Miami New Year’s Eve
December 30, 2014 – January 1, 2015
48 hours. New Year’s Eve. South Beach, Miami.
Even though we’re from Los Angeles, and New Year’s Eve activities abound in our own hometown, we decided to spring for a quick get-a-way, and experience an intimate holiday together, as newlyweds. We spend so much time during the holidays going from party-to-party, catching up with friends and family, and in general exhausting ourselves with celebrations. For our first holiday as a married couple, we had the idea to just be alone, and maybe add a few thousand close friends.
Keishia in South Beach Miami
South Beach is a favorite destination for people of all backgrounds. The city offers warmth of the Caribbean and idyllic turquoise beaches. Within the vicinity, there are just a few major thoroughfares that make traversing the city easy by Segway, Vepsa, on bike, or on foot. As with any beach city, the restaurants and bar options are innumerable, and there is a consistent feeling of being in a street bazaar. As you walk through crowded sidewalks, waiters and hostesses look to lure you in with promises of $5 breakfast, 2-for-1 drinks, and other cheap fares. But buyer beware, it was easy for the bill to creep into the normal range with hidden menu fees, and $10 smoothies. Yikes. South Beach can be a tourist trap.
We rarely travel in luxurious accommodations, but for a room on New Year’s Eve on Ocean Ave, we paid luxury prices. Hotels that normally would rent for $100-$150/night where now priced between $300 – $500/night. Anywhere on New Year’s Eve, you will be at the mercy of the market. As they say, YOLO.
We chose the Pelican Hotel, one of the historic art-deco establishments that South Beach is known for. But because we took a red eye, we arrived at the hotel by Uber at 9:00 a.m., which was much too early for our room to be ready. There was about 4 hours to kill, and our circadian rhythms were entirely off. But we made lemonade, and kicked around in the sand for a bit, caught a bite to eat and drink at the Ritz Carlton, and enjoyed a few Instagramable moments.
Overall, because of the centralized feeling of South Beach, it was easy to feel a part of scene and we immediately knew that we were in the right place to catch all of what Miami Beach has to offer on a holiday.
When we got the call to our room, we were just happy to have a place to lay down for a second. The rooms at the Pelican are simple, the décor is typically tropic, the hallways are dark, the elevator is slow, and the service even slower. Despite that, we did enjoy a glorious ocean view and bike path from our room, and it was nice to have a restaurant on site. In the end, Pelican ended up costing more money than we anticipated, as they tack on extra daily “resort” fees even if you’ve paid through a travel site. It’s not a resort. It’s a basic small hotel that faces a street that is parallel to the beach. Pretty sure, we paid before we arrive, as we were departing, and then we were charged again when we returned home.
Moving on.
Keishia on a rented bike
We have one day to explore before the big day comes. As active-travelers, we enjoyed the public bike exchange program, and rode the length of the city into the darkness. When dinner arrives, there isn’t a better travel companion than Yelp. Arthur discovered one of the great restaurant loves of our life after narrowing down the top rated eats. Chalan on the Beach is a divine Peruvian and family-owned restaurant that we almost missed because Keishia is admittedly impatient. The Yelp reviews said the service is slow, but it is worth the wait. We felt the slow immediately. We waited 30 minutes to sit, and then more than 20-25 minutes between being seated and our drink order being taken. Keishia was ready to walk out about twice, but the waitress Gloria was quite apologetic, and immediately paid great attention to us after things slowed a bit. Keishia apologized for being so hangry!
To say that it was one of our best seafood experiences of a lifetime, is an understatement. Just thinking about slamming our faces into plates of their delicious cuisine makes us want to by a ticket to Miami every weekend. We had fantastic ceviche, and two plates of their specialty Pescado con Mariscos, which includes, marinated calamari, mussels, and fish. We devoured those meals and sangria like a last rite and passage. All was forgiven regarding service. It was the holidays and they were overwhelmed.
South Beach at night!
The rest of our evening was a typical Miami spectacle on Collins Avenue, known for its high boutique shopping, bars, and street performers. One can liken it to the scene at the Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade in Los Angeles. We stop in for a couple of night caps, but decide to take it easy because the next day, stands to be an all-day party.
