less walkable, unfortunately, despite being urban, but overall it's pretty nice.

[matthew6]

Oh yeah - how could I forget. The beach is topless friendly.

[UrbanImpact]

I think South Beach is unique in that it has it's own style (culture & architecture) in which you wont find anywhere else.

[Larry King]

One of my favorite places on earth

Probably the coolest beach town in America

Extremely walkable, architecture is very cool, very diverse, 24 hour bars

Snobs like to look down on miami but it truly is a wonderful place

My life goal is to maintain a second residence there

[matthew6]

Originally Posted by Larry King

One of my favorite places on earth

Probably the coolest beach town in America

Extremely walkable, architecture is very cool, very diverse, 24 hour bars

Snobs like to look down on miami but it truly is a wonderful place

My life goal is to maintain a second residence there

Well gee that certainly is an endorsement.

[Centropolis]

I enjoy it. Cuban food and a bar scene for those that don't or don't feel like attending the Ocean Drive situation.

[LAsam]

My affection for Miami Beach is two-fold. I love it not only because it is a great urban space, but also because it has a unique sense of identity. You would not mistake any other location in the world for Miami Beach. The icing on the cake is that one of the most distinctive aspects of Miami Beach is the "Tropical Deco" architectural style, which I happen to love.

[brickell]

South Beach - bringing the heat.

But seriously, it's too hot. I'll wait till December.

[SHiRO]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Didn't look very hard? Even the McDonalds and Burger Kings are open 24 hours along with dozens of other late night burger/food places.

Not on Lincoln Road, not when I was there. Believe me I looked, I was hungry wandering the streets alone. Just ice cream parlors... Saw a Burger King that was CLOSED. ;-)

[bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by SHiRO

Not on Lincoln Road, not when I was there. Believe me I looked, I was hungry wandering the streets alone. Just ice cream parlors... Saw a Burger King that was CLOSED. ;-)

SHIRO? the 11th. Street Diner on Washington Avenue is open 24 hours as well as 3 blocks north of your hotel is a Denny's on 21 st.
You should have asked some of the locals or the hotel you were staying at. There are also many places to eat into the wee hours on Ocean Drive.

As for "not as walkable" I think South Beach does very well in that term considering the city is only 97 years old.

[SHiRO]

OK, just to end the debate ...what I was saying that I couldn't find a burger joint or anything other than ice cream parlors on Lincoln Road (this was 2006 btw), while our experience thus far in the US had been that there's always a place where you can eat in the US even at 2 AM.

The 11th Street Diner is (asuming it's on 11th Street) almost 1 km from Lincoln Road! I didn't wander that far. 1 km is the other side of town where I'm from!
Likewise "3 blocks north on 21st Street" is still 800 m in the opposite direction. That's also what I meant by everything being far apart and "medium walkable". These are at least twice the distances I'm used to and would consider walkable. South Beach is 4 km by 1,5 km, as a comparison central Amsterdam is 1,5 by 1 km.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed South Beach and think it's an unique place with great urbanity, atmosphere and walkability. South Beach and Miami as a whole together with Washington DC are the top spots I wish we would have spend more time in.

[bobdreamz]

^ SHIRO? We are just having fun at your expense since most people on South Beach at 2AM who are craving a burger are usually drunk and will walk more than a 1 km to find one! Anyways I'm glad you enjoyed South Beach but damn Amsredamn does sound quite small!

[bricky]

I'll agree that South Beach didn't feel quite as walkable as I expected, because it was just so spread out. That being said, I loved it on my trip about 2 years ago. It is, especially at night, probably the most European feeling place in the US (in a Euro-trash Ibiza stereotype kind of way).

Ocean Drive was cheesy at night, but full of energy and beautiful. Lincoln Road was similar but a bit more to my liking. Collins seemed kind of quiet and disjointed.. Washington didn't seem to have much at all when I strolled by. The beach itself was great. I preferred the stretch just a little to the north, which felt quieter and more civilized. Beautiful water, probably the best I've seen in any city environment anywhere.

One problem though is that while South Beach was nice, I felt obligated to rent a car to see everything else in South Florida. South Beach by itself would feel kind of limited for me, and public transit didn't seem to be a viable option.

[Nomayoplease]

I love the architecture of SB. I visited the area two years ago while visiting a friend in Boca Raton which is an amazing place btw. The only drawback is the people...same shitty attitude as people here in Hollywood

[rs913]

Visited there for the first time in March 2012. That weekend featured the Winter Music Conference, the Ultra Music Festival, and...oh yeah, a little thing called Spring Break. South Beach was packed that weekend.

The beach itself looked like a lot of fun. It's such a scene with all the hotels and cabanas and planes flying overhead with banners for clubs.

Ocean Drive bars seem kind of touristy, but who wouldn't want to hang out on the Clevelander balcony at sundown with a beer? I wouldn't touch the hotels on that street with a 10-foot pole. They've got that winning combination of "sketchy" and "expensive".

After dark, the people-watching and the scene is a lot of fun. The hotel lobbies are nice refuges, especially the Ritz and the Delano. It's funny how some of the hotels turn into clubs with bouncers and velvet ropes at the lobby entrances. (Seems like everything in South Beach revolves around the hotels).

Anthony Bourdain called South Beach the "heart of the douchebag-oriented economy", in reference to everyone paying $15 for drinks. Sounds about right.

After a while, it starts to feel like a thumping house soundtrack follows you everywhere you go (even during the day). But that might have just been in my head.

It took me forever to get there (traffic & parking) and it will take you forever too from anywhere else in Miami. But it's totally worth it.

[lfc4life]

love south beach but as others have stated it is deceptively big but the beach is great, the bars are fun and its clean