December 6, 2004 -- Miami is hot again. With weather as good as you can get anywhere in the world, South Florida's vacation and cultural gem seems to have something for everyone ... including great travel deals.
American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) recently announced a Net SAAver fare offer good for Florida and the Eastern seaboard. Fares are valid for travel through March 2, 2005 with travel blocked off from December 22-23, 26-27, 30, 2004 or January 1-3, 2005 or February 18, 21, 2005. A Saturday night stay is required and you must book your ticket through the American Airlines website. Washington, D.C. to Miami roundtrip is as low as $178 plus air and departure taxes. Baltimore to Miami and New York to Miami cost $188. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston to Miami come in at $198. San Francisco to Miami costs $248. Fares must be purchased within ten days of departure or 24 hours after making reservations. With airfares as low as these, you have no reason to stay out of the sun.
Once in Miami, some great deals exist on popular and trendy South Beach. The Savoy Hotel (tel. 800/237 2869; www.savoymiami.com), a beachfront all-suites hotel with two beautiful pools on superb grounds, has mid-week specials that are the best on the beach. Starting at $179 from Sunday to Thursday, rates are good through most of the high season when South Beach becomes the chicest United States travel destination through May. With spacious comfortable rooms with a bedroom and a living room, everything at the Savoy is top notch except the Internet and business service facilities. In other words, if you have to work from your hotel room, stay somewhere else. The hotel has no WiFi or high-speed Internet connection. The beds could be larger, too. The Pina Coloda's by the pool, however, are terrific.
Down the street from the Savoy in the middle of South Beach at 7th and Ocean Drive, the Beacon Hotel (tel. 877/674-8200; www.beacon-hotel.com) is a boutique property with small but comfortable rooms and huge king-sized beds. Rooms start at $149 and come complete with high-speed Internet access and a complimentary continental breakfast. It gets noisy right in the middle of South Beach so a non-Ocean front room can be quieter alternative to rooms at the front of the hotel. A Winter Package good through May 31, 2005 including two nights at the hotel with two certificates for a massage, free parking, and an ocean front room costs $480 plus tax.
If you want to take care of the entire vacation in one swift payment and get a flight, hotel and an Alamo rental car, Liberty Travel (tel. 888/271-1584; www.libertytravel.com) offers an all-inclusive three-night four-day trip with accommodations at the Ocean Five Hotel at Fifth and Ocean Drive for $399 per person double occupancy from JFK airport out of New York City. Other departure cities are available including Boston, Baltimore, and Buffalo for additional prices. Hotel tax is included in this deal's price. Air taxes are not. As a special bonus, Alamo threw in a free upgrade from compact car to a full-size or SUV. This is a great deal.
While Miami Beach is known for its house music and club scene, Ted's Hideaway (tel. 305/532-9869) is a neighborhood bar known for affordable prices and local color. On 2nd between Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, Ted's is up the street from the Big Pink (tel. 305/532-4700; www.bigpinkrestaurant.com), a Miami staple with a huge menu with great milk shakes, onion rings and Brie baked in a skillet with full cloves of garlic that's to die for. Go with your significant other because after that dish you won't be kissing someone you don't know for a week.