Hotel and Dinner - Miami / Ft Lauderdale - 1 night

[omniflow]

We are arriving in Ft. Lauderdale at 5pm, and then departing from Miami next day at 12noon, so I am looking for a hotel and somewhere nice for dinner for that night. Both flights are domestic, so there should be no immigration queues to worry about.

From the google searching I have done there are literally 100's of hotels and even more restaurants, so I am interested in personal recommendations. Due to the massive choice, it's probably easier to start with dinner and then find a decent hotel nearby. I can't imagine the trips to / from the airports are going to be a big factor, but I'm happy to be told otherwise.

[gotoPzero]

If its of any use to you we did the same and stayed in the Hyatt Place near the airport. Nothing swanky but 2 min walk to the small Mall over the road and the hotel is c.15 min by taxi. Obviously if you want something nicer then there are a gazillion options.

[Chucklehead]

What kind of budget and food? I had a great evening at Mila in Miami a couple years back.

https://mila-miami.com/

[omniflow]

Chucklehead said:

What kind of budget and food? I had a great evening at Mila in Miami a couple years back.

https://mila-miami.com/

Budget - probably not quite to that level. The food looks tolerably priced, but the winelist is somewhat scary. However that does look like the sort of place I would like.

[captain_cynic]

Honestly I'd just find a reasonably priced chain hotel (Hilton, IHG, et al) close-ish to the airport and search Google for good restaurants around that area.

You're only there for one night, let's not overthink things. If your flight takes off at midday you'll need to be at the airport 2 hours before as MIA is a nightmare even if you're not going through customs.

I'd get a place with a free airport shuttle too.

Hotel should still be about £100 on a weekday. Miami's not cheap.

[omniflow]

captain_cynic said:

Honestly I'd just find a reasonably priced chain hotel (Hilton, IHG, et al) close-ish to the airport and search Google for good restaurants around that area.

You're only there for one night, let's not overthink things. If your flight takes off at midday you'll need to be at the airport 2 hours before as MIA is a nightmare even if you're not going through customs.

I'd get a place with a free airport shuttle too.

Hotel should still be about £100 on a weekday. Miami's not cheap.

I understand the sentiment, but I'd rather make it more of an occasion if I can. It's part of a longer holiday to celebrate my wife's 60th birthday, so I'd like to make it as much fun as possible.

[Saleen836]

As it is special for your wife's 60th, I would book an ocean view room on the upper levels here https://www.icmiamihotel.com/?utm_source=google&am... the views are great and plenty or places to eat within walking distance, and a 10 mile taxi ride to the airport